sparky Paul Posted July 22, 2007 Report Posted July 22, 2007 (edited) Could that big black bit,be forced down onto the pipe in any way??..I need to find something to put the front wheels on as i only have the little jack for the car and that sorta fell over the other day when i had it jacked up. I wouldn't even put my fingers under the car with the Vauxhall supplied jack, they're crap. Get some axle stands under it if you're going underneath, or get the front wheels on ramps or a high kerb. The cross member is a structural chassis part and a pretty solid affair - if it was damaged it would be more likely to be deformed upwards by bouncing the bottom of the car off something... Edited July 22, 2007 by sparky Paul Quote
mumof4 Posted July 22, 2007 Author Report Posted July 22, 2007 Am improviseing with a load of wood i have in the garage.Plus anything else heavy duty i can find in there. :blink: Quote
seatkid Posted July 22, 2007 Report Posted July 22, 2007 By eck, this lass has got balls...... :blink: Quote
mumof4 Posted July 22, 2007 Author Report Posted July 22, 2007 quick question..shopuld there be any smoke coming from that pipe at all near that white thing??..not much but like whispers???? when i accelerated hard with my hand whilst underneath, there were whispers of smoke..will see if i can capture it on pic. Quote
mumof4 Posted July 22, 2007 Author Report Posted July 22, 2007 (edited) Improvisation..2 pasteing tables, 6 planks of wood and a heavy grid :rolleyes: The pipe doesnt move much only a mm or so but it certainly cant touch the cross member in any way and there is a good couple of inches clearance. Bloke across the road had a listen to the car and he said summit about clutch bearings???..or maybe drive shaft??..ive spent a few hours on that car today slowly running my hands over all the pipes and hoses checking to see if anything is loose or falling apart..Going to clean up, get the car down then nip out and check the drive shafts in the local car park. Oh, forgot to mention..when i drove her up the makeshift ramp and put the handbrake on then took my foot off the brake..she rolled backwards..i had to pull the handbrake up as far as it would go so she wouldnt move.but she really creaked before i did that. Edited July 22, 2007 by mumof4 Quote
supersoda45 Posted July 22, 2007 Report Posted July 22, 2007 If the car if vibrating under idle it could be your engine mount(s) are worn, the veccy I had was smooth and quite when idling. There should be approx 1 inch between the crossmember and downpipe. If you are felling brave, with the front of the car up on the ramps lay on the floor and get as far under the car as you can then with the engine running get someone to press the throttle peddle to the floor putting engine under full load. Don't keep the peedle pressed to the floor keep blipping it up and down. Watch the downpipe to see if it is making contact then watch the engine it should not move (backward and forward) by much only approx 1/2 inch. As with the handbrake it needs adjusting, there should only be between 3-5 clicks till it fully engaged. Quote
mumof4 Posted July 22, 2007 Author Report Posted July 22, 2007 There is nooooooooooooo way i am going under the car whilst its running!!..i only just had clearance for me nose!..( no pinnochio jokes please)..id have to have it on proper ramps for me to that ..or improvise higher..Hmmm..........She is a low car..so the ramps would have to slope up gently not steep........ I have accelerated whilst idling and the engine doesnt move around too much..as you say only about half an inch. How do i adjust the handbrake?doh..just found it in the manual....umm..i have to have the rear of the car up in the air!oh my word..i have to take both rear wheels off!lmao...this bit is good... "after fitting new handbrake shoes, the shoes should be bedded in by driving a short distance" "refit rear wheels then lower vehicle to the ground" flip.cant i just adjust a knob or something?? Quote
sparky Paul Posted July 22, 2007 Report Posted July 22, 2007 Perhaps the marks were made by the exhaust fitter joggling the new pipe in. How do i adjust the handbrake?doh..just found it in the manual....umm..i have to have the rear of the car up in the air!oh my word..i have to take both rear wheels off!lmao...this bit is good... "after fitting new handbrake shoes, the shoes should be bedded in by driving a short distance" "refit rear wheels then lower vehicle to the ground" flip.cant i just adjust a knob or something?? Good old Vauxhall, they haven't changed the handbrake arrangement then. Pain in the bum... :rolleyes: Quote
sparky Paul Posted July 22, 2007 Report Posted July 22, 2007 quick question..shopuld there be any smoke coming from that pipe at all near that white thing??..not much but like whispers???? when i accelerated hard with my hand whilst underneath, there were whispers of smoke..will see if i can capture it on pic. No, there shouldn't be anything escaping there, but make sure it's not a bit of oil burning off. The steel mesh bit contains a convoluted steel hose (like a concertina), but should be completely sealed - a hole here would be noisy. It's uncommon for flexies or cats to fail quickly, but not unheard of - especially if the exhaust is roughly assembled. Quote
mumof4 Posted July 22, 2007 Author Report Posted July 22, 2007 I wiped all under the car from where there had been a previous oil leak which was fixed...so if there is an oil leak now..i will be able to tell.So tomorrow will check first thing as i have been out in the car since i wiped it down. Think ill leave the handbrake for now..reading the manual..for me it will be a looong job! Yep i checked the mesh thingy, no holes in it from what i could feel as i felt all around it, what i did feel but couldnt see on the down pipe going to it on the left hand side in the pics, there is like what i can only describe as a score mark??but it didnt feel as if it went thru..like a dent. Quote
sparky Paul Posted July 22, 2007 Report Posted July 22, 2007 Yep i checked the mesh thingy, no holes in it from what i could feel as i felt all around it, what i did feel but couldnt see on the down pipe going to it on the left hand side in the pics, there is like what i can only describe as a score mark??but it didnt feel as if it went thru..like a dent. The mesh bit is just a protective cover, the actual exhaust pipe is inside - it's like the bendy bit on a bendy straw. If it splits, you can't see it. I saw the mark on the pictures, that's what made me wonder if the exhaust fitter had been a bit rough. Cats certainly don't like being knocked about - the core is ceramic... Quote
mumof4 Posted July 22, 2007 Author Report Posted July 22, 2007 Thing is though, this noise wasnt there when i first got the car... Mind, for a 10 yr old car she does run well.Im going to swot up on the manual so i know whats what on her and the signs that could indicate something is wrong and roughly where. Quote
sparky Paul Posted July 23, 2007 Report Posted July 23, 2007 (edited) Thing is though, this noise wasnt there when i first got the car... If something got damaged, it will only deteriorate over time. I used to have a Calibra many moons ago, the cat started disintegrating on that - it started as a innocuous metallic rattle... after a couple of weeks it was like a bag of bolts, and the exhaust sounded like a tractor. Edited July 23, 2007 by sparky Paul Quote
mumof4 Posted July 23, 2007 Author Report Posted July 23, 2007 It cant be the cat though..as that is only a couple of months old..do the words thrust bearings mean anything?thing is, unless i can get someone to listen to it who may be in the know...it could be anything really? sparky....whereabouts are you?????You cant be that far from me. Quote
sparky Paul Posted July 23, 2007 Report Posted July 23, 2007 (edited) It cant be the cat though..as that is only a couple of months old..Means nothing, especially if it's been bashed about. New parts can, and do, fail. do the words thrust bearings mean anything?thing is, unless i can get someone to listen to it who may be in the know...it could be anything really?A poorly clutch thrust bearing (or release bearing) will be noisy if you depress the clutch pedal, or usually when you just rest your foot on the pedal. Can rattle out of gear but unusual - look for a distinct change of the noise as you depress the clutch. It's a pretty distinctive fault which is easily diagnosed by a garage. Not cheap to fix - usually means the gearbox has to come off - but I think you can still do the Vectras without completely removing the gearbox. From your description earlier of a metallic sounding noise which increases with engine speed, the first place I would be looking would be the front half of the exhaust including the cat. If you can feel any exhaust gases escaping around the flexy, I would say that it is kaput. If the cat is disintegrating, you can often hear the bits rattle if you give the bottom of the cat a slap with your hand (make sure it's not hot first!). Can you feel the noise transmit through the car body, or is it just noisy? I'm over near Retford at the other side of the Trent to you, and I'm certainly no expert... The problem is, the source of rattles can be difficult to identify without getting the car up on a full ramp and having a poke about - however, any half decent garage should be able to locate it quickly enough. ...edited to make sense. Edited July 23, 2007 by sparky Paul Quote
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