I have a 91 TBI and lately my car has been making a noise like the rattle of empty cans. It only does this on the initial load and then stops, it doesnt do it all the time but i've been wondering what it is. It sounds like it's coming from the engine but it only makes the noise when i'm in drive so i can't pinpoint where the noise is coming from. Any ideas guys, greatly appreciated. a little more info it's basically stock except for flowmaster and open element, the car has 195,000 miles but doesnt burn or leak a drop of oil and has good performance.:hail:

 

A lot of guys describe engine detonation or pinging like someone shaking marlbes in an empty can. Try hooking it up to a scanner (if you don't have one your local AutoZone will do it)...find out what your knock count is.

Does the engine seem to lose power at all? Does the RPM's drop? You also might want to check your base timing, if this is really off (to far advanced) you could be pinging.

Hope this helps!

 

the engine doesn't lose power, the rpms don't drop but i haven't checked the timing yet that'll be next. thanks for the help:hail:

 

Its knocking, my car made the exact same sound, from 4500-5000rpm right before the gear shift. I tracked the problem to my timing being at 12 degrees, my distributor must have slipped.