Update! Sound Narrowed Down to Two Parts in the Exhaust Line
1. Flapper Squeak (easy fix, see below).
- Locking the flapper open stopped the very-high squeak on my 23 Yukon 6.2L L87.
- First check if your flapper squeaks by quickly rotating it (hot part, wear gloves)
- Take a video to see which way your flapper opens, rev it, mine is clockwise.
- After moving the coil tip to full-open, the coil will bulge. Tuck it under with pliers.
- How-to-DIY (undo by just moving the coil tip back)
2. Catalytic Converter Whistle/Chirp
Heard in the cats using a mechanic stethoscope, verified with chart readings. The right combination of exhaust flow rate and cat temp seems to reproduce the sound. Explains why performance/non-OEM exhaust upgrades don't seem to have this sound.
Fix - Options to make it go away
- Replace OEM with non-OEM cats
- Replace OEM muffler with non-OEM (changes exhaust flow rate)
- Replace OEM resonators with non-OEM (changes exhaust flow rate)
Notes:
- Reproducing varies with weather, air pressure, humidity, temp
- Occurs under combined conditions:
-- Catalytic Converter Temp between 1180-1200 degrees F
-- Exhaust Flow Rate around 22 gallons / sec