So I Changed My Rsm's, But That Wasnt The..

[98three28i]

Not much more to say...I was hearing a metallic clanking/rattling noise coming from the underside/back of the car...a 98' 328i auto...and when traveling over bumps and potholes w/ the windows down, the noise was very apparent...and annoying. With reccomendation from the dealer and from reading the forums, I decided to replace my rear strut mounts. When I did take the old RSM's off...they looked fine..no holes in the rubber, perfect. The car has 90k on it, so I figure they must've been replaced by the previous owner...since they were in suck good shape. Turns out the noise culprit was the heat shield surrounding one of the cat converters. I still dont really have a fix for it, but was just going to rip it off and see what happens.

any input on that???

[4evrwyntr]

YOu could do that - just be careful not to damage the converter. Also, be aware that the area above the heat shield (trunk?) will be much warmer than before - in some instances enough to actually burn the floor. Most of the time (99%) there shouldn't be any problem with just tearing the thing off. I'm actually missing the heat shiled before the cata convertor in my car. No problems at all.