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I have an 03 Z06 and had a rattle from my cats that was getting progressively worse. Had the cats replaced and then noticed a rattle from the driver side muffler. I'm convinced it is a piece of the cat.
Is their any possible way to get it out? After looking at pictures of the inside of the titanium mufflers it looks as if the only way out would be for it go back the way it came in. After hitting the muffler with a mallet it sounds like the piece is in the large open area of the muffler, opposite of where the pipes come in.
Makes sense that in theory, if it could get in there, it can get out. But it sounds like you'll have to remove that portion of the titanium catback which might not be the easiest thing to do.
I think that you have correctly diagnosed the issue. It is going to be some work to get the piece of cat out of the muffler. You might be able to use a strong magnet to move the piece and work it out. If that doesn't work, I would unbolt and remove that side from the cat back. You could then hold it upright, and shake it until the piece of cat falls out. You mentioned that you had the cats replaced. Perhaps if you tell the shop that did the work, they might be willing to take care of this for you.
Hook up a big shop vac to blow and duct tape it to the exhaust tips while the muffler is off the car. twist, turn and tap the muffler while twisting and turning with a rubber mallet. The catalyst chunk might come out. Otherwise time to get a muffler. Good news, you can find used C5 mufflers for $120 a pair in most major metro areas. I seem em all the time on my Craigslist...
Thanks for the ideas. I'm pretty positive it's not a baffle, I can hit the bottom of the muffler and hear it bounce around freely. I already tried blowing backwards thru the tailpipes with the exhaust disconnected from the x pipe without any luck. After that I searched "inside of C5 Z06 muffler" and was shocked to see that someone had actually dissected one before lol. It's nice being able to find almost any info on the cars.
Anyways, my next idea is to connect some 1 ¼ inch sump pump hose flex hose I have to my vacuum and feed it into the flange end of the muffler and hope I can get it all the way into the the empty end of the muffler which is where I can hear the piece bouncing around at. The 2.5" inlet seems to shrink down considerably inside the muffler and that's why I think the 1 ¼ hose will be the best option.
I have an 03 Z06 and had a rattle from my cats that was getting progressively worse. Had the cats replaced and then noticed a rattle from the driver side muffler. I'm convinced it is a piece of the cat.
Is their any possible way to get it out? After looking at pictures of the inside of the titanium mufflers it looks as if the only way out would be for it go back the way it came in. After hitting the muffler with a mallet it sounds like the piece is in the large open area of the muffler, opposite of where the pipes come in.
I would remove the catback from the car and shake the hell out of it...You may get lucky
It might be lodged in the pipe at the bend. I used to own a C4. See what I found in the Y-pipe when I went to put the Corsas on. Chunks of cat converter
It might be lodged in the pipe at the bend. I used to own a C4. See what I found in the Y-pipe when I went to put the Corsas on. Chunks of cat converter
The cat material is ceramic. I did not notice any magnetic properties.
The C4 has a single cat followed by a Y-pipe to go to the two mufflers.
The pieces you see in the photo were lodged at the crotch of the Y.
You can see the wear on them from being bounced around in there for a while.
Finally attempted to get this piece out of my muffler. Removed the muffler and shook the muffler for about 10 minutes and the piece came out. No more rattle
Catalyst material in muffler
