Hey Guys,

I just got my cat in today from RandD (thanks Daniel), I went down to my uncle's shop to put on my jdm dc header and the cat. The install went smoothly and we double checked everything..no leaks..took it for a spin and it was "lovely"

But now a few hours later When i turn my car on I hear this noise that i really cant explain..it sounds like a rattle, it also sounds like things are grinding when the car is at idle. All throughout idle it makes this noise..The noise gets louder as i start to move in first gear, and as soon as the car is in full motion the noise stops until it is at idle again...

What can this be from????? I tried to search but couldnt really come up with anything similar...thanks for all the help...and sorry if i overlooked a thread that covered this

 

Could be the heat shielding rubbing just a little on the cat... enough to vibrate and create a rattle.

 

i had that problem with mine. i just bent the heat shield up a little and it went away

 

I realized that may be the problem when i did a search on this topic...I went and checked but the heat shield was not rubbing against or touching the cat.

Has anyone else had this problem??

 

i ca answer that....take off your cat and you will find that pieces inside your cat broke....happens "most" of the time

 

Ya but the cat has been used for at most 10 miles...it already started to go bad???

 

Really?

 

It's probably the heat shield. They only get 3 spots welds per side and that won't cut it. Even with the spots in good shape you can get a noise from it and hitting it with your hand will not always duplicate it.

This is what I do with the heat shields on my cats.



Notice about 13 or so tack welds down each side, clamp the heat shield down with vise grips prior to welding.


[Modified by SMSP, 7:54 PM 3/18/2002]

 

I'll be sure to check that out first thing in the morning. If that isnt the case ( which im sure it will be) than what else could it be???Im worried cuz i have to drive to school tomorrow which is about a 80 mile round trip..and i want to make sure my car is saft to drive

 

I assume you trimmed the heat on the car a little bit for the O2 sensor wires?? Sometimes everyone looks just fine but the vibration induce at speed can make the heat shield sound like metal to metal without it touching anything or being loose but just from how it was trimmed......just trim a little more from it. If both of these don't work then pull the cat and look to see if the brick(s) are damaged, but after only a day that would be highly unlikely unless it was damaged in shipping.

 

ya we trimmed it just a little...ill try to trim it some more tomorrow. and hope that covers it..if it doesnt ill spot weld it some more.and hopefully that takes care of it but will it be safe to drive the 80 mile round trip?? thanks

 

check your IM

 

i just conducted a test....When the car is cold the noise is loud and annyoing and is continous..but as the car heats up the noise dies down and eventually disapears during idle but returns when the car starts to move....anyone got any suggestions on why...do you guys still think it would be the heat shield???if the heat shield were the problem would the temprature of the car cause the heat shield to vibrate agains the cat??
thanks

ps. that sound is really annoying just trying to see what it is from to ease my mind a little!!!

 

After it cools down, hit the bottom of the cat with your fist. If there is a clunky noise it's the brick. If there is no sound or metal to metal you are cursed with the heat shield rattle.

SMSP - Who thinks there will be a country/western line dance called the Heat Shield Rattle within the year.

 

Man...this doesn't sound good. I'll also be getting a carsound cat. Maybe I'll just take off the lower heat shield or just get it welded.

 

Wow, another Carsound cat gone bad! I've had mine for about 3-4 Months from R&D as well, I'm giving them a call tomorrow, but I've had this problem for the past few weeks. Mine rattles very annoyingly at 1500 RPMS. Check and see if it's at a certain RPM. Also, I have no heat shield by the cat so I know that it isn't that. I know it's the material inside the cat that has gone bad. Kinda sounds like there are rocks in there right? But of course you know that isn't possible. Let me find the other posts......and if you find out anything else post it asap because it's annoying!!

 

https://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=129760 I want to personally thank SMSP for helping resolve this matter. I'll let you know what Dave (R&D) says tomorrow, hopefully it will be covered under warranty.


[Modified by Waxing "The Carrot", 5:43 AM 3/19/2002]