[alfa] Rattle when cold or hard accel... culprit & solution?

[Don Banfield <banfield@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi Folks,
	I have had a rattle from my 88 spider veloce for a while now, and
its bugging me enough to do something about it.  I'd like your collective
wisdom on what it really is and how best to fix it.

	The rattle is from the general vicinity of the engine, and only
happens when the engine is cold and while braking or accelerating, or when
it is fully warmed up, only when accelerating hard.  It really sounds to
me like the oil pan is hitting against the oil pan guard, but I'm not
declaring it as such, since I don't want to rule out any possibilities.
I HAVE looked at the clearance between the guard and the pan, and it is
very tight, but they don't touch in a static situation.

	The oil pan guard doesn't look to be bent at all.  I don't know
the age of my motor/tranny mounts.  I've owned the car for 2 years.
They're at least that old.  The fan is not hitting the shrowd, but it
looks like it might have in the past (judging by the radiator, and the
missing fan blade that I replaced last year).  The tranny mount has some
play, but the engine mounts don't seem to be saggy, but maybe I'm not
comparing carefully enough.

	Q1:  Are there any other culprits I should look into other than
the oil pan and its guard?  Any suggestions on ruling them in/out?

	Q2:  Would the mounts soften, but not sag, allowing the rattle?

	Q3:  Would the tranny mount alone explain the problem?

	Q4:  Assuming I need to replace all three mounts, can someone give
me a short set of hints to make it easiest?


	Thanks alot!

	Don Banfield


Don Banfield					Senior Research Associate
banfield@domain.elided                   Cornell University Astronomy
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