basically, whenever I hit exactly 1900 RPM under load, something on my car buzzes very loudly. VERY loudly. It's basically a really fast vibration, so fast that is comes off as one loud sound, not really like the tradition vibration sound. It only happens at exactly 1900 rpm, which is wierd, and means its based off of some sort or resonance in the engine or exhaust. It also gets louder based on how much load is on the engine. This has made the problem very hard to pinpoint, as it makes no sound at all in neutral and 1st gear, so I cant just look under the car when its making that noise. I've gone under the car when its parked and looked for loose components, and the only thing that looks like it could be a problem is the heat shield on the cat. It seems a little loose, and the lower heat shield has rusted off of one of the bolts, but would that small a problem cause a buzzing sound loud enough to make people nervous riding in my car? Everything else seems pretty tight and secure. Problem is, even the cheap online places are asking at least $25 per heat sheild, plus exhaust bolts and shipping thats $60 too much to spend on speculation (i'm cheap)

is there anything else that could be the problem?
how safe is it to remove the heat shields on the cat temporarily? that thing gets HOT...

thanks.

 

Yes, it can make a lot of noise.
Puta big hose clamp around the loose end of the heatshield.

 

a hose clamp sounds like a pretty good idea actually...

 

aren't the heat shields more to protect cables n wires? I don't think it does anything for the cat itself.

 

yes, but i dont want the cables and wires to fry lol.

I'm talking about the heat shields that are directly bolted onto the cat, aka the covers.

 

Been there, done it, heard it.
Check out this link that has the Service Bulletin

http://img201.imageshack.us/my.php?i...xhstbzzaq1.gif

 

thanks for the reply, but the problem in there was actually quite a bit different from mine. I went under the car today and noticed that the upper cat cover had rusted around both the front left bolt and the rear right bolt. The slight vibration was being amplified by the vibrations bouncing from one corner of the cat to the other, and was VERY loud. putting one hose clamp on the front quieted it, but didnt completely eliminate it. I plan to get another and put it on the rear, just as a temporary solution until i replace the covers.

for future reference, i used a stainless steel 5-7" hose clamp.