Car question

[The Duke]

A bit of a random stab in the dark. Though I throw the question out here before I call Vauxhall tomorrow.

I have a rattle in the end of my exhaust , sound like a small stone (it may be) in my back box. It’s just a tiny rattle, that doesn’t go away when all is heated up. I can’t hear it inside the car, but from outside, you can tell it’s at the rear of the exhaust .

Any ideas?

Oh it’s been happens constantly now for 3 weeks or so.

[Richard]

From my experience it is often a slightly loose baffle in the expansion box though a small child may have added a stone or two. It could even have been a weird squirrel choosing a decidedly odd store larder. I am sure others may come in with other ideas, it can be an annoyance and may get better with time if some build up of material damps it down, sadly it may just as easily get worse or likely stay the same.

How many miles has it done?

[The Duke]

It’s just approching 20k , has the car isnce sept 14.

It does sound like a small lightweight stone. I’m going to sign the garage and get them to look at it. Or at least ring them and get an opinion off them as I need my car unitl about the second week of April .

[Richard]

It has not done that much but possibly enough to loosen something that was marginal to start with, another thought, has it had a close encounter with a flood or a ford? as thermal shock could affect the thing. I am surprised no one else has not leapt in to comment. I hope it is not the cat as they are costly…

[The Duke]

Ill get Vauxhall to pay for it , so it doesn’t matter. Not been though any water. But my first thought was the cold, (even though it hasn’t been that cold), that’s why I just monitored it for the first few weeks.

 

[RSB]

Collapsed baffles

Loose heat shield “Cant see it though being the back box.”

Perished rubbers. I believe your not far from the sea so that equals salt.

It could be somthing thats gone wrong with an other box and been blown through, doubtfull though.

Could be even something in your boot. Or a dead mouse or the equiv as mentioned above regarding squirels.

None the less, nothing to worry about.

Americans: Over Sexed, Over Payed and Over here, Wat Wat!

[Les.]

Quite possibly a bit of ceramic has become detached from the catalytic converter. That would quickly find its way thro to the back box.

Les.

[Boris]

+1 for a loose baffle (modern Vauxhalls do have this fault ?).

My venerable Vauxhall Agila which I’ve had from new in September 2003 still has its original exhaust (with chrome end pipe) which has successfully passed 11 MOT tests.  Photo taken at last test.

Never trust an atom - they make up everything !

[The Duke]

Cheers guys. I should ring the garage, bit I really need the car over the next few weeks and cand be doing with there little Vivas, ok for sort trips, but got a few long is stints to do.

[RSB]

I use to fit a full exuast in ten minutes and they never came back with problems, I can’t see them haveing the car for more than an hour. Go get mc d’s while your waiting.

Americans: Over Sexed, Over Payed and Over here, Wat Wat!

[The Duke]

How dare you sir, I don’t eat McDonald’s. Oh wait, you actually know me. ?

The job may take 10 mins, I’ve had exhausts done before at the local centre, but Vauxhall work on the basis of we’ll pick your car up at 8am and then you get your car back in the evening or the next day. They are hardy efficsnt. And they are crap. But the car is despaired for a wash, not been done since mid December, so may send it in just for the free clean. ?

[Bob Williams]

All the causes Lee puts forward, plus perhaps a mounting bracket or strap. Sometimes a tiny blob of weld from manufacturing.

Lee, were you a spanner-swinging grease monkey, or just an amateur doing his own servicing? Could have done with a 10-minute exhaust fitter in my old workshop. A couple of the winkers I had over the years took 10 minutes just to pick up an exhaust and carry it to the ramp. Taking time off from another job to do it myself, I was pretty quick, depending on the vehicle. Air wrenches and powered hacksaws to remove the old system.

Steve I never had that from any of my Fords… B-)

When the Thought Police arrive at your door, think -
I'm out.

[RSB]

Oh Ive been in the garage since 12 yo but officialy started working in a garage at 15. Lied about age because left school early. Got out of mechanics when I was about 25. I’m no expert, my Dad is but not me but I knew my way round well enough. Not a full mechanic but not a fitter either. Inbetween. I dont miss to be honest, I preferd working with proper machinery, setting up machines such as milling machines. Not this modern stuff, these machines were that old they were turning out bomb shell cases in WW2, highly strung things they were but a pleasure to work with. http://www.lathes.co.uk/parkson/page4.html

Americans: Over Sexed, Over Payed and Over here, Wat Wat!

[The Duke]

I love cars, but hate working on them. To cold, to much bending and I hate oily hands. I could get over the oily hands of bit cold and bending and lying on concrete is not good for a bad back.

Also I have a knack or breaking plastic tabs.y BiL is an aircraft engineer , so is quite good with cars, and where I’ll be genterly trying to get a trim piece off and ultimately break it anyway, he is so heavy handed and just gets them off, really demascates a man. Kicking I’m good with building ,or atleast was, bit still good with technique and a good problem solver, where he isn’t, so I get some points back there. Lol.

I do love watching a lathe on action, wood and metal. More and more I see metal working as a future hobby. Check out ‘make it extreme’ channel on YouTube, the guy is a genius .

 

Bob noting against fords, my dirt offal car fax a mk3 escort van 1991, and the only car I had a real crash in (that I was driving ) was a 2003 fiesta and it disintegrated perfectly and I walked away. Also we was a ford house growing up, XR3i for mum and 1.8 seirras for dad.

The neighbour had a sapire cosworth ,that I lived, bit the fact the day before I set off to boot camp I watch it crack and kill an 18 yo tarnished it for me. Being so dam fit I was first on the screen. It wasn’t pretty.

[Bob Williams]

Wow Lee that is proper old machinery, my son has an old milling machine in his workshop/shed/mancave. Don’t know what it is, I’ll have to have a look at the thing next time I’m there. He also has converted a small old lathe of some sort into a pedestal drill, my lad is a proper self-made tinkerer and has ideas that he stews over for ages, then just builds or converts and they work. Which is a lot like I used to do when I worked. My eldest brother (17 years between us) had me working with him on bikes and cars on our backyard from about 7 or 8 years old. It’s always what I wanted to do and I miss it still, engines and machinery always pulled me in. That’s what made me an aircraft tech in the army Air Corps and a change of direction into vehicles when I came out. my hands and arms struggle to hold anything now.

You would get on well with my lad, he builds and shows Stationary Engines with my grandson. Whenever I go there at weekends they are both in the shed or outside running some old lump of pre-war stuff, don’t know how they both manage in that shed as it is crammed full of engines, benches are covered in machines and tools, overspill on the floor. And my gson is a monster, huge lad who thinks it’s fun to pick up dad and carry him over his shoulder. And dad is not small. Bonkers, my lot. :wacko:  :yahoo:

When the Thought Police arrive at your door, think -
I'm out.

[RSB]

Yes they sure do sound like my type of people. One person I would like to of met would of been fred dibnah. Him and my Grandad were mates and he used to sit chatting in my grandads garage with him when he was in Yorkshire. My Grandad was verry much the spitting of him, and what you would call a back street engineer/machanic. All my family say i’m just like him in my ways and intrests. He was also Irish so there is some traits there passed down . 😉

Americans: Over Sexed, Over Payed and Over here, Wat Wat!

[Les.]

Well, I hope you more accomplished engineers have all seen my lathe   https://vimeo.com/130990021

It is a late ’60s Harrison L6, but it is my rotary converter you should be studying. It mostly get used for making or modifying motor cycle parts. I have just added a tiny little hand shaper to my stuff as I need to make some rather odd throttle slides for my pre war New Imperials.

Les.

[Bob Williams]

Les this is what I was using at my Nottinghamshire Technical school from 1956 to ’61:

A Harrison L2, probably about a 1950 model:   https://tinyurl.com/gkvoekq

Scroll down to image No.8 for the L2. I once had a pic of a grinning little barmpot (me) at 12 yo, standing by the one I was working on with my old tutor, a fine old engineer called Clem Marriott. In those days, they would let us loose from the age of 11 onto lathes, pedestal drills. milling machines and even a forge. Elfin Safety did not exist then. They had to make raised areas at the side of the machines, for shortasses like me! I learned so much at that school, made all kinds of stuff. Kids today are missing so much, probably why we are not producing enough engineers in the UK.

Great video, you still have the North Staffs. accent! 🙂

 

When the Thought Police arrive at your door, think -
I'm out.

[Richard]

My last school appeared to have been part based in a wartime set of buildings used by the forces or support works. The machine tools there were quite a few USA products from the war years or possibly pre-war years, They were all then in good nick but that installation has long gone and I wonder what happened to all the of the kit when the site was cleared.

[Bob Williams]

Richard, my “Secondary Technical” school was two lateral rows of opposing Nissen huts, with a brick, roofed corridor running between and connecting them. It had been, by turns, a POW camp, USA Military hospital, (POW’s moved on before the D-Day landings, preparing for the US casualties) Then after WWII, a Police Training College, Secretarial School, Technical College. After which it became the Technical School where I began attendance from 1956 to 1961. It was situated upon a valley which climbed a hilly area and across from a massive Reservoir which all male students were expected to run around from the age of 11. The hilly area was huge and made into several sports pitches: the school was very concerned with sport. 5 football pitches, a full-size running track and a cricket pitch, all based upon land that no one wanted. Now it is the NHS behemoth that is Kings Mill Hospital, Mansfield. As a result of the hilly pitches and the reservoir running, we lads became very fit and regularly thrashed every other school in the area at everything. It gave me alove of running and football that carried on into Army service. Unfortunately, the girls left in 1957 and the school was then composed of around 840 boys. It produced so many engineers in its time, but after closure in the year I left, ’61, that school was joined with the new girls’ school and was just another (in) comprehensive. Ihave it on good authority that the school did not close as a result of my leaving. :yahoo:  B-)

Further to the POW story: in the Engineering block of two huts, more space was needed. Masters and students alike, including yours truly, broke open a connecting door into an area that had obviously not been opened since the War. On the walls was a great deal of German graffiti and the washbowl there had the legend “Wasser sparen” – Save water. The school was donated more machinery by local engineering works and the 5th & 6th forms benefitted from more advanced engineering practical tuition. It was a wonderful school and I thank my stars that I went there.

When the Thought Police arrive at your door, think -
I'm out.

[Author]

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