Mr Detailer
Member
- :
- 99 Protege LX 5spd
As many of us know, exhaust rattles caused by the lower heat shield are pretty common with the Proteges. I noticed mine a couple weeks ago, and at first I thought it was a clutch problem, because it only happened when I shifted from 1-2. The reason I *thought* it only happened from 1-2, is because the rattle only occurred at ~4000 RPM, and I almost always shift from 1-2 around 3500-4000RPM. With the other gears I shift before that.
A few days after it started, I realized that it only happened at certain RPMs. So I went to 4000 RPM in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd, and sure enough, it rattled in every gear. So I went home and pulled the car in the garage and revved it (in neutral obviously)...the rattle occurred at ~4000 RPM. So I went on the forums and searched, and saw that the exhaust heat shield was a common problem which caused a rattling sound, often only at certain RPMs.
So here's what I did this morning...
This is what I started with:
I tapped on the upper heat shield (seen in the above picture, between the engine and the radiator) with my knuckles, and heard a slight vibrating sound. I thought the rattle might be coming from behind this shield, so I proceeded to remove it. After spraying the 3 screws with some WD-40 to break the corrosion, I used a 3/8" drive ratchet with a 3/8" - 1/4" adapter, and a 10mm (1/4" drive) socket to remove the screws. After removing those 3 screws, I scraped the rust off of them and off of the shield with a rag and some WD-40 (a wire brush would have worked much better, but I didn't have one).
With those 3 screws out, you can pull the shield off part way. The oxygen sensor goes through the heat shield on the lower right side (when looking from the above camera angle) so you can't completely remove the shield without removing that sensor.
With the shield part way off, you can see behind it...
As you can see, there's nothing there besides the oxygen sensor and the exhaust manifold (headers). I didn't see anything that could be causing the rattle, so I went under the car to check the lower shield.
Here's what you see when you get under the car...
After spraying the screws (there's two of them) with WD-40 and allowing that to penetrate the metal for a few minutes, I used the same socket/adapter/10mm socket to remove those two screws. After those screws are out, the shield will fall right down. And you're left with this:
I took the car out for a drive, and there was no rattle anymore! Not at any RPMs, in any gear. I drove it for about an hour at various speeds in all the gears...no noise.
As far as I know, the lower heat shield is there to separate your catalytic converter ("cat") from the ground. If you park on tall grass, your cat may burn the grass. So I just won't park on any tall grass that's going to touch my cat.
There you have it. If you've got a metallic rattle at certain RPMs, it could be an exhaust system heat shield. With 10 minutes or less, you could be rattle-free. I know the rattle I had was extremely annoying, so I was willing to spend HOURS on it if necessary. Feel free to PM me with any questions.
A few days after it started, I realized that it only happened at certain RPMs. So I went to 4000 RPM in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd, and sure enough, it rattled in every gear. So I went home and pulled the car in the garage and revved it (in neutral obviously)...the rattle occurred at ~4000 RPM. So I went on the forums and searched, and saw that the exhaust heat shield was a common problem which caused a rattling sound, often only at certain RPMs.
So here's what I did this morning...
This is what I started with:
I tapped on the upper heat shield (seen in the above picture, between the engine and the radiator) with my knuckles, and heard a slight vibrating sound. I thought the rattle might be coming from behind this shield, so I proceeded to remove it. After spraying the 3 screws with some WD-40 to break the corrosion, I used a 3/8" drive ratchet with a 3/8" - 1/4" adapter, and a 10mm (1/4" drive) socket to remove the screws. After removing those 3 screws, I scraped the rust off of them and off of the shield with a rag and some WD-40 (a wire brush would have worked much better, but I didn't have one).
With those 3 screws out, you can pull the shield off part way. The oxygen sensor goes through the heat shield on the lower right side (when looking from the above camera angle) so you can't completely remove the shield without removing that sensor.
With the shield part way off, you can see behind it...
As you can see, there's nothing there besides the oxygen sensor and the exhaust manifold (headers). I didn't see anything that could be causing the rattle, so I went under the car to check the lower shield.
Here's what you see when you get under the car...
After spraying the screws (there's two of them) with WD-40 and allowing that to penetrate the metal for a few minutes, I used the same socket/adapter/10mm socket to remove those two screws. After those screws are out, the shield will fall right down. And you're left with this:
I took the car out for a drive, and there was no rattle anymore! Not at any RPMs, in any gear. I drove it for about an hour at various speeds in all the gears...no noise.
As far as I know, the lower heat shield is there to separate your catalytic converter ("cat") from the ground. If you park on tall grass, your cat may burn the grass. So I just won't park on any tall grass that's going to touch my cat.
There you have it. If you've got a metallic rattle at certain RPMs, it could be an exhaust system heat shield. With 10 minutes or less, you could be rattle-free. I know the rattle I had was extremely annoying, so I was willing to spend HOURS on it if necessary. Feel free to PM me with any questions.
