awesome. congrats. hoping i will be able to solve the same problem. it's now at a local mechanic too. they are going to try to open the cat and weld it back together to save some money instead of buying new one. but sounds as if you were able to buy one for cheap. saw one on ebay, but was concerned it might have same issue. hope i can get rid of it and it doesn't cost me an arm and leg. crossing my fingers. but thanks and congrats to you.

The original exhaust on my base boxster had a chrome tip on it. Previous owner must have gone over a steep driveway because the back end of it was bent close enough to the muffler that it would make a buzzing, rattleing noise. Bent it back and it was fine. I was also poking all over the place before I found it.

Ed

:D

byman,

so, was it any easy swap? i know you were hesitant at first. but was it easier than you thought? or retrospectively, did you think you should have just taken it to a mechanic? did you do it at home with just jacks, or do you have a lift? and also, didn't the dealer charge you time for just looking at it?

-tuan

I think I have found my rattle, seems to be from the heat sheild above the right muffler (passenger side for you americans!)

I could kind of see a couple of little studs that appear to hold it on - are these what is supporting the heat sheild? Can anyone point out the bolt locations?

Sam

@tuanle16

The dealer somehow didn't charge me (and I was expecting them to). Maybe because I had spent $800 getting the Carseat/Airbag Disable kit installed at the same time they just didn't charge. Plus there was hardly any investigation work for them. I took them for a drive before they took the car in and I drove around until the car conssistantly made the noise so they heard it and knew exactly what they we're looking for.

I was pretty nervous at doing it simply because I had never worked on a Porsche before. Even though I'm not a mechanic I know enough about cars due to the fact my dad and brother in law owned their own shops. I've always done my own brakes/oil/services but nothing major mechanical (i.e. engine stuff). So far I done a few jobs on this car. This has so far been the easiest car to work on and yes I did it at home with some Jacks. My garage barely has room for two cars. The Boxster is so small i just drive it in diagonally which gives me plenty room round all four sides.

Once I had the car on Jacks (use the lift point for the Jack and use a floor jack to lift the car) and went under I saw how easy it was. All you'll need is a 10mm, 12mm and 15/16mm socket wrench. I slid out the Cat after undoing all the bolts. You'll need to remove a couple other parts (it's obvious) including the U pipe from the Cat to the muffler to get the Cat out. Also remove the shield around the Cat. It's posible to do that with the Cat still in place. Spary plenty of WD-40 on the bolt threads at least 30 minutes before trying to undo. The top bolt of the Cat where it fixes onto the Header is pretty tricky. Use an 12"-15" extension on the socket and go above the Cat to undo.

One thing I didn't do is replace the metal gasket between the Cat and the Header. I wish I did because it looked worn. I just cleaned it and put it back. If you can, replace it.

I wouldn't say this is a difficult job. You'll need a little patience getting the Cat in and out once everything is undone/out of the way but it will come(and go back)

I was glad I did myself because I got to see parts of my car I wouldn't normally. I spent at least 20/30 minutes with a manual looking for the various engine parts and took the time make mental notes of how to change various bit if every I needed to. Also, this job is nothing more than removing a few bolts. You don't really need specialist mechanic type skills.

If you got the tools and know how to use them then go for it yourself.

i had mine on a rack this week
 

And the exhaust guy told me it was pebbles in between the shields and cat. I got under there and watched him whack it with the rubber mallet and it seemed to make sense. Am i nuts or is that possible?

probably not pebbles, but whacking it seems to be what a lot of other people end up doing ( if it's the heat shield ) because that will deform it and make it stop vibrating...

if it does sound like pebbles ( or what most people say - rocks rolling around in a tin can ) then that's often how the IMS bearing failure is described...

when i was under it i could have sworn it was in the cat - that is how MIS is reported?

so, i finally concluded that the rattling noise was more of a "fluttering" noise. i changed out the muffler this afternoon and so far..so good. let's cross fingers.