DMF?

[Petemate]

Got a rattle on the Swedish Sofa. Intermittent - ie, some days it does, some it doesn't. It is a steady metallic rattle on idle, engine speed-related. It does not go when I depress the clutch. All gear changes are silky smooth. No clunking on drive take-up. No clutch slip. As soon as I increase the revs, even before they go over 1000, the rattle disappears. Regarding the occurrence, today eg it was there until I made the last traffic light halt on our ring road, then the next time on idle on the A312 coming off M4, it had gone. Parked up in the car park - not a sound from it. Tonight I moved the car from the main car park to our front yard and it is back. Can't get a proper look until Sunday when I'm off next, and I can have a good check round the engine bay for anything obvious. I suppose it could be the aux tensioner; I'll get a listening stick on it in daylight on Sun. Car has 90k on, mostly m/way. Wife reported a rattle the other day; last night I asked her to start it up and confirm if that was it - she said yes.

ETA
If it lasts till the weekend, I'll be checking the aux belt tensioner & idlers.....

PPS
Was doing it the entire trip home tonight LHR-Oxford; obviously OK on the normal driving but as soon as I stopped at the lights at Risinghurst, it was there. Also at the lights on the ring road near home, then arrived and in the drive noise gone. I'm gonna produce the rattle on Sun then whip the aux belt off to track it down.

[Max Headroom]

Not just something simple like an exhaust mounting is it?

[Petemate]

Both you and Trenchfoot are pointing me in that direction. Possible, I will give it a good check Sun. The noise seems to be coming further forward than where I would think the centre shield would show up. Coming in to work this morning, it more or less stopped as I got here As it was in its dying throes, I noticed that it faded into intermittent as opposed to the regular rattle. There doesn't seem to be anything amiss other than the rattle, performance etc OK and smooth as silk and nice and quiet above 1000 rpm.
I will post my findings in depth on both forums to assist fellow Saabites!

[chris aka zaphod]

Or heat shield?

[Petemate]

Or heat shield?

Quite poss. Can't wait to get under it Sunday. I can't now believe it is a pulley, as with the noise when it starts up from cold, having covered the mileage with it, by now a pulley would have failed. The noise on start is no more than when I first noticed it, and it all but disappears once I have done the 50 mile commute. Only just there tonight at home.

[Petemate]

Well, after brekkie, and the frost had melted, out I go with my long johns and an extra tee shirt underneath, two jumpers, woolly hat, and overalls - started the car - no rattle. Jacked it up anyway, front O/S wheel off, listening stick everywhere associated with the aux belt, pulleys & tensioner, nothing. Did notice, however, that the large electrical connector in the wiring down to the leccy PAS was adrift and may have been rattling against a pipe/clip on the bulkhead. I have cable-tied it onto the main loom behind the alternator and we will see. All I can do now is, if it returns (hopefully while I am off these 4 days), to immediately jack the car up and check all round while it is rattling. I don't think now that there is anything major amiss considering that I have completed the last four shifts to & from work at my usual rate of progress and nothing has gone bang - lol.
Pete