Hey guys,

One of the most concerning noises that I have gotten out of my volvo is loose stuff on the exhaust tubes creating racket, usually at specific rpm's. It has happened several times to a previous volvo, and once before to my current. It is happening again with my current volvo, but I have been too lazy to go out there and actually figure out what was wrong. It sounds like bolts flying around in the bellhousing (gee, did I get them all tight when I did a clutch job and tranny replacement?). Anyway, it is the shrouds that cover the downpipe above and below the bracket that connects to the bellhousing which have created this noise for me. The first time it occurred my solution was to have a welder remove it. This time I think I'll do the same as I know of no other alternatives. I think the FAQ could use a mention to this problem (I couldn't find one anyway).

Is there anything wrong with simply having the offending shrouds removed? Are they there for heat dissipation?

For those interested:
Short clip of rattle in mp3
Long clip
They are 67kb and 187 kb, respectively. Upload bandwith is about 20k/sec.

--Nathan