what's the exhaust resonator do?

heraldhamster

ours started rattling like F*CK and I want to get it out. I thought at first it was the cat conv. but it's not.
any thoughts, advice? do we need it? I'm sure Honda put it there for a purpose, but what?

thanks!
...jm.

ThinkFab

it takes the nasty raspy sounds out of the exgaust, kind of like a second muffler. you dont really need it.

heraldhamster

good, that's what I wanted to know.

jpciii

It is probably just the heat shield that is rattling... you can usually cut those off pretty easily... or have an exhaust shop hit it with a welder.

Kahuna

The resonator vibrates at a certain frequency to drown out the rasp of the hondaness. Or at least thats what I've been told..

Haydz

jpciii wrote:

It is probably just the heat shield that is rattling... you can usually cut those off pretty easily... or have an exhaust shop hit it with a welder.

Yeah this is the most likely situation. Just get some metal cable ties and wrap them right around and tighten it up, has just come loose.

heraldhamster

nope. I've had the heat shield mostly off via the rusted metal screws, etc. and it still rattles. it's inside the wider section of pipe, back of the cat & front of the muffler.

just haven't had time yet to cut.

civicmania

Regarding exhaust rattle, My auto wagon rattles like crazy when I shift into reverse, the cause? The front engine mount is worn. So before you replace any honda exhaust please check your engine and tranny mounts for wear, (you don't want your new exhaust to break again do you?) The heat shield is a common cause for rattle too.

civicmania

Your rattle may also be caused by some rusted pieces inside the pipes from the cat or baffles rusting out inside your system, just a guess and depends on how old your exhaust is. (tip: If you only drive short trips your exhaust will never get a chance to fully heat up and burn off corrosive chemicals, So if you usually go for short drives, take the car out for a longer drive to extend your exhaust life, about once a week should be good to burn off the crap)...Why anyone would not want to keep driving a honda is beyond me But I know this is the cause on premature exhaust failure in all cars, hope this helps

heraldhamster

we've had the muffler replaced once since we've owned it (almost 2 years) and the guy (tech?) at Midas said we'd have to effectively drive about 5 hours to completely heat and dry out the muffler since it's so far back there.

even in a Honda who can afford to drive that far & long with gas prices the way they are. at 60mph, & prices where I live that's $25.

hmm, motor mount? so you're saying a broken motor mount could cause the exhaust to stress and break?

ThinkFab

heraldhamster wrote:

hmm, motor mount? so you're saying a broken motor mount could cause the exhaust to stress and break?

definatly. if you have a broken mount, prop the hood and get in your car, put it in 1st gear and take off like you normaly would, make sure that your looking at your engine. if your mounts are bad or one is broken, your engine will jump up a few inches.