I have had a rattle under the ram ever since I got it ( 10 months ago) that has been driving me crazy. The only time it would rattle is when it was in gear and the engine running at idle since my parking brake dont work I couldnt get under it to find out what it was . well the other day I was noseing around under the truck and reached up and whopped the cat and wala there was the rattle. Now wht is the best way to stop it without replacing the cat. I cant remove the heat shield because I park it in high grass a lot of the time and it is very hot ,might start a fire. I thought abt wedging a steel bar between the shield and the cat but if it falls out it might hit saomeone behind me. So someone tell me how you fixed yours. tks terry-----tboss

 

Well if the cat is rattling, it is no good and needs to be replaced.

 

Is the rattle coming from inside the unit, or is the heat shield hitting the catalytic converter causing the rattling?

If the catalytic converter is bad (which it is if the rattle is coming from inside the unit), the only way to fix it is to replace it. The Magnaflow high flow converter is a decent unit, and you can order it from Summit or someplace and get a shop to weld it in for you. If you are lucky enough to have a welder, you can probably do the entire project yourself.

If you buy the converter ($75-$80 for the unit itself, with shipping and handling, approximately $100 total from Summit) and have a shop do it, you're looking at approximately $50 or so worth of labor.

Meineke sold me the converter itself for $145, but this way I also have a 1 year warranty on it through them, so no shipping charge for a RMA if something goes wrong.

Up to you which way to go if you replace the cat. If you wait too long, you will probably start to notice lack of power (especially at highway speeds), misfires, and various other problems.

 

The heat shield is doing all the rattling . I just need a way to make it where it wont beat against the side of the cat. the cat is in good condition on the innside so I dont need to replace it. tks terry------tboss

 

My apologies, I read "cat" and "rattling" and assumed the cat was doing it.

Did you do a search? I think a rattling heat shield has been discussed before, but I could be imagining things...

 

i'd go to a muffler shop and see if they'll weld it up for $10.

 

you wanna hear an annoying noise? When I put the clutch in my truck, the guy helping me dropped an exhaust bolt down my exhaust pipe and it ended up in the cat...

 

I'd make him pay for a new cat.