Wow so this was/is the sound I heard at wot! dam. Every time I would rev my car to high rpm's to pervent carb build up with my AT this is what I heard. Yours comes from the glove. I was thinking under the car. I would also hear this at a low rpm range as well. Odd...

 

I need to get someone else in my car to listen / record this.
I think it's almost exactly the same as the video...

 

that doesn't sound good, that's for sure.

 

Yup that's the sound for me too. Of course for me it's intermittent; sometimes it's there sometimes it's not.

 

I tried searching but didn't have much luck. Is there a "fix" for this?
I saw something about installing a valve but seemed like an isolated incident.

what about air in the heater core. how do we fix that? (since it sounds like that could be the cause)

 

There is supposedly a revised valve installed in the heater core that people are reporting good experiences with. Supposedly, this new valve restricts the flow enough to the point where the flow stays laminar and the sound isn't produced. At least that is what the dealership monkeys say.

It seems you have to really bitch or be a hot lady to get Mazda to install this for you. Me, I'd prefer to put up with the occasional sound and keep the larger volume flow.

 

Don't know what the percentage is of those of you who have a short ram intake installed. I can promise that if so, your problem is keeping it on. In my case a Mazda dealer sold and installed one at 25k miles, currently at 70k. They also kept my factory. I asked them to put it in my trunk, not so much. Mazda NA denied my claim because it was installed over two years ago. My next question: If I bring my car back to Mazda spec on the intake and TB coolant hose, would I get a new engine, if problem still occured? Yes. Done. A grand later, they were right. That dealership had a good tech, I must say. We did test runs. Before MAF was reading 200. After installing MAZDASPEED intake and MAF we saw a 3 degree difference from ambient. I can not explain how bad the short ram design is, it just does not work in this car. A 90 degree difference in intake temp will cause the car to loose a bunch of power. The noise's are normal if not factory. The factory VFAD is a muffler on the intake side. Hope this helps for a few. By the way that MS intake is real nice.

 

I have a similar noise. It seemed to start gradually and now I hear it almost every time. It comes at low RPM ~4000 and disappears the instant I let off the throttle. I can't hear it at high RPM but it could be because the normal engine note masks it.

It sounds very similar to the click-click-click that old SUVs make when you get on the throttle, but more muffled... Since it disappears when I let off, could it be ping?

57k now, nothing but 93 octance since I bought it at 45k. Just started premixing and the engine sounds smoother overall but haven't listened for this sound yet to see if premixing changed anything...

 

I heard it on an '06 Shinka I test drove. It sucks. Mazda should get on this.

 

So I replaced my factory coolant mixture with 80% water and 20% anti-freeze plus a bottle of Redline water wetter. My marbles are 95% gone for the week that I've had the new mixture.

Of course there could be several possibilities. One is that the engine is running cooler, but I find that hard to believe since the thermostat controls the coolant temperature, the mixture merely determines heat capacity and how quickly heat is rejected. Not to mention I've driven the car in some pretty cold temperatures (40s) and have still heard the marbles. More likely is that the water wetter changed the surface tension of the mixture so that it's less likely to become turbulent flowing through the heater core, thus preventing the noise. Of course, this is all speculation.

 

Any update on tis LionZoo?

I've been experiencing this problem since I bought my NEW 8 in July. It seemed to diminish with UCL in the gas, but I can't be sure. It's back with a vengeance now and driving my insane.

 

For LionZoo's post above, couple possibilities I can think of:

1) Surface tension of the coolant mixture reduced ( = smaller air bubbles) so less noise..

2) During the coolant change, a good bleed of the system made the problem go away (more likely)

 

I agree with CnnmnSchnpps' observation except I had previously brought in the car for the noise and the dealership said they had bled the heater core to try to get rid of it. All I did was drain the radiator and drain the block and refill, but it seems to have worked. My money is more on the reduced surface tension though. I haven't heard the marbles sound at all in recent weeks, so I hope it's now gone for good (knock on wood).

 

That's great news. I know how horrendous that sound is. For me it kills all enjoyment of the car. I love my car but my major complaint isn't the MPG or the anything related to function or performance. It's all the damn noises this thing makes!!!!

 

Ok. I added a bottle of Water Wetter and I've been premixing the appropriate amount. My marbles/sand seem to come and go almost at random.

My 8 goes into the shop tomorrow for a tech ride-along to figure this BS out. It's driving me crazy. I'll post something after I'm back. My car probably won't make the noise tomorrow and I'll be so angry...

 

Has anybody with this noise swapped in a Mazmart pump and noticed any difference?

 

I will be doing that on Monday. (ssshhhhh, don't tell anyone)

 

I think LionZoo did. His problems went away but he also flushed his coolant and added Water Wetter, so he wasn't sure which helped.

 

Yup, Zephyrzone is correct.

 

Lionzoo: off topic but did you see a noticable difference in temps?

 

After Lion answers I'll tell you about the conversation I had with Paul from Mazmart last night.

 

My noise comes and goes seemingly at random. The noise volume also goes up and down. I've been keeping track and I simply can't link it to anything. Sometimes it's there, sometimes it's not. Sometimes it's quiet, sometimes it's as loud as the engine itself.

Here's an update I just posted on another 'marbles' thread:
UPDATE:

I'm running 7.5oz of premix and 1 bottle of Water Wetter. The marble/sand sound is still there.

I just dropped the car off at the dealer today to have a headlight replaced and asked the tech to go for a ride along to diagnose the marbles. It wasn't very noisy today but it WAS there and he heard it which is good. He is working with other tech's to try and solve the problem. We shall see. Hopefully I'll be posting some good news in another few hours.

LZ- Are you still having no problems? Sound is all gone? If Mazda can't fix it (I doubt they can/will), maybe I'll try the water pump. Charles- I'm very interested in reading about your conversation.
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Zz, I hope you're not mixing the pre-mix AND the Water Wetter........

 

Wait. You're NOT supposed to do that????



I only mentioned the premix because for a good 2 tanks or so when I first started premixing the sound completely disappeared. I didn't see how it could be related, but it seemed like a relevant data point. Now it appears it was just a coincidence.