Excessive exhaust crackling in idle?

tibor370 · 08-25-2021, 05:17 PM

Hi guys,

Here is what my car sounds like in idle when fully warmed up (after a 40 minute drive).

Is it normal for the exhaust to crackle this much? The crackles go away if I give it a little bit of gas, which presumably causes the exhaust to warm up a little for a short while. Then after a few seconds the crackling starts again.

abm89 · 08-25-2021, 06:45 PM

I'm going to take a guess and say that's a blown catalytic converter or resonator. No way for me to tell 100% unfortunately.

tibor370 · 08-25-2021, 06:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by abm89

I'm going to take a guess and say that's a blown catalytic converter or resonator. No way for me to tell 100% unfortunately.

I should probably add, that this ticking noise only happens once the car has warmed up. So it's clearly related to heat. It's the same noise that the exhaust makes when you turn off the car and the exhaust makes a ticking noise when cooling down. But my car makes a lot of these ticking sounds when it's warmed up and idling. As I said, as soon as I give it a bit of gas or when driving the ticking is not there. Just when idling after the exhaust has warmed up.

I would imagine that a bad catalytic converter or resonator would cause issues all the time, especially when driving/revving the car and not just in idle once the car is warm?

CeeCab705 · 08-25-2021, 08:20 PM

No engine codes? Any stumbles while driving?

tibor370 · 08-25-2021, 08:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CeeCab705

No engine codes? Any stumbles while driving?

Nope, no codes and the car drives fine and sounds fine as well.

CeeCab705 · 08-25-2021, 11:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tibor370

Nope, no codes and the car drives fine and sounds fine as well.

Did you do anything to the exhaust recently?

tibor370 · 08-26-2021, 06:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CeeCab705

Did you do anything to the exhaust recently?

Nope, the car is completely stock.

Would be nice to get some replies from other owners confirming whether their cars make these ticking noises when idling (once fully warmed up) or not. That's all I need to know. If it's not a normal sound for the 370z to make when idling, I'm just going to take it to the shop to have the problem diagnosed.

JARblue · 08-26-2021, 07:55 PM

Mine definitely used to tick after warmup. But probably not quite that much. No clue if it's still doing it. I've gotten rid of the cats and exhaust but with the new pipes, I wouldn't be able to hear it at all.

CeeCab705 · 08-26-2021, 10:30 PM

Wish I could help but mine stopped doing that once I had put a few thousand miles on the new exhaust. I know it did it when cooling down but dont remember if it did it while idling.

POS VETT · 08-27-2021, 06:06 AM

I agree that it's not a normal sound. My '11 has aftermarket exhaust and when it had stock exhaust, I don't recall it made that kind of noise.

JLarson · 08-27-2021, 08:44 AM

Could possibly be a failing gasket allowing an exhaust leak.

HttpRyxn · 07-20-2022, 01:48 PM

My Stock 2009 370Z With 51K miles Does this exact thing, I'm not sure If you found a solution but mine does crackle when it's warmed up and at idle like this. I've been concerned but no codes, drives great, so I'm not sure If its just a normal noise or something it's broken. Hoping someone has more insight on this

filip00 · 07-20-2022, 04:34 PM

My stock exhaust crackled very often and noticeable, I usually noticed it just after I turned the car off. With the new catback invidia gemini, it almost doesn't crackle at all. I suspect it's perfectly normal for stock exhaust.

08-25-2021, 05:17 PM	#1 (permalink)
tibor370 Base Member Join Date: Jul 2019 Location: Europe Posts: 18 Drives: 2011 370z M6 Sport Rep Power: 6	Excessive exhaust crackling in idle? Hi guys, Here is what my car sounds like in idle when fully warmed up (after a 40 minute drive). Is it normal for the exhaust to crackle this much? The crackles go away if I give it a little bit of gas, which presumably causes the exhaust to warm up a little for a short while. Then after a few seconds the crackling starts again.

08-25-2021, 06:45 PM	#2 (permalink)
abm89 A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Feb 2013 Location: Austin, Texas Posts: 1,386 Drives: 11 370Z \| 24 EL450 Rep Power: 64763	I'm going to take a guess and say that's a blown catalytic converter or resonator. No way for me to tell 100% unfortunately. __________________ Complete Parts List: https://github.com/abm89/ztouge-build

08-26-2021, 07:55 PM	#8 (permalink)
JARblue A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Austin, TX Age: 43 Posts: 36,450 Drives: 11 Z34, 98 E36 M3 Rep Power: 2684440	Mine definitely used to tick after warmup. But probably not quite that much. No clue if it's still doing it. I've gotten rid of the cats and exhaust but with the new pipes, I wouldn't be able to hear it at all. __________________ 2011 370Z 6MT Sport Gun Metallic \| ARC \| CJM \| Ecutek \| FI \| Fujimura \| R2C \| SPL \| Stillen \| TWM \| Z1 \| ZSpeed \|

08-27-2021, 08:44 AM	#11 (permalink)
JLarson A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Jun 2017 Location: Media, PA Posts: 4,074 Drives: 14 Nissan 370z MR M6 Rep Power: 2684370	Could possibly be a failing gasket allowing an exhaust leak. JARblue and abm89 like this. __________________ 2014 370z Touring Sport Magma Red MT // BP Single Turbo 6467 // 63mm TB's // Z1 Ported Upper Mani // RJM Pedal // Zspeed Stage 3 Clutch // 526 WHP, 451 WTQ 2006 350z (Sold) // 1990 300zx (Sold) // 1985 300zx 2+2 (Sold)

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08-25-2021, 08:20 PM	#4 (permalink)
CeeCab705 Base Member Join Date: Oct 2019 Location: Chicagoland Posts: 42 Drives: 2013 370Z M6 Rep Power: 6	No engine codes? Any stumbles while driving?

08-26-2021, 10:30 PM	#9 (permalink)
CeeCab705 Base Member Join Date: Oct 2019 Location: Chicagoland Posts: 42 Drives: 2013 370Z M6 Rep Power: 6	Wish I could help but mine stopped doing that once I had put a few thousand miles on the new exhaust. I know it did it when cooling down but dont remember if it did it while idling.

08-27-2021, 06:06 AM	#10 (permalink)
POS VETT Track Member Join Date: Apr 2015 Location: Columbus OH Posts: 612 Drives: Z34\|C4LT4\|C6Z06\|V25 Rep Power: 3366	I agree that it's not a normal sound. My '11 has aftermarket exhaust and when it had stock exhaust, I don't recall it made that kind of noise.

07-20-2022, 01:48 PM	#12 (permalink)
HttpRyxn Base Member Join Date: Mar 2022 Location: Utah Posts: 3 Drives: 09 Nissan 370z M6 Rep Power: 3	My Stock 2009 370Z With 51K miles Does this exact thing, I'm not sure If you found a solution but mine does crackle when it's warmed up and at idle like this. I've been concerned but no codes, drives great, so I'm not sure If its just a normal noise or something it's broken. Hoping someone has more insight on this

07-20-2022, 04:34 PM	#13 (permalink)
filip00 Track Member Join Date: May 2021 Location: slovenia Posts: 558 Drives: 370z pack Rep Power: 125427	My stock exhaust crackled very often and noticeable, I usually noticed it just after I turned the car off. With the new catback invidia gemini, it almost doesn't crackle at all. I suspect it's perfectly normal for stock exhaust.