Penny for your thoughts?

Something physically damaged by contact with the bank would be prime suspect, and the heat shield could well be it. What happens when you not only put it in drive, but attempt to drive? Does it move? does the noise get worse? Is any fluid leaking out? Does it do a full circle in the car park, both left handed and right handed without anything dropping off? Can you get the wheels up on the kerb or some kind of ramp to physically check for loose heat shields etc?

Steve

I can't, but I know a garage who should be able to - put it on the ramp that is.

It does drive, it just feels and sounds rumbly and grinding, like a wheel rubbing against a plastic bumper. I can, almost feel it through the brake pedal too. The noise doesn't get worse as such, just more constant.

There's no fluid leaking, and RAC guy can't see any physical damage to anything apart from the grass all along the exhaust.

Cheers Simon

I remember a schoolteacher of mine doing this about 20 years ago, while going into her garage. She ended up with the garage demolished and every panel of her car damaged, while the car ended up in her garden.

My advice was to get a manual transmission :-)

Tony

Simon Dean ( snipped-for-privacy@simtext.plus.com) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

Considering you've just twatted the exhaust reasonably hard, I don't think it's a wild guess that you've probably knocked it out of alignment, and that it may very well be blowing.

Apart from the noise, does the car still drive OK?

Best one I did was to lift the body off a landrover with a two post lift, I didn't allow for the bits I had in the back, it went up and was Ok for a while, then it overbalanced, fell off backwards, jammed against the doorway of the garage and nearly killed me, the air filter housing got me on the head really hard, luckily the arm design stopped the whole lot falling directly on me, I was leaning over the chassis at the time. Must be the nearest to fatal accident I have had in the garage.

Local tyre shop jacked up a Merc under the sump and cracked it, then tried to fob the owner off with a silicone bodge up.

A close relative tried to change his tyre the other day (he is only 17) the car started to roll forward with it on the jack with the wheel off, he pulled the handbrake on harder and tried to fit the spare wheel, it continued to roll and crushed his hand tearing off a fingernail and breaking some fingers.

I jacked up a van body to remove the entire front end, the van was parked sideways on a slight slope, it fell downhill, I released the jack and leant against the van to stop it, in retrospect I should have just let it fall, luckily no injuries.

Mrcheerful

hi "MrCheerful", shouldnt your reply be in the "car going up" thread :-)

Well, I've just driven home - 13 miles. Feels lethargic to pull away, but, that could just be psychosomatic with the noise. Every now and again it feels like something twangs the underside of the car.

It pulls away rough in first, or second (snow mode), heavy acceleration is a bit noisy and raspy, but coasting or cruising is fine.

Im really very inclined to trust it is the exhaust. Maybe the cat?

Course, a little bit intrigued to wonder why the RAC guy thought it might be the flywheel in the autobox. Don't sound right to me that don't.

Cheers Simon

Simon Dean ( snipped-for-privacy@simtext.plus.com) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

It's the exhaust, almost certainly.

It's probably blowing, and almost certainly hitting/vibrating against something underneath as the engine mounts allow the engine to move.

Given that it's an aging car anyway, the mounts are probably more than slightly soft, allowing plenty of movement.

Yep, I know that now !!!

LOL :-)

I'll second that. If it's blowing it will be down on power too.

Chris Bartram ( snipped-for-privacy@delete-me.piglet-net.net) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

It's a '94 slushomatic Primula. Any miniscule loss of power ain't going to be noticable.

Oooh, harsh, but not entirely fair.

It's not a bad engine in those. Very much along the lines of the old Alfa twin-cam lump but with 16 valves - which is what Alfa should have done rather than resort to some Fiat based s**te.

What's the MPG like?

Yup.

It was the exhaust. Apparently, I squashed it into the floor, and the chassis is a bit squished in places.

Get some waxy sealant stuff.

And finally a new exhaust that's actually quiet.

Cya Simon

Nice outcome. Of course you do realise you've lost all rights to take the piss out of the grannies who are always stuffing their automatics through the forecourt windows and running over their bridge partners?

:-))

Steve

Simon Dean wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@mid.individual.net:

Much relief all round, eh? Must have been your old Zorst causing the problem anyway. :-)

Yes, never more will I be able to look over at the garage forecourt and see people stranded on the embankment and laugh....

Of course, it makes it all the more stupid for me... because...

After I had reversed out at speed, I thought, well, that's it, I've wrecked the car, and it's in the middle of the road. So I drove it quite deliberately back forward and over the embankment into the parking space at work.

Erm......

Cya Simon

It was a noisy f***er at the best of times! Now, i start the car up, and it just hums quietly. In some respects, Im quite glad I did it.

If nothing else, when I come to sell the car in six months, I got a fairly new exhaust I should be able to get £80 for... :-)

Cheers Simon