strange rattling sound?

rattle sounds either like a loose baffle plate or maybe the cats breaking up depending where the rattle is coming from exactly. Power cable should come into the car on the passenger side behind the fuse box which is located behind the glove box . hard to reach but i used a metal coat hanger to drag it down carefully from behind the fuse box without removing it.

PS does the rattle stop when the clutch is pushed down ?

not sure if it stops when clutch pressed ill check in a min, i find it rattles more when running idle and at certain revs

at first i was thinking the heat sheild but im thinking maybe not cuz of how noisy it is

oh and the noise sounds as though its coming from the front of the car rather than the back almost under my pedals

thats about the area your "cat" is then .. look under the car and bang it and see if it rattles

just pressed the clutch down and it still rattles. ill bang the cat (oo-er) see what happens
and ill post back

ok ive tried hittin the cat and theres no rattle

Hmmm looks like the only way you are going to trace it is to put it up on ramps and start it up and follow the noise. could be something really simple and just a loose bracket or something similar.

i found it only started happening after that big batch of snow we had and i had to drive through some deep snow. could that have caused something to come loose

i guess it could have loosened something a bit .. I think the only answer is to do as i said above with the ramps or failing that one wheel on the curb and slide under that way lol

with the engine off try shaking the exhaust and see if a bracket / mounting has broken (due to deep snow?)
it may also be a pulley thats failing

i will bet its the cat
A friend of mine had the same thing
Rev it up and see if it stops my bet is it will and then starts rattling again on idle

I think it's the cat too. If you've gone through deep snow, the sudden change of temperature of the cat will have probably caused it to break up inside.

Doesn't sound like the cat heat shield but, if it is....I stopped mine by wrapping big section of jubilee clip around each end of cat. Will try get photo for next post.

Sound like a stone rattling round on top o exhaust box or a failing pulley also.

Mine sounded like a nut rolling round inside the exhaust, it was the smaller of the 2 baffles in the cat.

going to try an get the mobile mechanic out to look. the noise stops when im driving at a good speed but comes back when idle or at low revs

just an update i was driving around then suddenly noticed the rattle had gone. anyway i noticed that my car had dropped in performance it struggled upbank and even on straight.

so i rang F1 auto centre and asked them and they said it was defo the cat as the rattling was probs bit bouncing around inside the cat and now they have lodged in the exhaust. i actually rang 4 different garages and they all said the same.

anyway i have booked my car in tomoz for a new cat to be fitted at f1 autocentre and they quoted me £100 all in. which wasnt bad it thinki considering i was quoted £150 by most places
p

..a fall off in power and maybe a slight 'hissing' sound from the exhaust is usually a sign of 'cat meltdown'...

all done car is running sweet cheers for the advice everyone

Hello mate, just read your post. I had the same noise on mine about 6 months ago. Took to my mechanic who removed the cat and shook it and sounded like a handful of spanners in a metal toolbox. Replaced the cat and hey presto - no rattly noise!

Hope this helps, ebay had the best deal at £79, dealer wanted £200!!