Groovemaster

Hey guys, installed my headers with the help of a friend, had to remove the cat's heat shield to pull the exhaust apart. He put the shields (top and bottom) back on, said he tightened them down tight, but they rattle. The nuts seem tight, but I can hear them at different RPMs and its getting annoying. If I crawl under the car and smack the downpipe with my hand, I can hear them make the same rattle noise. Any suggestions? I was thinking about just removing them? Any reasons not to (besides some heat soak into my center console area)? Any fixes? Anyone else have this? Thanks in advance...

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

remove them.
i bet you cant even tell if there is extra heat...

NBP04TL4ME

Agreed

Groovemaster

Thanks, Guys, that's all the motivation that I needed...

bonknhead

Another explanation is that your cat might be going bad. I thought the heat shields were loose too, but they were fine. The rattling was caused by broken elements/cells that only moved around at certain RPMs. Gave me an excuse to put in a high flow cat.

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

^good catch! and might be one possibility

Groovemaster

They weren't an issue until I started the car right after I installed the headers. They were immediately present with their rattle at the start up after the install (which they weren't before). So unless it's a very freaking weird coincidence, I am pretty sure it has something to do with the header install, in which case if it has almost no bearing on heat, I will just take them off...

steve

Totally agree, just get rid of them. Mine are rusted and was told to replace them at some crazy cost. My local mechanic clamped them and said anymore problems, just remove.

thelastaspec

Mine have been off for almost the life of the car - no problems.

MilwaukeeDave

iTrader: (3)

Remove them or take a big hose clamp like 5" and tighten it around the whole thing. Or call XLR8 and get a HFC