FE light tap & rattling noise

[DanEC]

Originally Posted by kevins2

Hi Dan,

It was hard to hear the noise on the video but from what I thought I heard, it sounded like an exhaust leak at the slip joint. I had such a leak and could hear it as a rattling sound mostly when shifting (during engine deceleration) and when idling. Is your noise louder on one side of the car or the other or the same from both sides? It would be strange if both sides were leaking. My slip joints are also sealed with Walker's but I was able to determine exactly which one was leaking. Laying under the car, I grabbed the collector and wiggled it. I could see movement at one of the 4 slip joints - the collector moved differently than the header. The other 3 pipes moved as a unit so could tell they were solid. It was easier than expected to remove the sidepipe, get the old Walker's off and remount. I used a more generous amount of Walkers so hopefully that solved the problem.

Kevin

Hi Kevin,

The rattling sound during light throttle/decel sounds like what I'm experiencing and what was causing me to look at the valve train - but maybe it is some sort of exhaust issue. I just took my exhaust system apart - didn't remove the header pipes completely from the engine but loosened them. Hoping the noise might be a slip joint, I very liberablly coated them with Walkers sealent - and the noise is still there. So this is helping to point me back to the gasket at the heads not sealing.

It does seem to be mostly on the passenger side and even in the video you might be able to tell it's louder at the passenger side rocker than it is at the driver side.

What are you using for header gaskets at the head.

Thanks