Low RPM Buzzing/Rattle
 

You know, when the only tool in your toolbox is a hammer, everything starts looking like a nail!

I have been gritting my teeth and enduring some nasty buzzing at low RPM's from the passenger side of my exhaust system for something like five months. It's bad when the motor is cold. However, after it's up to temp, it was undetectable until I drove the car down my alley and could hear a slight buzz or rattle as I pulled into my garage.

I was under the car a while back and all the heat shields are tightly screwed down and not the culprit.

So, having Good Friday off and the wife out of the house doing errands in the other car, I decided to jack up the car in the garage, fire up the engine, locate that buzzing rattle and do something about it.

The culprit? It's a steel heat shield that goes around the exhaust pipe leading into the cat, about seven inches long with tabs on each end (for removal, I guess).

Banged it a couple of times real good with a hammer to tighten it up, and took it for a test drive. Ahhhh, no more buzzing or rattle!

Who says one should never take a hammer to their car when frustrated with a nagging problem? :D

Good job, the hammer has always been my favorite tool, and all my pants have a loop on them to carry one around. My other favorite tool is my streamlight flashlight and it goes in another nifty pocket on the other side.

When I was on the stagecrew at work many years ago we had a guy who was a hammer hog (was very small tv station, and cheap as we only had the one).

Yep, I know the shield you mean. I had the shop tack weld them back on when I had the exhaust off. The next rattle after that turned out to be one of the plugs from the new headers had loosened up.
Chris

good thinkin!... but u kno what they say.... your either the hammer or the nail... u made the right choice lol :cheers:

I think I recall which one you're talking about. I ended up joining two hose clamps together and tighten them around the entire heat shield....no more rattle!

...hammer would have been my backup plan :D