ARod's 01GT

Well I took my 01 out to the track for the first time this year and the very first pass of the day my check engine light comes on. While I was headed back to the pits I hear this weird clapping sound coming from what sounds to be the motor. It sounds like metal clapping together very fast and only does it while I'm moving. But mainly when I'm on the gas. Its not very loud at all but it did seem to get louder and louder on my way home. I cannot recreate the sound without the car being in gear and in motion and it seemed to go away once the clutch is pushed all the way to the floor. Now I don't know what clutch is in it and I'm not sure how old it is but I do know the throw out bearing chirps all the time and it has since I bought the car. However I've made many passes on the clutch without any problems. So on the way home I stopped at the local AutoZone to have them check for codes and all that showed up was I believe he said running lean in bank one or something to that effect. Said its probably just a bad o2 sensor but erased it and it hasn't came back on. Its been like 10 miles.

So I'm just wondering if you guys have any idea what it could be. I'm hoping maybe just chatter from the clutch and the CEL was something entirely different. Thanks for any and all help in advance and sorry post is long. Tried to explain as much of the issue and background info as i figured was needed.

v braaten

Sounds like maybe one of the straps of friction material came loose in the clutch and is flapping with rotation. Do you have any trouble getting it into any gear? Does it ever pop out of gear?

Frostbitten

could just be an exhaust leak, but i would change the oil an check for metal pieces

cliffyk

Both good suggestions, without actually hearing the noise it's tough to diagnose.

One suggestion, when you have Autozone or whomever check the codes, write-down the exact codes that were read, not their sales person's interpretation of the code. Typically scan tools provide generic descriptions of codes that can be misleading and you end up replacing a good part only to find the problem persists.

Or sensor codes are a good example, there are at least 12-15 DTCs that are either directly related, or mention the O2 sensors--at least 1/2 of which indicate a good O2 sensor reporting a problem. The FLAPS guy will say "Oh, it's probably an O2 sensor." and you end up wasting time and money.

Here's a link to my DTC lookup page, with symptoms and possible causes.

crider4_6

pull the valve covers and ck for metal there could be timing chain guids there is plastic on the guids and when the plastic wares out it metal to metal time for timing chain guides ???

ARod's 01GT

No I havent had any trouble whatsoever with the clutch or transmission. Always shifted fine without ever popping out

I just changed the oil less then a week ago and only had about 15 miles on the new oil. Everything looked fine when it drained out. I did check it out again today though and nothing seemed out of the ordinary. However I do have an exhaust leak on passenger side where the header bolts up to the pipe coming down(sorry for not knowing the correct names) but I've had the for about a month and never noticed the clapping before. Could is just be me being able to hear the sounds of the engine from the leak because that would be an easy fix.

That's a good point. I wasn't able to go back and have it checked again so I can write the exact code down but maybe I can tomorrow because there already closed.



I was thinking about pulling the valve covers off just to have a look at everything because it is getting up there in miles. Probably check all that out this weekend. Well thanks for all the pointers and helpful advice. Hopefully I can figure this out and it's just something stupid.