Can anyone suggest what this strange noise might be?

[AVR2]

I've started noticing a sort of metallic rattling/jangling coming from under the car. It's not very loud, if you've got the AC on full blast you won't hear it, but once you do notice it it's very obvious.

It sounds like it's coming from the front axle, and I'm pretty sure it's related to the rotation of the wheels because it speeds up and slows down in time with the speed of the car. It's not always there - when the car is started from cold it takes a few miles of driving before you start to hear it. Once it starts it won't stop for the rest of the journey. The best way I can describe it is to imagine that you loosely threaded some metal bracelets onto the axle and it's the sound of them rattling against each other.


One thing that's strange about it is that the noise is continuous when you're in a forward gear, but if you shift into reverse it stops, and instead you hear a single short rattle once per revolution of the wheels.

Any suggestions as to what it might be? It almost sounds like something has worked itself loose. I can't afford to take it back to the garage right now, it'll have to wait until after payday at the end of the month, assuming it doesn't become more serious.

 

[kb0nly]

I would crawl under there and look around, poke and prod, if it is something that's actually just loose you might do more damage driving it and letting it wait, or you could end up on the roadside with a DOA.

No idea what it could be though unfortunately but i would look!