Heat shield rattling and another noise...

Hi,

I was wondering if there is a common heat shield that normally breaks? It'd be nice to narrow it down. Also, my car (in the engine bay area) tends to make a high-pitched squealing type of noise during acceleration when the motor is cold (for the first few seconds/minutes during driving). It kind of sounds like two metal parts are rubbing against one another. What could this be? It's pretty annoying.

Thanks for your suggestions/comments.

Subscribed, having same issues.

There are several heat shields along the exhaust system, and none is more likely than another to rattle. You'll just have to get under there and see. Get it up on jack stands, make sure you are in neutral or park, start the car, and have someone get in and slowly increase the RPMs. A loose heat shield will rattle at some particular RPM.

As for the squealing, it is likely one of your belt tensioners or pulleys. Easy DIY to replace them. To find out which one is the culprit, get a mechanics stethoscope and carefully place the pickup end near each of the pulleys.

Thanks ixtoxi, your information is useful! And to Chris, what a beautiful color E46 you have! I hope you figure out your issues!

Thanks man! And me too! Starting to drive me crazy

I am trying to pinpoint this myself. It really sounds like metal lines rattling but goes away after a few minutes. It's not always present each start up so it's been hard to track down .

It always seems to act up worst when I am showing someone the car or taking them for a ride. It's only noticable probably once every 20 startups. If it was chronic I could track it down.