Exhaust Heatshield Rattle

[1bloke1dog1mr2]

I need to get part of the exhaust heatshield aluminium welded as the hole and bolt have completely rusted away so I can no longer just replace the missing bolt.

At the moment, at certain revs, the car sounds like a bag of nails, which is not good :( . I've been told by Mr T that to replace the thing is expensive as it would have to be the whole unit, not sure how true that is.

What I want to know is, is it good to drive while it's like this or should I get it sorted asap? And what sort of price would I be looking at to replace?

Thanks in advance, Amy .

[GIDDLEPIN]

First of all, don't worry ;)

It is bloody annoying more than dangerous

Secondly, get one large heavy duty Jubilee clip, fit round annoying, rattly heat shield, then tighten up :D

I did the same on mine to the heat shield on the left near the twin outlet over two years ago and it hasn't been any bother (if it does I'll get another clip)

(They will run without the heat shield also ;) )

Les

[1bloke1dog1mr2]

Cheers Les, funnily enough it got worse after Mr T had it!

I remember fixing a tiny hole in a cold water pipe under the floor boards with a jubilee clip and a bit if rubber. Until we realised the problem, the dogs got the blame for days with the wet patch appearing so sounds like a good solution to me!

PS (Sorry for posting in GD, I should practice good housekeeping ;))

[bgorman]

Cheers Les, funnily enough it got worse after Mr T had it!

I remember fixing a tiny hole in a cold water pipe under the floor boards with a jubilee clip and a bit if rubber. Until we realised the problem, the dogs got the blame for days with the wet patch appearing so sounds like a good solution to me!

PS (Sorry for posting in GD, I should practice good housekeeping ;))

We had the exact same problem on our`s last year, we too used a large hose clip as GIDDELPIN suggested.

This has solved the problem totally, I also removed the upper and lower shields on the part where the

pipe splits into two to go up to the precats.

As you said, the noise these make is like a bag of spanners and sounds VERY expensive!!!

I wonder how many engines have been replaced by uncsrupulus garages?

P S just where do you put two dogs in a roadster !!!

Bob.

[1bloke1dog1mr2]

Will be taking the scooter to work tomorrow and getting the OH to have a look at it. Thanks for the replies, it puts a bit more confidence in me about DIY and not having to spend a fortune on something that does sound expensive!

P S just where do you put two dogs in a roadster !!!

Bob.

When on my own they sit in the passenger seat (roof up or down), but we do have a seven seater Nissan Largo too! :) They're only terriers, I wouldn't want anything bigger!

[kwai]

First of all, don't worry ;)

It is !Removed! annoying more than dangerous

Secondly, get one large heavy duty Jubilee clip, fit round annoying, rattly heat shield, then tighten up :D

I did the same on mine to the heat shield on the left near the twin outlet over two years ago and it hasn't been any bother (if it does I'll get another clip)

(They will run without the heat shield also ;) )

Les

Awesome advice les,

this noise has been annoying me for months now and I've had no idea what to do about it. The good old folks at Mr T told me that i'd need a new exhaust manifold or need to get it welded. The jubilee clip has worked a treat tho!

Kwai

[GIDDLEPIN]

First of all, don't worry ;)

It is bloody annoying more than dangerous

Secondly, get one large heavy duty Jubilee clip, fit round annoying, rattly heat shield, then tighten up :D

I did the same on mine to the heat shield on the left near the twin outlet over two years ago and it hasn't been any bother (if it does I'll get another clip)

(They will run without the heat shield also ;) )

Les

Awesome advice les,

this noise has been annoying me for months now and I've had no idea what to do about it. The good old folks at Mr T told me that i'd need a new exhaust manifold or need to get it welded. The jubilee clip has worked a treat tho!

Kwai

Glad to be of assistance Kwai and welcome to the club

If you haven't seen it already there are some more helpful hints HERE ;)

Les

[kwai]

The annoying rattle has returned and I have found the root cause. As well as the bolt hole on the heat shield breaking, the heat shield has also snapped from where it is welded to the manifold (two areas where the manifold splits). when the loose heat shield rattles against the manifold it sounds blood awful! to overcome this i have added two more, smaller, jubilee clips around the manifold that clamp the underside heatshield where it should be welded. this has completely fixed my dodgy sounding car just in time for summer where i can have the roof down without having to listen to that racket!

[Jon01]

I have just had the same problem. All I did was put a new nut and bolt in, and it sorted it.

[Bob Brown]

My car too sounds like a bag of spanners, most noticable with the roof off when pulling off from standstill. VERY uncool. I will have to see if this solves my problem too

[1bloke1dog1mr2]

Well I fixed the original rattle a year ago, but had a new heatshield rattle appear about a month ago.

One of the bolts on the next heatshield along was completely rusted, so I fixed a new bolt.

Now I have another rattle! Man these heatshields are a PITA!

Will be looking at where the exhaust splits into two up to the main cat.

I know this is such a common problem with all the searches I've done, but I'm still very retisant about removing the whole lot. I'll just keep buying those jubilee clips I guess!!

[Bob Brown]

I'm not sure If I have found the source of my rattle, but I do appear to have found missing bolts:

Is this a common one? I don't think I have any bolts in the shed so I'll grab some asap and see if that helps with my rattles.

[Bob Brown]

Sorry to do this, but *bump

Is this the likely cause of my noise, and anyone know what bolts to grab? Should just grab a ruler I guess..

[1bloke1dog1mr2]

I would definitely get a bolt on that, anything that will fit the hole tight will do, I just looked in the shed for odd nuts & bolts.

It won't guarantee a rattle fix, but it should certainly help. Check the other side too.

It's an on-going process I'm afraid, that missing bolt is the one I fixed a few months ago and I've got another rattle now. Must be the age, they all go at the same time.

[GIDDLEPIN]

Take them off ;)

I have a Che header, sports cat, quad exhaust and not one heat shield.

I have recently driven to Corfu, covered over 3000 miles, driven at speeds in excess of 130mph (not on British roads), driven all day in the hot sun and never had one issue with overheating anywhere.

Les

[Bob Brown]

Do you still have the plastic tray on when running without the heatshields Les? I've just taken mine off so I can get to the shields to try and fix the rattle. I am considering getting them off, but I'd rather leave them as is and just add new bolts. Will be looking at it this bank holiday.

[GIDDLEPIN]

Yes the nappy is still in place Bob, albeit a little melted from my sensor problem earlier on ;)

[Bob Brown]

A quick fiddle tonight (more work if necessary Monday), and I appear to have solved a problem my local Toyota said would require a new exhaust (£800+) with an 11.5p "Roofing Bolt" from Wilko's. Wow. Next for the o2 sensor(s)...... Which I shouldn't keep putting off!

[curriedb]

Well done Bob! I'm impressed!

That's possibly the greatest saving - pence spent for £££s saved - anyone's made by D.I.Y. on an MR2 MK3. Unless someone knows differently? :)

[Bob Brown]

Well it looks like I've at least tripled the cost now. 3 bolts on and may need a jubilee clip. Failing that removing the damn things will be the cheapest repair ever!

[jimbogriffbo]

I have had this rattle on my 2000 model and have replaced three or four welds with bolts but it just kept coming back. Brought some jubilee clips as suggested but rattle seemed to be inside the first lower part of shielding. With a lot of sweat and swearing and even the use of some tin snips I simply removed this section of shielding. There were a couple of bits inside like a u bracket rattling around and also a lower fixed bolt had corroded to add to the medley of noises. Any way its perfectly quiet now and only removed a small section so not anticipating any problems. Insert other media