mc2

I just purchased a 2003 berlina s2k with 10K miles on it..

I have one question i can't tell if its normal or not but when i start the car up RIGHT after it fires up i get this kind of clunk sound.. i cant really describe it but it sounds mechanical.

The best way i can describe the sound is when you are starting a normal car which uses a key and you don't hold the key long enough in the crank position and the car just barely catches. That's the best way i could describe it..

at first i thought i wasn't holding the start button down long enough but i noticed that it doesnt make any difference. Once the car is on the button is irrelevant..

Is the sound normal ?

TIA

Wisconsin S2k

if you hold the button down after the car is started (in other words, you hold it down TOO long) it's going to make that "crunch/grind" noise. just like if you try to 'start' a car with a key that's already started.

slalom44

When you start your car, are you in gear or in neutral? It is common to get a "clunk" feel/sound when you put it in gear after starting a cold engine. Maybe you're taking up the slack in the tranny by starting the car in gear with the clutch depressed.

Personally, I always start my car in Neutral.

mc2

The car is in neutral when I start up.

I can

ExOdy

Is the car all stock? Could be possible that an exhaust pipe is hitting the frame from the vibrations of starting up the car.

mc2

Yup, car is prett much all stock.

It sounds like the engine. It doesn't sound like something is actually hitting something. Its very difficult to describe the noise. It's not so much a clunk, it's a dull hollow sound.

jasonjm

Have a local S2k'er come by and check it.

mc2

Good Idea 

I think I will try that.

I have considered taking it to the dealership as well but I don

Race Miata

I think I know what it sounds like. It doesn't feel like metal hitting metal, but more like banging a huge rubber-face mallet on the chassis, right? My car does that and I've felt some other (if not all) S2ks do it. When I first felt it in mine, I thought the engine/difff mounts were shot. After careful inspection and noticing no wheel-hop or extra engine vibration and also noticing other S2ks do the same, I believe it's no big deal.

mc2

Yes, that