hey guys...my 98 gsr is making a weird buzzing sound at around 3300 rpm...ive read about this and ppl are saying its a honda 'A-pipe' rattle thing...i was wondering how do i get rid of it? its really annoying and really loud...would replacing my cat fix it? or is it something else? it sounds like its coming from my cat..but im not quite sure...thanks for any info

 

Umm... the easiest way in my opinion would be to just pick up a DC sports header and be done with it, pending it is the A-Pipe rattle... It sounds like it's coming from the cat, but if you have the car cool and you lightly tap on the cat with the handle of a hammer, and hear no rattling, then the cat's likely not suspect.

 

A-pipe? WTF is an "A" pipe?"

The "B" pipe is what would be called a downpipe on the turbo, the thing that connects the manifold to the rest of the exhaust system (generally, a cat converter.)

 

If it is rattling near the cat it is probably the bracket that supports the exhaust in that area. That was the problem with mine. I used a hose clamp to hold the bracket assembly tight and that fixed it. Could also be heat sheilds in that area.

 

The exhaust manifold in 3rd gen integras are double-walled, and first half of the manifold (The A section, closer to the block) has a failure that the internal welds start to fail and it develops a resonance around the 3.3-3.5K RPM range. Sounds like absolute ASS, almost like you have a piece of metal stuck in the exhuast manifold that's being knocked around super fast.

Happened to me... swapped out the header for an aftermarket one, and poof, no more noise.

 

hmmm....i was thinking about getting a header anyway...i guess now would be a good time...know any places i can get a dc sports 4-2-1 ss (dont want ceramic cuz ppl say it cracks after a couple years) for cheap? i dont trust ebay btw...heh...been burned a couple times already...

 

Hey I had the same exact problem. Every damn 3rd gen integra has a rattling A-pipe. The A-Pipe is the section of the exhaust manifold that directly connects to the cat. The B-Pipe is the larger section of piping after the cat. An OEM replacement A-Pipe is around $600. Buy a header instead, save yourself $350, and gain a few horsepower. I did that and the rattle has never come back.

 

could be the a-pipe, could be the converter, could be the header bracket. check the last 2 first.

 

I had that exact problem it just started like 3 days ago...I got it fixed today and it turned out to be my heat sheild around my cat. Notning a clamp wouldnt fix..and es the rattle happened at 3500 rpm's or so.

 

Well, the heatshield sounds most definitely like a rattle, while the A-pipe failure sounds like a grinding buzz that doesn't really taper from start to finish (It's more like it clicks on and clicks off)... it literally sounds like "mmmMMMM -BUUUUUUUUZZZ-MMMMM" when you accelerate over that RPM range. To check though, if you tap around there with some wood and not too had (As to not damage the cat), heat shields will rattle significantly, while the a-pipe wont make any noise with regular tapping.