engine rattle at 2000 t0 2500 revs

[pippin59]

Hi all i have a 2004 roadster with an engine rattle at 2000 to 2500 revs. not so bad when under load or at low revs . does anybody have any ideas please?

[mr2garageswindon]

Exhaust heat shield on cat loose

[Carolyn]

I would suggest getting a cheap stethoscope.  At least you'll be able to pin down a general area where it's coming from. There are just so many possibilities.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/325907031884?itmmeta=01HYMXDW4RE9HZN3XCC0WDGGB1&hash=item4be192a74c:g:gr8AAOSwf8xlZxwI&itmprp=enc%3AAQAJAAAA4MLL11yJSRQ69rIujPm1DC6pvACYFVhUpuma1h0fiq9BZNOXil7MUAo9qHBZ7iI2ozYPdcisROasUVOERAtI91ECCHkZPO7Ut0qa1nUQv%2BrgbUY6pkHWDf4XBxPSAyKkgvEPeQ1NzdLrnJ%2Bxt5J2W%2BluQfqa6By9k9VTElXvkGCHXFVAVMm70OP474AU%2F1xXoC6R%2B2sRNIVkImSedFUErJikvzxYdhtaNidW9BaU%2FXpBDoCNwCAo5dkCiUeaJ4DdTPxTwkNoJer5jf1AO4sLqkpjwAXsBUEEjAEPcGyTX6wI%7Ctkp%3ABFBMyMK3nfVj

[Joesson]

@pippin59
As above, you are not the first, by a long way. This question and other regulars pop up in an almost random way, mine started rattling in around 2014, knew what it was from reading on here and fixed it similarly. No problems since.
Simplest fix is a very large jubilee type clip around the body of the cat.
Not to my taste but.
I took the outer shell off, had to drill out 1 or2 spot welds and bolted it back together with st steel fixings. Also used a U type exhaust clamp where a weld had broken where two goes into one on the piping.

[pippin59]

Thanks carolyn will order one tonight

[pippin59]

Thanks for the heat shield tip i will check that tonight as well

[Ardent]

@pippin59

As well as the visible cat shields, there are spacers that cannot be seen. If you use the search facility look up me as user and something like  cat refurb, you'll see pics of the component parts. Made me smile Mr T used high quality stainless for the shield and the cheapest rust prone fixings to hold it together. 

[BahnStormer]

Is it happening mostly under deceleration?

Part of my problem is likely unique to the TTE (dual tip) exhaust I had, but it might be similar to what you're getting: various really noticeable rattles and vibrations mostly decelerating from 2500-2000rpm.

It was eventually traced it to a combination of the exhaust heat shield being loose and a missing exhaust hangar mount, so the hangar was catching on the chassis.

Noticeable at that speed as that's when the exhaust is moving around the most, so it was causing the heat shield to rattle like mad and the hangar to catch the chassis and give the heavier vibrations.

Solutions were:
1) Some steel wool + metal straps around the exhaust heat shield to tighten it until it could be welded.
2) Kept adjusting the angle of the exhaust tip until I found one that minimised the chances of it catching, until the hangar could be replaced and attached properly.