ianae86

Alright before you tell me I already searched....and searched....and searched. And although I found plenty of topics on the part, nothing answered my specific question. I've got a little bit of a rattle from my exhaust and I'm pretty sure it's the catalytic converter heat shield. I got under the car today and couldn't see any damage though. I was going to just remove it but I'm not sure how to get it off of there. The car in question is a 93 Del Sol SI. BIG thanks in advance to anyone who can help me.

Ian

transpar_nt

I doesn't need to be damaged to rattle around a little. There should be a few bolts holding it to the underside of the car, directly above the exhaust pipe.

ianae86

I saw some rusty looking bolts but I couldn't tell if they were just for the bottom half or not. I don't want to mess with the top half(from what I've read about heat issues). But removing these should just take off the bottom?Thanks again for responding so quickly.

transpar_nt

I forgot about that

I bought my civic with an aftermarket exhaust so the lower shield was removed already. I don't even know what it looks like...

EDIT: 1000th post. :w00t:

ianae86

here is a pic of what I'm looking at.

http://img406.imageshack.us/im...c.jpg

NonovUrbizniz

You want to remove the smalles bolts there... the ones that face downwards... NOT the larger ones facing towards the front of the car.

The small bolts will most likely snap... it doesnt matter though as you're prob. permenantly removing the heatshield...

DON'T PARK OVER DRY LEAVES.

That's what the heatshield is for mostly.

ianae86

okay. Man thanks a ton for the quick replies. Doesn't the cat under the shield look in pretty bad shape though? I mean if I remove the shields I'm scared the thing will just crumble, haha. And those 4 bolts that face down remove just the bottom right? How is the top attached. I plan to leave it but I just want to make sure.

NonovUrbizniz

Cat looks normal they always rust like that... It should be just fine... the shield isn't really mounted very toughly too it so you don't have to worry about affecting the cat...

The two halves of the shield hold themselves on..

IE the top half has threaded nuts on it and the bottom half has holes for the bolts to go through to attach the two.

Once you remove the bolts the two halves should seperate and come off with some coaxing.

ianae86

Hey thanks for the reply. I did get the shield off today but I still hear a slight rattle. I know I've read about the heat shield on the exhaust manifold coming a little loose but I'm sure it's soming from the back. With all the exhaust covering on this car I figure it's probably just something that's a little loose. Unless there is another obvious suggestion I'm probably going to just have to live with it. Thanks again for all the help. And the cat didn't crumble when I removed the shield, haha.

NonovUrbizniz

The rest of the exhuast has a couple heatshields mounted above the exhaust These are to keep the excess heat from the exhaust out of the floor boards... but again... really not needed.

You can remove those as well... same deal only they're only one piece.

SicilianSpeed42

Its possible that the rattle is actually coming from inside your exhaust piping. Sometimes the guts of the cat will rot out and rattle around in there. You can check that out by removing your cat and lookin at the honeycomb inside.

JDM-97CX

Instead of removing the heat shield that is there for a good reason, take a couple large hose clamps and tighten it up.

ianae86

Sorry i haven't checked this in a few days. The rattle is still there and nothing else on the underside looks to be in bad shape. My assumption is a rattle from rust chips in the exhaust(somone I know suggested maybe in the muffler). Anyone know if these can just blow out or will I just have to deal with it. I don't really have to tools to remove exhaust components(a wet driveway and sockets, haha). Any advice is much appreciated. Thanks again.

NonovUrbizniz

shake the exhaust from side to side... you should be able to find out where it's rattling...

a LOT of these cars bang against the body where it starts to make a sharp turn just before the gas tank... but again thats more of a thud...

For rattles try tapping the exhuast pipe (in a strong area obviously not where it's rusted) you should be able to hear where they're coming from...

if it's inside the cat... yes you need a new cat... stock ones are CRAZY expensive and aftermarket ones tend not to last very long.

Most likely a solid anything will not make it through your exhaust... unless you have basically a straight pipe.

ianae86

Well I got underneath and started tapping away from the muffler forward. Tapping the muffler revealed the sounds but they were coming from farther forward. I finally found them in a bend in the piping before the gas tank. It sounds like chips of something bouncing around when I tap on the bottom of the piping. I have no clue about removing exhaust components. If I posted pictures, could anyone help me out?