I had the Alta Exhaust installed about 5 months ago, and although it has a great sound I have noticed a loud rattle. The rattle sounds like something maybe be loose or rubbing on something-it is louder at lower speeds around town. This noise came after the muffler was installed and did not exist prior to that date. Any solutions?

 

Did the rattle show up right away or has it come along recently? Do you hear it when you start the car up, after it's warmed up, or both?

I would put the car up on jacks and then crawl under it with a rubber mallet. If it's the exhaust, you'll probably zero in on the problem area pretty quickly if you start tapping it at one end and work your way along. Could just be a loose bolt. Could be something's coming apart inside (resonator or muffler - resonator came apart on one of mine - no, it wasn't an ALTA). Or, it might be rattling against the heat shield somewhere. To check, just slide your hand along between the exhaust and the heat shield to check for clearance.

 

Che ck out the thread on the JCW Resonator removal - he found the exhaust tips were rubbing on the rear valence.
Could be your issue as well.

 

I had a similar rattle on a Milltek I recently installed and it turned out to be that the passenger side muffler was bouncing off the heat shield around the battery cover. However, the rattle was only present at idle and only after the car at full operating temperature, when the exhaust system tends to vibrate more (at least mine ). Since the single Alta Sportone muffler is on the same side as the one I had the problem with, it might be useful to check the clearance.

Two possible solutions: one slightly barbaric method is to create some clearance between the muffler and the heat shield with a screwdriver or something similar; the second is to install some spacers (washers) between the rubber hangers and the unibody to lower the hangers, and therefore the piping and the muffler, a bit. I used three washers for the second method and it has worked just fine (for now).

Hope this helps!

 

Thanks for the leads. It tends to be more noticeable when I start up or drive slower at neighborhood speeds. At higher speeds the muffler sound/noise takes over and I can't tell if it's there or not. Anytime of day and temp-it plays no favorites. I'm taking the MINI in for brakes(a local fellow with a MINI happens to have a Brit repair shop) at the end of the week so I can peek around then.

 

i have the alta exhaust too... started rubbing on the heat shield on the way home. turned out to be the first muffler/resonator was rubbing. bend the heat shield away from the res or cut it... sound should be fixed.

also, since this started happening several months after initial install i'd double check the flanges and all mounts to be sure it's secure.

-glen

 

take a mallet and get under the car. smack the begeesus out of it . whatever touches a heat sheild simply bend out of the way . this is how all of us ex meineke guys do it . ha.. cat's out of the bag now.

 

the secret is out! lol. and I thought you guys were highly skilled service people. I'll get on it this weekend.

Also good point glnr13, I'll check the other areas to see that it is not about to fall off altogether. Updates to come.

 

Did you ever find anything? I have a bad rattle that seems to be coming from my ALTA exhaust as well.