Hey everyone,

I made a trip yesterday from CT to Philly, about 200 miles, without a problem. Made a trip to school and a trip to the gas station when I got here. On my third trip out for dinner, I heard a weird vibration type noise. It sounds completely different from the drone of the muffler or any other sounds it makes. It sounds almost like a rattle. It only happened when shifting from 1-2 and from 2-3, and it happened sporadically...I can't replicate it, it just happens whenever it feels the need to. It sounds like it's coming from the back end, and I'm thinking it could be the muffler or at least in that area.

I don't have any tools whatsoever in my apartment, so I can't go through and tighten up the hangers and clamp. That was my guess on what it could be, however, if I grab onto the exhaust tip and shake the muffler, it doesn't budge. Any ideas on what it could be?

 

Check all that you said you will first.
If it's not that then,,,,,,,,,
Could be the one or both of the catalytic converters guts coming lose.
Could also be one of the cat's heat shields coming lose.
Typical problem.
If the cat's guts are coming lose due to being clogged then burning/blowing out, cat replacement is called for.
If it be the shield/s, weld them back or use some other method. You can also remove them.
Wolfey

 

I had this same problem in my pickup... It was the cat... it was really badly clogged... I have the same issue with my mustang now... I only get it when driving on flat roads, slightly accelerating... I want to bring it in for warranty, butI am horrified at what might happen, and if I tell themI think it is the cat's they are gonna laugh at me...

 

That's exactly how mine happens, when I slightly accelerate. If I punch it, no problem, and it's very sporadic at that. If it's not the muffler, I was thinking it was the heat shield...had the same problem with my Tracker. Sounds similar, but it was much more pronounced on the Tracker.

If the cats are clogged, would my option be replacing them? How do they get clogged?

 

dodge pickup originally had the heat shield vibration problem, many moons later it started again, however this time it was in fact the cats themselves... Easiest way is to pay someone to do it... would warranty cover a catalytic converter swap at 10K miles? Thats pretty shady for a cat to clog that early, my dodge only had one cat and it lasted until 180K miles... Im not sure how they get clogged... Assuming it is just buildup from the excess of fuel being burned off...

 

Well, I've got about 18500mi on my car, so I'm thinking that they won't cover it under the warranty...but I guess I could try if that's the issue.....

 

http://www.2005stang.com/gallery/alb...%20console.pdf

Check this tech article out. It may be what is ailing you. By the way Im in Newington near the Berlin tpke. If you see a 06 Tungsten grey with Black stripes and the driver covered in tats, Hey Thats me!!! Wave !!

 

Cats just dont fail. Theres gotta be something wrong. If your cat was plugged, you'd know it, as your car wouldnt go anywhere anytime quick.
Cats can fail from running rich, all the excess fuel can get into them, if you run bad gas, that can cause it too, as well as many other things.

 

I use 93 octane Shell gas...93 tune from Brenspeed.

I figured that if the cats were clogged there would be a loss in power...definitely no loss. I'll be putting her up on my ramps in the afternoon tomorrow to take a look.

Funny how I had no problems at all, and then as soon as I bring her to the dealership for a TSB.... [:@]

 

Well, today, the vibration/rattle is gone, and I did nothing to the car other than have a new stereo with Sirius installed. Go figure. Didn't have time to get her up in the air and under her today, but I will tomorrow afternoon. I did take a quick glance from under the hood, in the back, and on the sides, and saw nothing...shook the muffler, checked the clamp from the muffler to the exhaust pipe, still nothing...