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Problem with Cobb turbo heat shield - VIBRATION FIXED (w/ pics)

21K views 11 replies 6 participants last post by  man show 
#1 ·
After I installed my Cobb downpipe, Cobb turbo heat shield, and flashed to Stage 2, I started hearing a random rattle under my hood and I figured it was just wastegate flutter, but it turns out it was actually my Cobb turbo heat shield rubbing up against a metal line (for lack of a better description). I don't actually know what the part is called - maybe someone can tell me what it is from the pics I took - but I'm glad I found the problem because if I let it go, I'm sure it would have eventually punctured the line. Fortunately, without taking anything apart, I was able to neatly grind away a small section of the heat shield with a dremel tool to allow what I think is significant clearance between the two parts. I'm happy to report that my rattle is now gone. So, if anyone is thinking of buying and installing a Cobb turbo heat shield, just beware of this potential issue.
 

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#7 ·
Damn, i could make my own heatsheild for like $10.... But then again it doesn't say "COBB" on it. :( It looks like man show got an early production COBB heatsheild before they fixed the problem???
 
#9 ·
96 accord: Sorry, I didn't mean to compare wastegate flutter to my rattle. I honestly don't really know what wastegate flutter sounds like. Shortly after I upgraded to Stage 2, I noticed the sound and did a little reading on these forums and one of the most common answers I got was, "The sound you're hearing is most likely wastegate flutter," so I just assumed that's what it was. The rattle that I was hearing before is definitely gone, but I'm sure there's still a little bit of wastegate flutter - I still don't know exactly what that sounds like. The thing my heatshield was rubbing against very well could be my wastegate arm - I don't know. And I believe your heat shield is different than mine. I just ordered my part from the cheapest place I could find it and assumed it would work. But shit happens and parts get mixed up, so I don't blame the company who made it or the place I ordered it from. Other than that one obvious point of contact, it seems to fit fine now.

SuBeast: Yep, I paid $50.00 for it from Boostbuddy.com Home Page and I think I had free shipping, but I can't remember. And yes, you can make your own turbo heat shield for less money, but I took the lazy way out because I preferred to have some bling under my hood - and it matches my downpipe, so that's my excuse. You can actually modify (cut) your stock turbo heat shield, but that thing is fugly in my opinion and I decided to keep mine in tact in case I ever wanted to put my car back to stock to sell it. I very well could have been sent an older version of the turbo heat shield, but I have no way of knowing. In a way, it was my own fault for not thoroughly checking clearances when I installed it. I'm sure I would have noticed how close it was to the metal tube, but I was just happy to have everything back together at the time.

zmanoside: Yeah, I wish mine had that notch taken out. It would have saved me a little trouble, but I think everything's good now. I'm glad you looked at yours though, because if your turbo heat shield was rubbing a notch in your metal line, I bet you'd be pretty happy you read this and I'd feel good for helping a fellow Subie out :)
 
#12 ·
Cool, thanks.. I tried to take a picture of the dent in the arm, but I couldn't get the camera down far enough for a really good view. Even though the dent is about 1/4 of the way through the arm, it still feels pretty solid, so I don't think I'll have to replace it. Thanks for the info guys.
 
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