julong
Probationary Member
- 2
- 0
- Feb 12, 2026
-
Sacramento,
California
Hey all, trying to figure out what this sound could possibly be from on my 98 Eclipse GS.
The video was taken from the front passenger side foot well and I’m sort of confused about what could be the issue. I recently brought the car into a shop to have the sound diagnosed and they called me back saying it was failing rod bearings. I called another shop shortly after and they specialize in working with Japanese cars and they told me that many people have came into their shop saying the same thing (previous shop told them they had bad rod bearings) and when they’d bring in their cars it would end up being a shot timing belt tensioner.
I feel like that might be the case here as the rattling cuts off around 3.5k-4k rpm but I’m not too sure myself. Previous owner did replace the timing belt but never said anything about the tensioner or water pump so maybe a mix of those? On the other hand the car drives very smooth and shifts good so it’s giving me mixed signals
.
Has anyone dealt with this before with their DSM? Is my engine on the verge of committing seppuku? any suggestions or help would be greatly appreciated
The video was taken from the front passenger side foot well and I’m sort of confused about what could be the issue. I recently brought the car into a shop to have the sound diagnosed and they called me back saying it was failing rod bearings. I called another shop shortly after and they specialize in working with Japanese cars and they told me that many people have came into their shop saying the same thing (previous shop told them they had bad rod bearings) and when they’d bring in their cars it would end up being a shot timing belt tensioner.
I feel like that might be the case here as the rattling cuts off around 3.5k-4k rpm but I’m not too sure myself. Previous owner did replace the timing belt but never said anything about the tensioner or water pump so maybe a mix of those? On the other hand the car drives very smooth and shifts good so it’s giving me mixed signals
. Has anyone dealt with this before with their DSM? Is my engine on the verge of committing seppuku? any suggestions or help would be greatly appreciated
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