Mazdaspeed Exhaust rattle... Help?

[Oh9Speed3]

Hey guys,

So I recently installed a Mazdaspeed CBE on my 09 Speed3 and whenever I start it up it rattles like it is hitting the heat shield. It didn't do this at first, but now after about 2 weeks and around 500 miles it has started to do this whenever I start the car or slam one of the doors shut. Is the exhaust just loose somewhere or is something else wrong? Has anyone else experienced this problem? Is there an easy fix or anything in particular that I should look for? I haven't had a chance to get the car up yet and take a look underneath as it just recently started making the noise; just hoping someone can shed some light on the situation.

Thanks

 

[MSMS3]

Man, 4-5 days and no response? Where is everybody when someone needs help.

IMHO, the only way to figure out what is going on is to get under the car, preferably on a lift and look for interference. It's probably just a loose clamp or a hanger rubber insert pulled loose or something minor like that. Might take a slight re-positioning for better clearance.

There's just no way to diagnose your probably very simple problem remotely. Gotta get under there and look.

If you're not handy with a floor jack and jack stands and don't have access to a lift, take it to your local muffler shop and have someone put it up on the lift and look. Fix should be cheap.

Maybe you already have your problem solved? If so, let us know what was found.

 

[Oh9Speed3]

Thanks for the response... I was getting a little concerned lol.

Well I have already gotten under the car (unfortunately with the use of a floor jack & jack stands) and taken a look around. It turns out that the problem isn't the exhaust at all.

The bolt holding my SU Rear Motor Mount to the car was coming loose and allowing the mount to shake some when I started the car. Tonight I removed the bolt, applied some lock-tite and tightened the bolt back up.

Hopefully this will solve my issue. I'll let you guys know how it sounds after I let it cure for a full 24 hours.

 

[MSMS3]

Glad you found your problem. Lock-tite on the MM bolt should be a good fix.

And never apologize for a good floor jack and jack stands. I have access to a lift in our family business, but have to drive a couple miles from home to use it, so the floor jack and jack stands get used a lot more frequently. Way better and more versatile than ramps.

Sorry for being so slow to get back with you the first time.

 

[GoFast]

If that doesn't fix your problem, which I have a sneaking suspicion in won't, take your car to the nearest mazda dealer with this in hand.(without mods of course) VVT Noise at start up TSB I thought I had a loose heat shield or something to when I heard that damn rattle at start up and wrote it off for about a week. I coincidentally took in for an oil change and mentioned that I thought I had a loose heat shield or something and was shocked when I got a call about the VVT as the cause instead. If they try to tell you that its not covered under powertrain, tell them to look at the updated TSB for it because yes it is.

 

[Silver Ecstasy]

When I installed my MSCBE with my dad, the car was on a lift and we were able to shake the exhaust around and see it was hitting some heat shielding just infront of the rear suspension. We pushed it up and as far away from it as possible and that remedied it some.

The other part was how far IN the exhaust slide at that joint that gets clamped together. I know they had it marked with some kind of marker, but too far in and it would rattle. Too far out and the cracks near the mouth of the piping would leak exhaust. So we finally found a happy-medium and bolted that sucker down. No problems thus far!

Eventually, i'll end up getting those reinforced exhaust hangers from MODE that are coming out soon on the other forum.

 

[Oh9Speed3]

Thanks for the input guys. I haven't gotten around to starting the car up just yet; wanted to let it sit over night again just to be safe.

Silver, I noticed the same exact problem on my CBE! It hits the heat shield there right at the rear suspension. I never thought to pull it out a bit at that one joint. We tried adjusting the angle but it still makes some contact. I may give that a try if it turns out that the exhaust actually is the problem.

This is the worst part about noises... having to track down the source before you can figure out how to fix it. (bang)

 

[Silver Ecstasy]

Well once we installed everything, we pulled the lift down, started the car, then lifted it back up and let the car idle for almost 20 minutes while we were underneath looking for leaks. That one joint is where we heard leaks so we kept loosening and tightening up while adjusting that joint and either the bottom of the joint would leak or the top. Either way, under my dad's advice, we fixed it as much as we could and left it alone. Eventually, it'll rust over that spot lol.

We took a pry bar, and just pushed that heat shield higher up into the car, that's all. Seemed to fix the problem. I haven't heard any clunking of any kind.

 

[Oh9Speed3]

Have you heard anymore leaks there though?

I noticed today that that is definitely a point of a leak in my exhaust, so I bought some spray-a-gasket and put it on there and tightened it up best I could. I also pushed the heat shield up away from the exhaust like you recommended.

 

[Silver Ecstasy]

We aligned it up as best we could to the point where it has the tiniest air pitter patter at the top of the joint. Nothing to worry about really. It'll close itself up over time with some kind of surface rust.