turns out the problem ["choking noise"] is a heat shield gone nuts.
garage dude wants to take it out... is this smart? won't that let things get overheated? any info?
it's pretty obvious i don't know much about this, but anyone who does...

 

i have kinda the same problem my heat sheild rattles and i cant tighten it because the bolts are rusted and striped.

 

If its not the heat shield covering the exhaust manifold in the engine compartment then it shouldn't cause that much trouble.

 

wait... so the verdict is taking it out is a good idea or a bad one?

 

can't make a verdict if we don't know what the actual problem is

 

right you are. lemme rephrase that:

how essential is each section of the heat shield?

ie, if one side starts rattling when you hit the gas and yr told it has to go, is that safe?
can you get by just fine without part of the heat shield?
because as far as i can tell, the gent who's dealing with my car intends to remove, not replace.
and though i know pretty much ****-all about my car, i wonder what the point is of taking out something it obviously needed to begin with
...hope that's more coherent... if not, time for me to go buy mazdas for dummies i guess cheers.

 

You can take it off without anything catastrophic happening.

But it is there for a reason. Thise cast iron manifolds get pretty hot and then stay hot for awhile. The heat will radiate and soak into your radiator. Enough to cause a problem? Maybe when summer rolls around and you're stuck in traffic with the AC on...

The radiated heat will also reduce the efficiency of the condensor on the AC system.

So yeah, take it off so the noise doesn't bother you while figuring out what you're going to do as a permanent solution

 

think about what you are telling him to do ,, there are more than one heat shield on the car ,,
1) on the hader(manifold)
2) under the car ( on top off and under the exhaust next to the cat ....
if it is by the manifold , no you can't remove it but you can replace it .......
if it is the one under the car, yes it can go
Bruc e

 

it's under the car and i don't have an AC so that's cleared up. thanks guys.

 

I was specifically talking about the heat shield that bolts to the top of the header because that's the one most people remove. Yes you "can" remove it, but consider the drawbacks/impacts before doing so. I had mine off for a couple days while I replaced my cracked exhaust manifold with no problems whatsoever.

Of course, I tossed all the heat shielding on the lower sections of the exhaust when I had my cat back fabricated at the muffler shop...no problems yet.

 

I have the same problem with the heat shield on my 95. It's not the heat shield in the engine bay, it's the heat shield that also protects the exhaust from getting damaged badly by rocks and stuff. Why can't the mechanic spot weld two little spots? vuala! Fixed and safe.

 

the manifold cover is there for a reason , to keep under hood heat temps down , wich helps an engine produce more power by allowing the intake to suck in cooler air, and not recirculated hot air or heated air coming off the manifold headers. if you move it temporarily to make a repair ok cool , but you should eventually look to put it back asap ......
as for the shield under the car, yes you can remove that ..
Bruce

 

yeah this was a shield under the car, welded to the exhaust. years of snow and salt rusted it almost off and it was in a couple of pieces, hence the death rattle. is weird driving without the noise, i can tell ya.

thanks for yr help guys

 

ok , I know what you are talking about, I had that problem also ,, I just had the guy cut it off,,, no big deal ,, no downside to removing that peace
Bruce