Full Race Exhaust Rattle...

D

dath1974

Well-Known Member
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Vehicle Model
Si
Body Style
sedan
Hey Guys,

I'm sure others have had similar issues, so I'm hoping to benefit from the experience you all rather than frustrate myself further... While I was at the track my exhaust started to rattle pretty horribly. It has since come and gone, but more often than not will rattle pretty badly once warmed up/driving hard.

I have both the FR DP and cat-back. I believe the *main* problem is at the slip fitting. Specifically, it has slipped rearward (I think) and now the muffler rattles against the rearmost hanger. I also noticed that the exhaust has been hitting the rear spring too... So when I was under the car, I loosened up the slip fitting clamp and tried with all of my meager might to move the damn thing forward... I twisted back and forth, pushed, pulled, used nearly my entire creative vocabulary and may even have invoked the help of the Gods and was still unable to do more than rotate it a bit. I reclamped and the rattle is still there or even worse...

Any advice? Should I try unclamping the rear clamp and removing the hangers temporarily so it's easier to move? Have I possibly pinched the pipes together from clamping such that I'll never budge it forward while on my back under the car? Should I separate them at that coupling and try some kind of lubricant on the pipe? Should I buy a lift so I can get the car to a proper height to work on it? Okay, okay... Maybe extreme, but a lift is in my nearish future anyhow!

Thanks!
-Daniel

P.S. I'm thinking once I get everything back to about where it should be, I may use some hose clamps over the hangers to help cinch things up a bit. I used a giant zip-tie on one of them before to help move things and that worked pretty well...
 
I think there is a stiffer exhaust mount you can get to help with this exact problem. I don't remember where it was from though.

I have seen @Dar-Dar mention it.

Also @squiggy has the same exhaust. He might be of some help.
 
There are polyurethane exhaust hangers available. Stiffer than the oem ones. I don't know who makes them but a quick Google search might help.
 
I got the link from @shad2fast4u . :giggle:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/321444527644?_trksid=p2059210.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

This is what it looks like on my exhaust that isn't installed yet. And yeah, it is for the 2006-2014s.
IMG_7145_zpsa50ed4ad.jpg


Someone was also having the same issue saying that the stud that holds the cat heat shield is what is hitting the mid pipe. The stiffer mount should stiffen up the exhaust and prevent all that movement.
 
Yeah, I know about the poly hangers and the stiffer rear hanger as well... The *main* issue I'm having right now is that the slip fitting where the rear half of the exhaust mates up to the front straight portion has slipped rearward and I was not able to get it to move forward... So even if I put stiffer mounts on, it'd still rattle in the rear most likely because it's just too far back/close to the rear hanger. Secondarily, the stiffer hangers may help, but I'm a bit worried about the poly hangers as I've hard some folks melt them, hence my considering just using hose clamps over the hangers to basically take some slack out/do the same thing.
 
@squiggy - Yes, exactly! I should have been less verbose before... I was hoping someone had a genius idea of the best approach to take to get the damn thing to slip back together. I'm guessing I just need to unbolt the rearward fitting and then I'll be able to more easily manipulate the slip fitting back into position... Soooo frustrating! I'm a bit confused why they used the slip fitting instead of just a three-bolt fitting, but I suppose it does provide a small amount of adjustability... But I had the thing clamped damn tight and it still slipped on me...
 
That design usually slips, especially when the engine doesn't have stiffer mounts. Vbands are better imo and the two or three bolt flanges.
 
Dar-Dar said:
That design usually slips, especially when the engine doesn't have stiffer mounts. Vbands are better imo and the two or three bolt flanges.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I only have a stiffer rear-mount on the engine... I'm planning on filling the others, but haven't done it yet. I like @jsyn77's idea about welding it... I could just tack it in a couple spots in case I ever needed to separate it again.
 
You can probably even use an extra clamp for more clamping force. Or even sand the surfaces to add friction and prevent slipping.
 
Get a Hasport rear mount and tighten the crap out of the clamp. I have not had any problems with mine.
 
squiggy said:
Get a Hasport rear mount and tighten the crap out of the clamp. I have not had any problems with mine.
Click to expand...

That's my current setup, Hasport 62A rear mount, tight as heck clamp. It slipped when I was at a track day I'm pretty sure... I pulled into the pit at one point and it was rattling like crazy... Probably filling the other mounts will help some as well, but I can tack weld it myself, so that's really no big deal. I'd still clamp it just for an extra measure of caution... I just hit my frustration limit the other night while trying to get it to move and was in the middle of a brake and sway bar upgrade, so gave up and decided to road test to see if I'd moved it enough (which I hadn't)...
 
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Couldn't budge it last night, even after detaching the back portion. I think I'll have to drop the whole thing to take a look, but not enough time before I head out for a race tomorrow, so I'll have to live with it rattling on me once it warms up... I checked the mount in back with it cold and I have about 1/4" between the muffler hanger and the rearmost mount. Not sure how much it expands when warm, but that's not a lot of space. And it definitely hits the spring too, with slightly less space on the spring side than the other side... This must be about my 4th or 5th repositioning attempt... It was doing so well after the previous one until my track day! I'll get it if it kills me!
 
peculiar how you are having full race issues, I thought they were a good brand from what I hear. Hmm...Stiffer motor mount and exhaust hanger mounts? Idk what else could go wrong besides it hitting the heat shield?
 
mvhs09 said:
peculiar how you are having full race issues, I thought they were a good brand from what I hear. Hmm...Stiffer motor mount and exhaust hanger mounts? Idk what else could go wrong besides it hitting the heat shield?
Click to expand...

Don't get me wrong, the exhaust is high-quality, it's just difficult in my experience to get it installed such that there are no rattles under *any* conditions. I've managed to get it rattle free until it gets very hot, then it rattles until it cools down some. 3" exhaust does not give much margin for error in manufacturing or installation. In my case, I think I just have a connection that has slipped at the mid-pipe, but it's not easy to get it back together while under the car on your back after it was clamped very tightly... I've given up for the moment since it mostly doesn't rattle, but will be back at it again I'm sure. Also, it wouldn't surprise me to know that other people have issues with this and other exhausts and don't even realize it... I bet I get it pretty darn hot compared to most...
 
dath1974 said:
Don't get me wrong, the exhaust is high-quality, it's just difficult in my experience to get it installed such that there are no rattles under *any* conditions. I've managed to get it rattle free until it gets very hot, then it rattles until it cools down some. 3" exhaust does not give much margin for error in manufacturing or installation. In my case, I think I just have a connection that has slipped at the mid-pipe, but it's not easy to get it back together while under the car on your back after it was clamped very tightly... I've given up for the moment since it mostly doesn't rattle, but will be back at it again I'm sure. Also, it wouldn't surprise me to know that other people have issues with this and other exhausts and don't even realize it... I bet I get it pretty darn hot compared to most...
Click to expand...
Any chance you can use a "come-along" to pull the two parts back together? If you loosen the clamps and can get a good, even grip on each piece, a "come-along" can exert tremendous pull. Be careful not to overdo it or you could crush the pipes (stovepipe). Most tractor/farm supply stores would have them. Home Depot has a 2-tonner for about $25.
 
tacthecat said:
Any chance you can use a "come-along" to pull the two parts back together? If you loosen the clamps and can get a good, even grip on each piece, a "come-along" can exert tremendous pull. Be careful not to overdo it or you could crush the pipes (stovepipe). Most tractor/farm supply stores would have them. Home Depot has a 2-tonner for about $25.
Click to expand...

That's a great idea! I'd just need to figure out a way to hold the pipe. Maybe a large rubber pad I could wrap webbing around or something? To get an even pull I could use two comealongs, one on each side of the pipe... Hmmm...

I'm also starting to wonder if some of the coilovers may have smaller diameter springs. That's probably hoping for too much though. I know it's hitting the spring and the rear mount. I bet the pipe grows quite a bit when hot...
 
Dar-Dar said:
I got the link from @shad2fast4u . :giggle:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/321444527644?_trksid=p2059210.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

This is what it looks like on my exhaust that isn't installed yet. And yeah, it is for the 2006-2014s.
IMG_7145_zpsa50ed4ad.jpg


Someone was also having the same issue saying that the stud that holds the cat heat shield is what is hitting the mid pipe. The stiffer mount should stiffen up the exhaust and prevent all that movement.
Click to expand...

So I decided that I'd also pick up one of these stiffer hangers... How the hell did you get it on the exhaust hangers? Maybe I just need to take the muffler off and put it on in the garage, but it's too narrow to fit on mine by about a 1/4" and no amount of forcing it with a screwdriver or prybar was doing the trick (just deformed the hole and I couldn't get it to slip on)...

As a side note, I also made the discovery when I did this that my rear hanger had come off on the car side and the post on the car side was fortunately in the middle area of the hanger, so holding the exhaust up, but providing pretty much no side-to-side support. I think my exhaust is completely cursed!
 
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