Need help!

[Jacob_Royer]

Made about a 100 mile trip started with a fresh tank of gas.. Car ran fine passed a few people no noises plenty of power good oil pressure good temp everything fine.. Got almost home (at this point i was down to 1/2 tank) and every time id go up a hill or lug on the engine i had a rattling noise which didnt quite sound like spark knock but not sure what it was.. Well babied it home and checked it out didnt look like exhaust was loose anywhere heat shields on the convertors tight.. Car never lost any performance oil looks new just has a noise.. So i thought bad gas? i pull the octane plug put the car in gear give it some gas hear the noise... noticed a little play in the blower awhile back so i pull the s/c and jackshaft belt off thinking the blower is making noise... Still makes the noise.. One thing i do know is the driver side motor mount is in bad shape but i couldnt see anything hitting anything that could make it do that... Any ideas on what to look for its late i am going to sleep on it but if anyone has any sugestions of things to check out let me know.. the car is a 93 auto s/c 120k or so.. Also could this possible be somthing loose in the cats? or one of them??

[Jacob_Royer]

Ok i did a pretty thorough visual check and can see anything hitting the exhaust anywhere and i used my stethescope didnt hear anything on the engine out of the ordinary but i noticed i could hear it in the exhaust at the resonator barely.. Behind it nothing in front of it on the passenger side the closer i got to the cat the louder it gets.. nothing loose heat shield is tight didnt look like antything could possibly touch the cat.. is there anything inside the cats that can rattle?

[ThunderDave]

Jacob, could be the inside of the cat is broken up. Are they the stock cats? If it's a rattle coming from that area, more than likely, that's what it is. :(

[Jacob_Royer]

Yes they are the stockers... i just wanted to make sure it is not somthing bad.. if its the cats might be time for OR downtubes

[ThunderDave]

With the car not hot, you can tap the cats with a rubber hammer and see if they rattle that way. If they are stock, I'd say it's time for some new ones.

[Jacob_Royer]

If i replace the cats with pipe (no smog testing here) will the car be loud keeping the rest of the exhaust stock? or should i not notice any diffrence?

[Jacob_Royer]

Ok tried the rubber hammer now i am 100% sure its the passenger side cat... What are the dangers (if any) of driving it like that for a couple months?

[ThunderDave]

If you took the cats out and left the rest of the exhaust stock (resonator and mufflers) I don't think it would be that bad.

Over time little pieces of the inside might get blown into the rest of the exhaust. If it's small pieces it might get blown all the way out. If it's a larger piece, it might get stuck and then you'll have a rattle in your resonator or mufflers. :eek:

[Jacob_Royer]

Ok looks like maybe a set of drag pipes from texas thunderbirds would be the route?

[Jacob_Royer]

Ok gone ahead and pretty much decided on some texas thunderbirds down tubes and am debating on going with a magnaflow resonator while i am at it.. Now with no cats and a magnaflow am i going to get a droning farty sounding exhaust or will it still be about as quiet as stock? i just want to keep it quiet if possible.. deffinately leaving the stock mufflers on but it seems logical to replace the resonator while i am at it as it looks to be getting old anyway.

[ThunderDave]

I don't think you'll have too much drone with the stock mufflers. THe resonator is a big restriction on the exhaust, as are the cats, so replacing it with a magnaflow is a good idea.