[s-cars] New S6 owner / engine noise

[Eric Rechlin]

Paul Krasusky wrote:
> Eric, I've not been following all this but based on the above, did the
> car you buy per chance come with an aluminum flywheel?  Just a stab in
> der dark here.

Thank you for your suggestion.

As far as I can tell, the flywheel has never been replaced, so I guess it is 
the stock dual-mass flywheel.  I have service records going back to while it 
was still under warranty, and there's no sign of the flywheel being replaced. 
It wasn't replaced when the clutch was replaced in July 2003, either.

I will try to explain the sound better.  I spent a good half hour driving back 
and forth today to try to better understand it.  It's almost a metallic 
twanging noise, like you might hear when a spring is slid along a surface with 
a groove, causing it to jump (making the twang), then be quiet for a bit, then 
twang again, and so on.

Imagine a spring inside a cylinder with a cap.  One end of the spring is
secured.  The other end, on the side of the cylinder with the cap, is loose.
There is a groove inside the cap that can catch the end of the spring as it is
turned.  The cap is turned, and the groove catches the spring for a bit as it
turns, and eventually the spring breaks loose, twanging, causing the spring to
be caught by the groove again and the whole thing starts over.  This sounds
weird, but I think a contraption like that would make the sound I am hearing.
I know I have heard the sound before on something completely unrelated to
cars, but I can't think of where it was.

I swear I can *feel* the noise if I put my palm on the shift knob, too.  It
could just be my imagination, though.

Note that the sound only happens when the car is in motion, it is much more 
pronounced when in gear than when coasting, and it is easiest to hear in 5th 
gear.

Regards,

Eric Rechlin