Rattle somewhere underneath

Thanks Phil. Yes, V6 petrol. Will look at those things next available time in daylight.

Yeah, did had a look at everything holding the exhaust pipe to the chasis. Didn't see any problems. But there is bugga all holding it on in the first place. One up near the transfer, the other near rear diff.

Bit hard to know from the limited description of the noise.

Does it go away with light pressure on the clutch pedal?

If it was related to belts or water pump ot idler bearings, then I'd expect you should be able to tell by sticking an ear under the bonnet. Those noises are usually continuous.

Cheers
phil

Camry's do the same for some reason.
I think as it moves up and down it slowly loosens the nuts.
We use locktite when we put new nuts on.

For the other nosies on the v6 engine, check the harmonic balancer retaining nut for tension. They can loosen and if left to long it will chew out the front key way and crankshaft. Big dollars to fix.

It also sounds like loose baffles in the cat converters. They can give an intermittant rattle as can muffler baffles.

Thanks guys. One thing though - in laymans, whats a harmonic balancer retaining nut and a front key way?

Sorry Guys
Harmonic balancer is the big pulley on the front of the crank shaft that all the belts as in air conditioner and alternater belts run off.
The key way is the square shaped piece of metal with a half moon shape on one side that locates the balancer.
The bolt is a big sucker that is done up b****y tight to stop it coming off.

Strange, I only noticed it recently though - maybe its an old noise, maybe not. Am planning on a full under vehicle expedition at next available opportunity. Lets hope the missus doesn't decide to drive off half way through.

I'm glad my post could help you.

While the motor's running, hold a bar of soap against the inside of the belt (be very very careful not to hurt yourself). That will eliminate any belt noise and tell you whether thats the cause.

Cheers
phil

Ignore the follow up above by Phil G (SA). This is the most dangerous thing to do with your fingers. My wife was an IC nurse at Darwin for years before we met. She saw several people per month that had lost fingers in drive belts while soaping up their belts to stop noise.

If you must soap your belts, turn car off, remove keys and get the old soap from the bathroom (the bits that you usually push down the drain with your feet to save having to bend down in the shower) and lubricate the belts by hand. Put any left over chunks between the belt and pulley and it will eventually get squashed enough to be put over the whole belt in about 30 seconds of running.

Phil G you should be ashamed of yourself promoting such a dangerous activity on a public forum. Spankings for you with a tapped whip antenna from all safety minded 4WD enthusiasts that live here.

You naughty naughty boy.

See You NT

See You (NT),
You are absolutely correct. The thought did cross my miind while writing it, hence the bit in brackets. But yeah, should have suggested it with the motor off.

Hmmmm, ICU nurse in Darwin. Better not tell you my occupation :-)))

Cheers
phil