Sorry to be a bore, and I know there are hundreds of things that can rattle on a Z but i'm going nuts with this one. Had to post on the off chance that someone may have come accross this before. I know that trying to explain a rattle is really difficult but i'll give it a shot!

I drive a '04 Roadster with 42,000 miles the only work that's been done recently was the fuel line recall work. The rattle started not long after that. It seems that when I accelerate in the 2-5000 rpm range I get a rattle it sounds almost like what I would image a small rock would sound like if it was caught under the rear wheel arch permanently (oh and I checked for that, not it). It starts out rather loud in that RPM range and then quietens at higher speed to nothing. it sounds as if it is on the passenger side rear of the vehicle. The right exhaust tail pipe is pretty solid and the left has a little play in it. My first thought was an exhaust mounting thingy but my local garage says they checked it and all was fine. So I'm left pondering...I post this in the hope that someone might have had the same issue or know of common items on this model that rattle in the rear. As i'm about to strip the rear end down to locate the issue. So I thought id ask the question first before I take drastic measures.

Cheers

 

check the rear exhaust hangers.

The exhaust hanger on the exhaust slides into a rubber garmount that is connected to the frame of the car. If the exhaust is off positioned slightly the exhaust hanger can angle upward and push up against the frame of the car that the rubber garmount is attached too. I had to grind down the metal extension that the rubber garmount is attached to. This is very hard to find, it rattled for months before i found it. When i had the car in the air and banged on the exhaust tips with a rubber mallet i COULD NOT hear any metal to metal contact... i was pissed because it was still rattling. But when the car was on the ground and the suspension was supressed the exhaust amazingly had a metal to metal contact when pounding things out. Give it a shot, can't hurt, just go down the exhaust and tap it lightly with a rubber mallet, anything metal to metal will ding.

 

I will be sure to give it a try, thanks for the tip. I will post back if it works. Here's to hoping...!

 

Ok so, when the vehicle was taken in to the dealer for the fuel line recall, they dislodged the handbrake/emergancy brake cable and it was loose so they re-attached it and all is fine and dandy! so if you are experiencing a similar issue, be sure to check it!

Thanks for your input.

BB