On my 97 LX, a rattling noise comes from my exhaust when i give it gas. I suppose it might be the heat shield, would that be a problem to remove? If it isn't the heat shield what else could it be?
Thanks

 

Very likely to be a heatshield. The shield above the muffler can be removed by removing the (3) 10mm bolts, which will likely snap.

There are catalytic converter heatshields on the top and bottom, those can rattle too. The bottom one can be removed, but the top one should be tightened or replaced since the cat get VERY hot while driving.

 

Hi, I have a 1997 Honda Accord LX wagon. I had no problem removing the first two of the 3 10mm screws that you mentioned. The problem is, I cannot find the 3rd one. The outer two are on a little "built-in" flange with their holes. I keep running my hand around and looking with a flashlight and I even have my service manual open. I know I might have to lower the muffler but it's hard to get the rubber grommets off. I will lower the muffler if I must, but I was just wondering if you know where the 3rd screw is? I know this is a funny question.

PS An idea just occured to me to look up the part online and study the holes so I'll try that if this is too much trouble for you or
you don't get to it. Thanks.

I believe it's about in the middle on the opposite side but it's not all the way on the side - that's why it's hard to find and take
off without removing the muffler. I can tell by the way the heat shield/baffle flexes and spins a little that it's there but I
can't see it. I guess I just have to feel with my fingers if they're long enough or unhang the muffler. I've lubricated the
rubber hangers but it's a pain to do that. I even have a belt and hangar ready. I'll try again.

I almost forgot to mention one other idea I might try when I go out again - use one of those rotating head wrenches -
Craftsman makes them but mine is a 9/16". I need a rotator that is 10mm. Some company might make these. If not
I would have to use a torch and curve a wrench - this would be a lot of work. So I'll check online and try to find
that kind of wrench in a 10mm. It might work. It's called a Flex Head Combination Wrench. I have to make sure
it's long enough - 10mm wrenches usually are not more than 6" long - ugh.
I've ordered a flex head combo wrench - i'll try that when it comes in.

 

Are you working around the cat or around the muffler?

Me, the easy thing to do for the cat....get a hose clamp or two (if you undo one and link it to another to make one long clamp) and use that "big"clamp to hold the sheild tight....good to go.

If you are going to "play" with the Honda for any length of time, a set of metric swivel scokets (at least 8, 10, 12, 14, 17 comes in handy every now and then) and most things becone easy.

 

Not the cat, just the muffler's baffle right near the back of the wagon. At least I know where the 3rd bolt is now. My flex head should arrive Friday - I have bad weather until then anyway. I'll look into that. I'm basically just exploring the possibility that I might be able to get the 3rd bolt off without dropping the muffler down. But I know it's a long shot. So Saturday, I'll probably have to drop the muffler - no big deal, I just didn't want to since the pipe leading in is rusty. I have a belt ready to go though. It takes a lot of pushing and pulling to get both rubber holders off - they are really tight so I wanted to skip that. I might get lucky. It's the weather that's complicating this one - it's snowing all the time. Those swivels would be nice but they cost a lot - my flexhead was 14.95 used. But I'll look into those anyway - they might come in handy for other jobs.

I actually forgot that I have a breaker bar. I believe it swivels so I may try that before my tool arrives. I fear that it's too
thick but I might be able to squeeze it in there with a socket on it.

 

Wow, I just put another 45 minutes into the job and hit paydirt (or paysnow).
I'll describe how I got the muffler baffle/heatshield off of my 1997 Honda LX wagon:

I got my breaker bar ready with an adapter and a 10mm socket. I then realized that I could NOT fit it in without lowering the muffler. This time I had a better time. There is a part of the right rear wheel suspension that hangs down. I just threw my belt over that and tied it. I also had the coat hangar from before, and one more point - there is a part near the middle of the exhaust that also holds things up. So then I started to move the muffler a little as I pushed on the rubber grommets and got the right one off looking towards the front of the car. Then some more WD-40 and the left one came off too. Then the muffler dropped about 3" which was enough to finally see the rusted center bolt of the heat shield. I then sprayed more WD-40 and started with the breaker bar - it broke right away but I had to switch back and forth between the breaker bar and another ratchet to get the screw off. Why so hard? Because the center screw is in a different environment (where water gets trapped and causes greater rust). Think of it that the outer two screws have sun and air blowing over them and the water isn't as trapped. I can tell that the mechanics did NOT overtorque the center-bolt - it just had rust all down the shaft. So in all, it took me 45 minutes of work to get the center screw out and the heat-shield off. So now I will be able to install my hitch. So I can rest a little while. I had to crane my neck under my car to do this. My ramps helped a lot though. I would recommend keeping the socket straight by pushing forwards a little if you're reaching. So you don't strip the head of the nut. I even got the socket stuck on the nut about 4 or 5 times. But I persisted and the screw is off. I'm sure that it's the rustiest of the 3 screws by a little anyway. They are all rusty screws. But the biggest helper here was sliding the rubber muffler hold-ups (for lack of a better term) off. This made the job much easier. If you were to take a bike wrench or steel wrench, you might be able to put a curve in them but now that the muffler is hanging down some, it was just much easier. To get those, rubbers off, use a combination of strength, lubricant, and lastly, geometry - move the muffler a little as you take them off and they will come off easier. Later on dudes! PS Be careful you don't get WD-40 in your mouth - I'm fairly sure that what came down in my mouth was just water.