Picked up a new 2005 Silverstone.Black about 2 weeks ago now - loving it, and i think i got a good deal buying in the Seattle winter :-)

Driving my girlfriend's Forester now feels like driving a school bus.

Quick question on what seems to be either a drivetrain or tranmission noise.

With the clutch in - _no_ noise,

With the engine warmed after a drive and clutch out a metallic whirring sound almost like a marble spinning smoothly in a tin (not a rattle like a Ducati dry clutch).

This noise is audible while driving as a hollow metallic sound under the beautiful engine note - seems to be quieter when i am really on the gas and at 4.5k or so is completely drowned out by the engine noise itself. Particularly noticeable at low engine revs.

Is this a normal sound for the S2000? - still trying to familarize myself with all the sounds - the car sounds more like my motorbike than like my outgoing Acura TSX :-)

Cheers

A

2005 S2000 Silverstone/Black
2001 Triumph SpeedTriple 955i

 

i cant really dignosis what is exactly wrong with description u gave....
but u said ur car sounds like bike more than ur outgoing TSX
that is damn correct dont expect the S2000 ride quality to be silent and comfy like ur TSX.....

 

the car sounds more like my motorbike than like my outgoing Acura TSX :-)

 

Hmmm. My 04's tranny makes funny noises when COLD. It also has difficulty shifting into 1st. All these problems disappear completely when the car warms up.

I wouldn't worry too much about it, but having the dealer check it out may be a safe bet.

This car of ours is a bit eccentric at times, but I attribute it to its "character." You'll get used to many of the noises. Enjoy...it is loads of fun.

 

There is another lengthy thread about the "sound of marbles". Describing sounds and interpreting sounds is a very hard thing to do in print. What you describe as the "sound of marbles" may not be anything like what is described in that other thread.

Base on your first quoted statement and because you have a brand new car, I would suggest that what you hear are the normal sounds that our tranny makes when you engage the clutch and spin all those gears and shafts around. However, just to be on the safe side, have the dealer listen and perhaps check the tranny fluid level.
ps. I have heard a similar noise when going from clutch in to clutch out in neutral (idling) on my own car and on an '01 of a friend. I think that when you use the term "sound of marbles", everyone gets all worked up about it because this is more like what a really bad bearing sounds like. I would prefer to use the term "gear whirring" because I think that's all it is.

 

Hi Jozza
I also have an 05. I will listen closly this morning when starting out to compare to your discription of sound. I've never heard any alarming or unusal clutch/ trany sounds before. Yes, shifting is tricky until everything is warmed up a bit. Congrats on the purchase.

 

Did not hear any tumbling marble noise.

 

For the record, IMO the '04-'05 trannys do sound different than the earlier cars. They sound more "whirry" and actually remind me of the TSX manual tranny! There are more similarities! The clutch effort and feel, and a similar "slower" revving (slower than the earlier cars). I'd say what you are hearing is normal, but it never hurts to go to the dealer and let you salesguy let you listen to another new car before you put it into service.

 

hey you are rite shifting is very tricky when the car is cold! u have to work something out here. You will get use to it ... and u will eentually firgure out how to shift when the car is cold !! ~

 

thanks for all the input - i did some more driving today in the incessant seattle drizzle, and some more surfing on the board.

the noise at idle is really hardly noticeable and i'm pretty sure is just the tranny spinning its input shaft

the metallic noise (more of a whirring) i believe is related to shifting and clutch engagement as it is louder when i do a slower up shift and don't give the car enough revs. i am going via the dealer on Monday so they can listen i don't hold out much hope of any sense from them though :-).

the net result is i think i am just getting used to sitting next to a transmission :-)

part of me actually wants to quit the investigation and paranoia and just get back to enjoying the car.

WHAT A CAR - this one is insane - my only regret is not doing this about 5 years ago - throttle/shift/throttle/shift/throttle reminds me so much of my two wheeler - this car has muscle and sinew :-)

A