first be sure that the screw are tightened. If you remove the heatshield the hood paint going to fade

 

it sounds like it is coming from under the engine.

 

Take them off, it won't hurt anything.

 

Take them off, it won't hurt anything.

What if you are cruising down the road and hit a LARGE puddle of water? Could the sudden splash of cold water damage any of the HOT components? I don't know... just curious.

Are you SURE it's a heat shield that's rattling? Does the rattle go away after the engine is warmed up? If so... it MIGHT be your water pump starting to go bad :?

 

Kelly has a good point. Mine before I replace the pump and idler bearings a couple weeks ago, when cold not only did the pump rattle but it sounded like someting was vibrating under it like a heat shield or splash shields. My gas mileage has even increased since replacing the pump.
Has the water pump ever been replaced? if so how many miles is on the replacement? OEM will only last about 80,000, replacement pumps have lasted about 110,000 for me.

 

waterpump is original...how hard is it to replace?

 

waterpump is original...how hard is it to replace?

Definitely not a DIY job if you dont know much about engines :lol: it involves a fair bit of work and its best that you leave it for when you have your timing belt done and kill two birds with one stone.

Just purchased a replacement water pump from one of our suppliers, ive decided not to go back to the stock one since they dont last very long. My RAV's just hit over 100,000KM so its time for the belt and the pump to be changed.

While im at it, will check the idler bearings as well. (or get my mechanic to do it rather :roll: )

 

well working on cars is my thing. i am a big ford mustang guy and i am very familiar with working on engines. this motor is just new to me so i figured id ask questions before getting my hands dirty.

 

hello everyone this is my first post......

i have a 1997 RAV4 L AWD...... i have some nasty heat shield rattlling that is driving me nuts!!!! its coming from under the engine somewhere......can i just remove all of them? anyone else have the same problem?

thanks
trevor

The first one to go on mine was the one that wraps around the pipe where it passes under the engine on the right side. The two halves had split apart and the clamp was just rattling around on the pipe, sounded like marbles in the muffler. I just put a worm clamp around the two peices to squeeze them back against the pipe, no more problems since.

 

If you are used to working on cars and have been inside them it is not too hard to do. A haynes manual will help you or look at my post in this same forum (D.I.Y) or drop me a pm and I can help you there. I've done three of them on my two RAV's.

 

would this have anything do do with my 4000 rpm rattle and general vibraty grinding noises? Somtimes it sounds like it is supposed to, bur rarely, and the noise at rpm is always there. If it is a heatshield on mine it is comming from one inside the engine compartment. the noise sounds like it is comming fromg the exaust right behind the radiator. HELP! its noisy

 

First thing you must do is do a visual check. Tap your heat shield -if it's loose...you will know. If that aint the problem, jack up the front -if it isn't awd- and have someone put the gear in drive and while you dive under the car looking for the noise. Sometimes intermitent -did I spell it right?- problems are revealed this way.

Hope this helps...

 

Another thing to check is the plastic splash shilds, under the front. If loose, or not mounted proper anymore, than they can rub against the belts. :wink: Also, Toysport has good advise. You'll know if you tap the heat shilds. They should be solid on the exhust, so any motion is a potential noise problem. So, try that first, and let us know the results, we'll try to help ya' :wink:

 

first be sure that the screw are tightened. If you remove the heatshield the hood paint going to fade

When I buy performance headers, does this mean I will have to get a custom heatshield built? Or will my paint be ok?

 

first be sure that the screw are tightened. If you remove the heatshield the hood paint going to fade

Not true. Heat shield prevents excessive heat build up under the hood w/c also helps plastic and rubber parts deteriorate pre-maturely. It also prevents your air filter box from getting hot.

If you're running headers using a short ram intake...bad idea. This will only cause your intake to suck hot air -especially stop and go on a hot summer day. Better to go with cold air intake.

I have a header on both of my cars for quite a while and no sign of fading on my hood.

 

its the heatshield

i can tell you form personaly experience that it is the heatshielding. i have the same problem on my car and i know its not the water pump because i just had my engine rebuilt with a new water pump 10000 miles ago. my occures at about 3850 rpm and it rattles like a sunavabitch. I took off the heatshielding just fore of the cat converter and that helped ALOT. you can take off the rest of of the shielding and buy some exhuast wraps to keep the engine heat down. that is what i am planning on doing, it will sound better, look better and evacuate heat better out of the engine compartment. you can find them at www.performanceproducts.com

 

You should be fime with out them, think about it... how many cars do not have them sstock???


Look under the hood of some turbo cars a lot do not run them, and a turbo manifold/header will glow RED

 

Mine is in the trash, but i live where word percipitation has never been used. However, the desert ate half my Underbody Gaurd, so i just decided to get rid of them.

 

I have a 97 rav4 5 door & i hav a really bad rattle in my engine compartment at 3 and 4000 rpm & while crawling inder my car i found a bolt that was about 5 inches long that was half way unthreaded from my transmission. I believe this bolt was under the splashgaurd. Id definitely hit that bolt with some threadlock if its loose; hard to get to and could destroy your trans if all of your fluids leak out.