Flapping Rattle Vibration Noise At 55Mph And Up, Underneath Front Pass

[afdish]

I have a 1999 RAV4 4cyl with 124,000 miles. I am dealing with a flappy rattle vibration noise that starts at 50mph and gets worse at faster speeds. We thought it was the plastic engine guard that protects a fan belt pulley. Figured that 6 years in the desert had degraded the plastic, weakening it, allowing it to flap up and down due to wind speed when driving at 50mph or more. We replaced the guard panel last night. Still have the noise today, so obviously that was not it.

I've had a really low minor non-metal rattle in that area for over a year. To me, it sounded like the wheel well panel was loose. My husband (who is a mechanic dealing with generators, lift carts, light carts, etc), looked at it and didn't find anything. He was not worried about it, so I figured it was just an aging car noise. About a year ago, I had the timing belt and water pump replaced. Two months ago I get new tires on the RAV. Immediately the noise got worse. And I had a bad vibration. Took it back to the tire place, and they found that a rear tire had a defect. So they replaced it. vibration went away, but the noise did not.

Any one else have experience with this issue? Any ideas what it might be?

I poked around on the forums and saw someone mentioned they had a loose nut on a tie rod. I don't know enough about it to know if that might be it or not.

My beloved RAV is also in need of new shocks. That is the next project.

[Offroadster]

Hi, I had a similar issue a while back. Have you checked underneath the Rav ? For me it was the guard underneath the car protecting the engine from dirt, stones etc. Some of the fastners had comme away, I just used tyewraps to hold it in place.

[bothwell_buyer]

On the 4.1 RAV, there's a metal heat shield on the top of the manifold which corrodes and its mountings break/go loose. Have a look at that when the engine is cold. Broken exhaust mount might be another.

Generally the suspension parts are pretty solid - altho the bushes wear.

I'd tend to look at the simple bits first and then progress.... so inner wheel protectors; (which I think you've done); the brake dustshields corrode and when they start breaking up lead to noises;...have you tried driving at 50mph with your husband lying underneath holding onto the front sway bar??

The shock absorvers are a relatively easy fix. The rear ones are dead simple - and the front ones can be replaced without having to replace the whole strut. Adjustable shocks may still be available - Konis were available in the UK until recently.

Once you've served the sentence for man-slaughter, come back and tell us if he found the fault and whether he managed to fix it before falling off? ( ) Good luck. If I was nearer wherever you stay, I'd volunteer myself.