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Thread: Metal Shielding surrounding Collector is Rattling

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Oct 2018
    Location
    Charlottesville, VA
    Posts
    2
    My Cars
    1998 BMW Z3 2.8L

    Metal Shielding surrounding Collector is Rattling

    Greetings all... has anyone ever encountered a problem where the metal shielding around the collector is rattling? This is the unit right upstream of the cat where the two exhaust pipes are joined. It appears there is some sheet metal wrapped around the joint and tack welded to the cat. The edges of the metal are crimped together, and the metal wraps around the two pipes. When I tap the exhaust with a mallet, I can hear a vibration/rattle under the metal. I've tried shimming the metal and tightening the crimps to no avail. My next thought (besides replacing the exhaust!) is to try to remove the shielding. I'm unsure its function. There is heat shielding above the exhaust at that point. My presumption is there is a simple connector under it combining the pipes. Doubtful if cosmetic, but I cannot figure out why its there, or how to stop the rattle inside. At certain revs, it's loud and annoying. Any suggestions would be most appreciated!

  2. #2
    Join Date
    May 2013
    Location
    USA
    Posts
    445
    My Cars
    2001 Z3 3.0/5 roadster
    Only a suggestion, but I would look into whether your car has a cat converter support bracket at that location because I just replaced the entire support/clamp on my car that was completely rusted to a falling apart, rattling against the heat shield condition.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Feb 2006
    Location
    Tim @ BMW of Dallas
    Posts
    1,889
    My Cars
    98 Z3 2.8
    I assume you're talking about the 98 2.8... Mine does the same thing, although not as bad as yours. If mine gets that bad, I'll just rip the shielding off. Or just install the headers I've had sitting around for 5 years and have a custom midpipe made.
    96 320i Touring
    98 Z3 2.8 Roadster
    01 PY M Coupe
    96 Z3 1.9 - DASC
    95 318ti Clubsport
    94 Miata M-Edition
    13 smart fortwo



  4. #4
    Join Date
    Oct 2018
    Location
    Charlottesville, VA
    Posts
    2
    My Cars
    1998 BMW Z3 2.8L
    Thanks for the comments, yes a 98 2.8. I found after driving yesterday evening that after my shimming and crimping, the rattle is only occurring when cold... it may be livable.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    May 2017
    Location
    Columbus, OH
    Posts
    67
    My Cars
    '10 GTI / '98 Roadster
    So, I had this same problem when I first purchased my car. Drove me nuts. Last winter, I dropped my sub-frame to replace all of the bushings. Part of that process was to remove the back half of the exhaust. When I managed to do that, I decided to figure out where the rattle was coming from.

    There were a dozen or so pieces of small gravel between the heat shield and the underside of the car. That was the only thing causing the rattle.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    somers,ny
    Posts
    4,040
    Quote Originally Posted by Dakar Ole View Post
    Only a suggestion, but I would look into whether your car has a cat converter support bracket at that location because I just replaced the entire support/clamp on my car that was completely rusted to a falling apart, rattling against the heat shield condition.


    same here

  7. #7
    Join Date
    May 2013
    Location
    USA
    Posts
    445
    My Cars
    2001 Z3 3.0/5 roadster
    Quote Originally Posted by jrkoupe View Post
    same here
    Bunch of parts but a simple job! Got the two main parts from Latvia and it's all so nice and refreshed.

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