Rattling noise !!

Hey Guyz! I have a rattling noise that seems to present itself whenever i throttle to about 3000 rpm. I cant quite pin-point its location though.
I heard the rattling after a cold start as well. In gears 1 and 2 the rattling is very pronounced, but lightens as I increase rpm's.
Ive checked oil levels, the exhaust manifolds, and looked for anything loose that would rattle. Nothing. Any suggestions guys? Ps. 16,000 odometer reading. Thx in advance for the input.

 

Baffles in mufflers, baffles in collector box, Center stand against pipe(rubber pad missing) Tank pads ? Have someone ride beside you .

 

Thx Toomanybikes! How does a " lone" rider approach diagnosis? For example, the "baffle" suggestion? Ps. Hoping it's one of ur suggestions and not an engine issue.

 

car with window open .

record sound with cel phone video . sweep the phone across the bike when riding. you will see where the sound gets loudest

older phone tied to a stick incase you drop it

 

Thx xj550! Cut the bike on this morning and heard the rattling around the right baffle area. I made a video but cant upload( too large). Next move?

 

Update: You were right. It's coming from the right baffle area.( Heard it loudly after a cold start.) Next move?

 

My legs and arms are pretty long, so I can reach quite a way.......

here’s what I do to check things:
Put the bike on the center stand and put it in neutral
Walk around the bike and thump the mufflers with the side of your fist. If it’s a baffle you’ll hear it rattle quick enough. Keep thumping until you can pin point it. If it rattles when you thump the muffler, you know it’s a loose baffle inside. That’ would be either the tube that connects to the end of the muffler, or the tube that’s right at the ‘in’ side of the muffler right after the gasket.it’s possible, though unlikely, that it would be the collector box. Those are a welded unit, but yeah, they. Can have welds break. It could also be a broken exhaust pipe.....again, unlikely. But possible......the inner pipe can break or separate from the outer pipe——-yes, they are double-wall.

If that doesn’t narrow it down, my bet is that it’s the right side heatshield that is coming loose. Often one of the clamps, or one of the welds breaks, and start making a NASTY vibration that will make you think your engine is about to grenade.
Start the bike and increase rpms til the buzzing/rattling starts
Hold t that rpm and then use a toe to press against the heat shields on the side-saddle the bike. If the noise stops, you know it’s a loose heat shield. I do one of two things for that.....I’ve slipped a heavy piece of shoe leather in in , and I’ve also just slightly flexed it farther out so it doesn’t rattle. Best thing would be to tack-weld it back in place, though.....unless it’s just that a bolt came loose, in which case just tighten it back up.

dfox

 

Remove the muffler and see if the loose part is visibly flopping around . Pull it out or twist it and reinstall and maybe the rattling goes away

 

Thx hogfiddles! I hvnt gotten bac 2 bike yet. I'll hitchu bac w/ update whn i do.

 

Gotchu. Hitchu bac whn i remove it.

 

Put a big magnet on the silencer on different places and see of the rattling stops? Well next time. it may work.

 

Ok Toomanybikes! Muffler removed. ( def the problem) I hear alot of debris inside of it whn i shake it. Its not coming out however. How do i get the debris out of it? Do u think the debris is responsible for the rattling? Shook most of it out. Reconnected. Rattle not as pronounced but still present. . Ps. The debris looks like broken screen.

 

Here’s how I empty my mufflers——
-Hold it between my hand Horizontally like grabbing a chin-up bar

-shake it side to side then in circles like making steam engine train wheels

- now lift an tip to the left so it’s vertical, shake up and down.... a little stuff should fall out of the end , then swing over to the right Til it’s vertical, shake up and down.... stuff should fall out the other end.

-repeat repeat repeat... L,R,L,R etc.... circles , L,R, etc...

- you have to get the ‘crumbs’ to fly up an into the exit or entrance pipe in order to fall out.

it usually takes me up to 10 minutes before all loos stuff seems to be out, and I have a pile of rusty debris on the floor.

If you need a video of that, I’ll do it

 

No video needed. Removed both baffles , shook em free of debris, replaced them, nn started the bike , only 2 STILL hear the rattling! Soundz like its coming from around the center stand area. ( everything seems to b in order there). Its def not coming from the engine either. Looks like ima hv 2 remove the entire exhaust system to target the issue. Any alternate suggestion(s)? Ps. I hear rattle ONLY whn im revving.

 

Check the heat shields yet?
Check for anything else loose near the stand?

 

Wut r heatshields? Dont c anything loose in that area. Ps. Found em. Ima check em in a few.

 

How about the rear mount on collector box??

 

Heat shields are the chrome pieces on the sides of the collector box. Very common for them to get loose

 

Checked the shields. They r solid..

 

Then we continue looking.

 

I

 

center stand tight and solid. springs may be getting slack,is the rubber bumper still there.

 

Ima check

Heres a video of rattle. Also pic of center stand.

 

About the center stand. It looks like its missin both a bolt nn rubber. ( check photos) Think it's the culprit? Check out the sound of the rattle:

 

Do you have a mechanics stethoscope? They are inexpensive and useful for pinpointing the location of noises.

 

No I dont. I'll look in2 it.

 

Showing my nerd here, but if you have Apple AirPods or some but not all of the Beats headphones, there is a "Live Listen" feature, which will turn your iPhone into a remote mic, that you can hold and move around under the bike to possibly pin point the location of the noise. Stethoscope-ish.

 

I believe the problem lies in The Collector box. Here's why? I remove the entire exhaust unit. I then started to bike. N rattle. I then replaced all four headers. Started the bike. No rattle. Yesterday I removed each baffle. Started to bike. I still heard the rattle. The only thing remaining is the collector box. Which upon removal, looked corroded! It's corroded to the extent to where it started to fall apart when I was removing the headers therefrom. After reinstalling the entire unit I am still left with the same rattle, coming from the same vicinity(Around The the collector box) Do I have to order a different collector? Or , is there something else that can b don to remedy this problem? Thx for the guidance in advance.

 

Ml

Update: I purchase the stethoscope. It appears the problem lies within the collector box. The box is so corroded that it started to fall apart when I was removing the headers therefrom. I didnt hear a rattle when I removed the entire exhaust unit. I replaced all of the headers. Started the bike. No rattle. Remove the baffles. Still heard rattling. As they were connected to the Collector. It's definitely my collector box. So do I have to purchase a new one? or is there some other way to remedy this problem?

 

If the corrosion is that bad you are probably better getting another one, you don't want it giving you problems on the road. Mabe one of the forum members has one that will fit your bike. Stethoscope is handy and can locate noises quickly. I use it on engine bearings, injectors on my old car too.

 

Thx.But wut is it in the collector causing the rattle? Can I repair it?

 

Hey! Toomanybikes! Can I get a response from u? Believe the problem lies in the collector. As I removed the entire exhaust system. Reconnected the headers alone. No rattle. Removed baffles. Rattle present. Which leaves the badly corroded collector. Which started breaking upon header removal. I dont hear anything inside of it though. Where could the rattle b coming frm inside the collector? Can I repair it? Or, do I need another one?

 

Not sure what's in them some kind of baffles which have broken loose. Do you have a welder. One of the guys had a baffle that was loose. He cut a small opening in the collector welded the loose baffle to the outer part. Someone may know where it was posted.

 

Is is possible the part that started breaking up was rattling? Just because you cannot hear it rattling now.

 

Nah Franz! Its still rattling! There was nothing loose in the collector that i could hear, but i kno its the collector.

 

https://www.xjbikes.com/forums/threads/1982-xj750-seca-ongoing.118087/page-6

Starts at page 6, post 106

 

How do i find it?

 

Oops, added link above