Okay, so i know this topic has been discussed numerous times, but from reading all the threads i believe everyone's issues are different and not related. Someone will say they get this clatter sound at startup, and then others chime in and say they have the same sound when depressing the clutch while driving. I think the 2 issues are unrelated sounds mainly because i have the sound and i'm 5AT.

So all and all it seems to be a common issue. It -only- happens for about half a second right after the engine fires and -only- at cold startups (if the car has been sitting for like 6-8 hours). Oil is regularly changed @ 3500 miles, 5W30 conventional. At startup, even in the summer, I let the car idle until Rpms settle below 1k before driving. It's an 05' with currently 47,000 miles, been making the noise since 30,000.

To explain the sound, literally the best word is clatter. It sounds similar to a car battery being almost dead and your holding the key trying to start it. So for a moment i thought maybe its the starter but then that wouldn't make sense as it doesn't ever do it if the car is @ operational temp or even recently running for a few seconds.

I'm leaning towards it just being lifter noise, or timing chain, since the engine is cold and it takes the oil about a second to get there. The motor runs perfectly fine, not ever a sound otherwise.

Anyone ever able to pinpoint this?

 

Hey dude,

Does the sound that you experience briefly upon initial start-up resemble anything like the noise found in this KA24DE video? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-cSA4ZwOri0

It seems as though the top chain guide is the culprit behind the timing chain noise heard in the video so perhaps you should inspect yours as well?

 

Yeaaaa, im listening on an iphone but it kinda sounds just like that, but its literally just like half a second then its gone. I can live with the sound as long as it wont damage anything, been doing it for 17K so far. But if the guide broke and lays on top of the chain wouldn't it constantly make the sound like it does in this video?

 

The engine has three chain tensioners that takes up normal wear. They're supposed to hold their positions so the chains won't go slack when the engine is stopped for a long time. It sounds like one (or more) of them in your engine isn't holding its position like it's supposed to.

When the oil pressure builds up right after the engine is started, the tensioner works normally, and the noise goes away.

I suppose if the chains wear a lot, there's a remote possibility they could jump timing during startup, and that could be really bad.