just yesterday as i was cruising on the highway otw to work, the engine started to develop a "baap..baap..baap..baap" noise. There was some vibrations at the wheel and when i came to a traffic light stop, the car would go "baap..baap..baap" as if it was like a subaru with those cannons. Acceleration was slow and the vibration got worse. At first i thought it was the tires but when i reached the garage the engine was shaking 'abnormally' and can still hear that "baap..baap..baap.." noise. I thought it might have something to do with the coils or the plug leads or the spark plugs. but all these check out, nothing damaged or broken. the engine mounts were installed last year. Dont have the tools to open up further into the engine so will be taking it to the shop. I took a peek inside the throttle body, clean...the idler motor was good and the cables opening the throttle body was clean, no sign of rust or sticking. I sure hope its something like a transmission mounting bush or something involving the suspension, but even when stationer the engine still shakes. The wheel are balanced with 8month old tires. I'm sure it cant be the tires since tyhe engine make this noise standing still. this morning starting up the car was a shocker as i could feel the firewall being hit with some constant thuds. Like a dwarf with a hammer. I'm worried to drive it along the highway, if something breaks loose or the vibrations get worse. Checked the pulleys and belts. none of them were seized. Will let u know wat seems to be the problem. has anyone had this problem?
My bimmer sounded like that when I had a sticking lifter and rocker arm... So +1 on what stocky said.
yeah pretty much what happened to me. i also thought "hmm, sounds like a wrx". one of my rocker bolts had loosened a bit, and from memory, caused a valve to get stuck open. noise sounded like an exhaust leak at first, then got louder until the engine died.
Solved!!! Actually it was combination of items that were causing the sounds and the vibrations. VIBRATIONS... When i first checked on the engine i had put back the spark plug cables. When i took them off again all 4 cables had cracks in them. Previously i had checked the engine mounts and the transmission mounts, bushings so i was sure it wasnt them going faulty. the wheels were also balanced. but upon startup the engine was vibrating abnormally inside the engine bay. The silicone (silly?) cone dust boots at the engine side of the spark plugs cables had given up the fight to heat. All 4 had cracks and the one leading to cylinder number three was exposed. Upon trying to reinstall the cable the connector snapped. I changed back to the original BOSCH plug cables since they have the meatl heat shields over the plug cables and the cylinders fired up fine. However the ignition pack on the left side of the car paid the price for the voltage geeting fedback to it. The car engine still wasnt running smoothly. Changing the ignition pack to a new one made the engine run soooo quietly...and the power was back on again. Took it for a test drive and remembered that this was how the car felt like when it was new. To be very sure i checked the injector plugs, no signs of corrosion or cracks. The fuel pump is still new, no leaks in any hoses in the engine bay. Cost me some coin to fix the problem but once i took the time to eliminate every single possible cause of the fault, i understood the car better. SOUNDS... While i had the car jacked up, one of the exhaust pipes had a tiny crack near the CAT. Putting my hand around it when the engine was running i could feels exhaust gases spewing through it. I dont want to ghetto fix-it so by this week i will have the crack to be patched up by a welder. At least the vibrations have gone totally, but as much as i like the 'baap...baap...baap" wrx sound, i'd prefer a silent ride
