Truck is making a metallic clinking noise when accelerating only but not all the time. No lights are on and it just passed inspection 3 weeks ago. Could the heat shield be the cause?
You could crawl under the car or ask a mechanic to check it for you.
Yes, it could be the heat shield, but because noises are difficult to describe in words, I see another possibility. “Pinging” or “spark knock” is frequently described as the sound of a few pebbles rattling in tin can.
Is it possible that you are hearing that type of noise?
I’m pretty sure I know the problem but that’s why I asked the question, u know, avoid having to take it in. I can usually hold my own when it comes to fixing my cars.
It sounds just like a baseball card in a bike wheel. It’s not all the time and like I said, only when accelerating. Everyone is so quick to say cv joint but I know it’s not. My hood is stuck so I’m going to have to get a new jack in the morning and see what’s going on under there. Any suggestions?
My Corolla’s hood latch stuck shut a few months ago. I had to crawl under the front of the car and look up at the latch area to see how the cable release was routed. Then I had a helper set the release from the driver’s seat while I pulled on the cable with a pair of needle nose pliers from below, while manipulating the latch release lever at the hood. Somehow that eventually worked. Once I got the hood up, lubing the latch mechanism fixed the problem. I’m guessing your clinking noise is the engine is pinging. Too wide of spark plug gap is a common cause.
Well, if it sounds like a baseball card in a bike wheel, then I think you can probably rule-out a loose heat shield. My prime suspects would be a bad wheel bearing or cv joint, even though the noise that you describe is atypical for those problem areas.