Hey guys, I have a problem with my beloved 92 Miata. There is a very annoying rattling that has been increasing in intensity over the past couple hundred miles. It started it's life as only occuring at 3k RPM give or take a 100. Now, it has progressed to virtually anywhere lower than 4K, it is most pronounced when the tach reads closest to 3k and when the engine is dropping revs. It does this in or out of gear. I recently installed aftermarket headers, but I re-torqued all of the bolts and everything is super tight, The down tube does not perfectly mate with the cat however, and so there may be some exhaust gasses rattling the gasket there. I've also read about catalyctic converters burning up and causing similar side effects. Anyone know of a way to check the catalyctic converter, or possibly something not related to the exhaust system that I should check? Also a better way to mate the new headers with the old cat? Any pulley wobble is minimal enough to disregard. This is a fairly new engine, maybe
35k miles on it in a 197k car! I'm a college student and rarely get a chance to play mechanic with my car so I'm looking for a second opinion.- posted
20 years ago