Ok so one more question. The 02 Pathy we just bought has been making some noise around the exhaust pipe and the sound is similar to a sound that would be made if the back door wasn't fully closed and was bouncing around or the window bouncing around if not fully closed. When grabbing the exhaust pipe you can actually move it around and seems to be loose and we believe that's what's causing the noise and it's just getting looser because the sounds gotten a little but worse. But someone also mentioned somewhere it may be an exhaust leak like the 01s were plaqued with. Any ideas or what symptoms should I look for for the leak? I read towel over the exhaust and kinda feel for a leak somewhere in the exhaust

My R50's (99 and 04) have both had plenty of rusty exhaust issues. Mostly annoying heat shield rattles. Those I fix by bending and/or removing the offending tin. Both also had the pipe rust to the point of failure just ahead of the main/rear muffler. I repaired these myself. I just used a dremel, some replacement pipe sections, exhaust repair tape and clamps. It won't win any beauty contests but both are holding up extremely well.

Note: The tail pipe will move around a little even in perfect condition... maybe an inch of play in any direction. If it moves around loosely and more than inch or so then it's no longer connected. When the motor is cool, slide under there and have a look. Move the pipe around and see what's happening. Also, carefully look/listen under there with it running. I bet it's a loose heat shield. I swear... as soon I silence one heat shield rattle it's two weeks till I hear a new one.

I also tossed many of the heat shield pieces. Tin snips and my angle cutter worked wonders on getting the loose, rusted pieces out of the way. Can't say I have noticed any extra heat permeating the cab ...just quiet(er).

Deanster wrote:Ok so one more question. The 02 Pathy we just bought has been making some noise around the exhaust pipe and the sound is similar to a sound that would be made if the back door wasn't fully closed and was bouncing around or the window bouncing around if not fully closed. When grabbing the exhaust pipe you can actually move it around and seems to be loose and we believe that's what's causing the noise and it's just getting looser because the sounds gotten a little but worse. But someone also mentioned somewhere it may be an exhaust leak like the 01s were plaqued with. Any ideas or what symptoms should I look for for the leak? I read towel over the exhaust and kinda feel for a leak somewhere in the exhaust

I had a rattle like you described, and I thought it was the exhaust also. However when I started investigating, I then thought it was the spare tire. I removed it but the noise still occured. I then found what looked like a fuel something or other, that had a loose bolt, and so I tightened it and the rattle went away. It was on the drivers side, back corner, not too far from the spare tire.