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If your engine rattles when idling, it's not recommended to drive this engine without
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understanding the reason why it rattles. And I have seven possible reasons for that and I
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will list them in this video. So the first and maybe the most common reason is the rattling
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timing chain. If your engine has the chain, you should check this chain first of all if
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you hear any rattling noise. It's a very serious issue. If the timing chain jumps,
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it will destroy your engine. Checking the timing chain is pretty complicated; it's not a DIY job,
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and you will need to go to the dealership or to some repair shop to do this. But usually,
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chains live quite a long life, so if you have a 2-year-old car with 50,000 miles on it, it's
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not likely the chain. Chains will stretch over time, but it's like 100,000 miles, 150,000 miles,
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and even more than that. Then the second issue: there is a splash plate in your car, and it may be
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made of metal. Sometimes it's made of plastic, but in older cars and in SUVs, in off-road vehicles,
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it's made of metal. And when one of the bolts that hold this splash shield unscrews, you can hear
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this rattling noise because one side of the splash shield will rattle when the engine is working. And
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it's pretty easy to check. You just need to get under your vehicle and check if all the bolts in
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the splash shield, which is located right under the engine, if all these bolts are in place and
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tightened correctly. Then another issue to check is the mounts of the exhaust pipe. The exhaust
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pipe in your car hangs on rubber mounts and it's pretty easy to check. You will, again, need to
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get under your car and check every mount on the exhaust pipe, starting with the one that's located
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near the engine and up until the rare end of your car. So check those mounts. If one of those
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mounts is absent or maybe it's stretched, it's very likely that the exhaust pipe just bumps on
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the body of your car, and this creates the rattle noise. And it's fixable for $5-$10. You will just
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buy this rubber part, which is very cheap, and you can fix it on your own. Now, one more issue
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is damaged engine mounts. If the engine mount is damaged, you can shake your engine, and you can
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hear this rattle even when the engine is off. Just shake it with your hands, and if it shakes a lot,
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if it moves a lot under the hood of your car you may be sure that there is a problem with
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the engine mounts. And it's not fixable as a DIY thing; you will need to go to the dealership or to
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the repair shop to replace the engine mount. There is actually an article on my blog, the big article
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with the investigation and all the things, and you can read it, it's linked in the description,
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and learn more about every one of these reasons. Then, another thing, which is quite difficult
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to check, is the valve timing solenoid that is stuck. If your valve timing solenoid is stuck,
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the problem is going to be with the engine because it will not work correctly. The valves will open
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too early or too late when the engine is idling, for example. But when you press the gas pedal and
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give some rotations, give some RPM to your engine, it's going to be okay. So when it's shaking, when
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idling, it's rattling, maybe it's the valve timing solenoid that is stuck and needs to be replaced or
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at least cleaned. Also, one of the pretty common problems that causes rattling noise in your car
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is the turbocharger because turbocharger has the impeller inside it, and this impeller, over time,
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can start rattling because it gets loose. And when it rattles you may actually hear this even when
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the turbocharger is not activated, like on idling speed, you will still hear this metal rattle. And
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there are two possible ways to fix this rattle: it's to replace the turbocharger or maybe to
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repair it. So there are cartridges that can be installed in your old turbocharger, and it's
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cheaper than to replace them. But actually, it's not really a cheap job, so you will need to pay
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for this. And the last issue is the problem with the block. Actually, this happens with very old
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engines, like 250,000-300,000 miles, when there is an issue with the block and pistons. And the
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engine starts rattling because of that, you may expect this engine to die in the nearest future,
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and actually, there is nothing much you can do. You can change the oil if it hasn't been changed
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for a long time, but actually, if it rattles and the problem is with the block actually, this is
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the end for this engine, so you will need to get ready to serious repair or to engine replacement.
