Rattling noise, where is it coming from?
 

Ok so.. I have so many little rattles and stuff I am trying to figure out. I am going to try and knock them out 1 by 1.

First is a rattling/vibration coming from the passenger side footwell.. above the DME computer and behind/under where the glovebox is. This area is approximate but thats where it sounds like it is coming from.. I am assuming its not in the cabin though and is on the other side..? The noise is only audible under a load at medium/high RPMs, but is fairly noticeable/loud. Almost sounds like a heat shield rattling or something. Any ideas what it could be?

Heat shield on the right motor mount?

that could be it..

i rolled under there last night and found the metal under tray was loose/rattling a little so I just pulled the whole thing out. How important are the other heat shields around the motor mounts and such? seems like theres a lot of them

Keep them on. Especially being a Turbo.

Found it! Was able to just rev the motor in neutral and listen for it. It's the heat shield for the passenger side header. There is a factory cut hole in it where you can get to one of the bolts behind it without removing the heatshield, but that is exactly where it is hitting (on the bolt behind it). Is there a way to bend this heat shield back?

dmw,
I'm in the middle of the replacing that heat shield (oil cooler heat shield) because the bracket/ mounting holes broke and mine were not easily repairable. There are 2 bolts that hold it on. Make sure the mountings are not broken.
The shield replacement involves removing the headers to get the shield out ( at least for me:( ) . While you have the manifolds off, it is an excellent time to reseal the oil cooler ( if not done before). This little job has turned into a major one for me, but I just couldn't stand the rattle!

I bought from a competing vendor and was told I got the last oil cooler shield in the US. He said there are 41 in Germany. UPS says it will arrive tomorrow, so I'll know for sure it is the correct part.

If yours is broken and you decide to replace it , PM me and I'll give you my experience doing the job.

GL, Bruce

Thanks.

What I actually did was take the heat shield from the Motor Mount on the passenger side and bend the right side tab up to hold the other heat shield on the header in place and keep it from rattling. Hopefully this will work but haven't had a chance to drive the car yet since then