Chevy Tahoe, Cold-start rattle in exhaust

Yep thats not heat shields. Is ATF fuild low????
Check Power Steering fluid too.

All fluid levels are correct, transmission shifts fine. No more time to mess with it today, I will report back when I get another chance to crawl under it.

You've probably checked all the obvious--BUT--check starter/bendix---it sounds tinny to me also. Hell, if worse comes to worse, at least you've got Ivan's JD lawn tractor

freetown fred wrote:at least you've got Ivan's JD lawn tractor

Dam right. That is the only piece of equipment I own with no known problems at the moment. Too bad it doesn't have a heated cab.

You're creative--you & lil Ivan just need to nail together a little dog box w/ windshield for her

Any chance the tailpipe is up against the frame or something else.MyF-250 has that rattle also,all I do is kick the tailpipe or turn up the radio.

Wouldn't that be nice--I had a hellasish ratttle on my 90 1500 & had a hell of a time finding the rattle--exhaust makes that sound travel all over--I was lucky--my cat. conv. shield was just about falling off so I just finished the job--I could never see it or zero in on the sound--a neighbor found it helping me put new pads on the front--

This morning I started the Tahoe on the ramps...and it was whisper quiet! Dam thing...it was due for an oil change anyway, so I started in on that. While I was waiting for the oil to drain I looked around real carefully for anything loose. I discovered that the transmission cooler lines were loose in the bracket, and touching on another right below the bell housing. I fixed the bracket, and slipped a piece of split fuel hose around one line. So far so good, but the next cold morning will be the real test.

OUTSTANDING so far---fingers crossed

How did that work out for ya? The 93 Ranger started rattling a couple years ago. It was really apparent when I was next to a concrete barrier at a dead stop at a toll booth or crawling at 2mph on a crowded NJ highway. Barriers reflected the sound up to me to remind me of my negligence. finally got under there and it was the upper cat heat sheild. It was hanging on by one spot weld so I just easily took it off. Never got to the repair and the heat sheild sits in the shop in plain sight to remind me of my laziness. Then the bottom sheild started rattling up some big noise. I let it go for a couple weeks because I knew what it was. BS (Before Sandy), I got under there and in the ultimate cheap repair, I jammed a piece of 3/4" gravel between the cat and the sheild hahahahha. Semi-proper repair would have been to jam a genuine Ford nut in there. Proper repair would be a couple tacks with the 3/32" stick rod I just got.

Hey Dann, as luck would have it I got a letter in the mail last week from GM. Apparently there is a recall on our Tahoe because the transmission dipstick tube can fracture at the transmission and make a rattling noise. That is the general area I hear the noise, so I hope that is the culprit. I have an appointment with the dealership next week and will report back.

warning.....i did not read the whole thread, sorry if this has been ruled out. but,....

the chevrolet 5.3 is Notorious for rattling.. there is a TSB on it and it is deemed "normal" by GM they call it "piston slap" and say it is caused by the flat top pistons they use. my silverado with a 5.3 has done it on start up (especially when cold) for as long as ive owned it. i purchased it with 50,000 miles and have clocked another 100,000 on top of that. It sounds almost like a rod knocking and mine also has some valve noise too, which is another common complaint with the 5.3. i was told by a GM technician (who i trust) not to worry about the valve noise either unless it is running rough or missing, which it is not.

i hope this helps, and if it does not i hope you find your problem soon (and its cheep to fix)

here is some good info on what i was talking about.


http://www.chevyavalanchefanclub.com/cafcna/index.php?topic=4450.0;wap2

[/youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Aaz5wNM3vI&sns=em[/youtube]

also recently had another rattle that turned out to be 2 of my skid plate bolts loose. tightened them up ant (that) rattle went away

Rob R. wrote:Hey Dann, as luck would have it I got a letter in the mail last week from GM. Apparently there is a recall on our Tahoe because the transmission dipstick tube can fracture at the transmission and make a rattling noise. That is the general area I hear the noise, so I hope that is the culprit. I have an appointment with the dealership next week and will report back.

Recall complete. The dipstick tube in our Tahoe was not broken, so they installed a foam sleeve over it as a preventative measure. Cold-start rattle is still there, so I guess I will schedule another appointment in the near future.