Discussion
Not happy!
I started my car and it sounded like a bomb went off in the engine bay. For the next few seconds the engine was popping (misfiring) constantly so I turned it off.
I popped the rear clam and the black plastic housing (air intake?) had shattered, breather pipes everywhere, throttle hanging. The bang also cracked my clam.
It took the AA 5 hours to recover me.
I spoke to the garage today and he suspects a valve had blown and something to do with the inlet manifold. He will inspect properly over the weekend, fingers crossed the warranty will live up to its good name (Autoprotect).
Anyone have any thoughts/experience?
I started my car and it sounded like a bomb went off in the engine bay. For the next few seconds the engine was popping (misfiring) constantly so I turned it off.
I popped the rear clam and the black plastic housing (air intake?) had shattered, breather pipes everywhere, throttle hanging. The bang also cracked my clam.
It took the AA 5 hours to recover me.
I spoke to the garage today and he suspects a valve had blown and something to do with the inlet manifold. He will inspect properly over the weekend, fingers crossed the warranty will live up to its good name (Autoprotect).
Anyone have any thoughts/experience?
I'm almost certain my dealer warrenty was with Autoprotect. They paid for 90% of the cost a new clucth replacement ( broken finger spring ). Yours sounds like a major failure so you'd like to think it would be covered. IIRC, they do a bronze/silver/gold level. Have a read of the policy booklet, it's all in there.
JLSELAN said:
Uncanny, sounds just like what happened to me (that post didn't come up in my search), good spot.Must be possible to make a better one in carbon for sensible money with a pop off valve like 911's have in case of backfires.
I might be persuaded to look at it but need a factory original or a number of orders before we go to prototype as so far every Noble bit we have made I have lost money on.
I might be persuaded to look at it but need a factory original or a number of orders before we go to prototype as so far every Noble bit we have made I have lost money on.
leeshell - I've sent a reply to your email with some of my own experiences. Hope it's useful.
You have my sympathies. This is exactly what happened to me and I feared the worst.. it's a pretty spectacular failure. I had the car fixed and the engine and ECU tested at Roush Technologies, who were absolutely superb.
No problems whatsoever since then. In fact the car now runs better than ever.
It's an absolute nighmare when something like this happens.. but I think everything will end up OK for you. I certainly hope so. Good luck.
You have my sympathies. This is exactly what happened to me and I feared the worst.. it's a pretty spectacular failure. I had the car fixed and the engine and ECU tested at Roush Technologies, who were absolutely superb.
No problems whatsoever since then. In fact the car now runs better than ever.
It's an absolute nighmare when something like this happens.. but I think everything will end up OK for you. I certainly hope so. Good luck.
Biggriff said:
Must be possible to make a better one in carbon for sensible money with a pop off valve like 911's have in case of backfires.
I might be persuaded to look at it but need a factory original or a number of orders before we go to prototype as so far every Noble bit we have made I have lost money on.
That's because you keep saying you can do parts cheaper than everybody elseI might be persuaded to look at it but need a factory original or a number of orders before we go to prototype as so far every Noble bit we have made I have lost money on.
Dont think I ever said cheaper. Only make quality parts. No point in compromising as it catches up with you in the end.
Noble bits are 'hobby' parts for me as I can fit them to my car, my main market is TVR and 4x4 stuff, plus we make bits for two manufacturers and hope to add a third soon if we can land a deal.
Im trying to build up the carbon stuff so I can tell my employer to put his job in a dark warm place!
Noble bits are 'hobby' parts for me as I can fit them to my car, my main market is TVR and 4x4 stuff, plus we make bits for two manufacturers and hope to add a third soon if we can land a deal.
Im trying to build up the carbon stuff so I can tell my employer to put his job in a dark warm place!
After they fixed mine Roush explained that in their opinion a misfire/backfire was very unlikely. But they also said that manifold failures were very uncommon (they said the manifold is tested to a very high pressure).
My engine and ECU were both tested and given a clean bill of health, so I can only think there may have been a weakness/crack in the manifold, maybe as a result of all the heating up and cooling down under the clam.
I do know that fitting the new manifold completely eradicated my tickover hunting problem and I now have a steady idle. I'm not technical at all, so may be thinking along the wrong lines completely
Anyone had any inlet manifold issues (I know the exhaust ones are a weak spot)?
My engine and ECU were both tested and given a clean bill of health, so I can only think there may have been a weakness/crack in the manifold, maybe as a result of all the heating up and cooling down under the clam.
I do know that fitting the new manifold completely eradicated my tickover hunting problem and I now have a steady idle. I'm not technical at all, so may be thinking along the wrong lines completely
Anyone had any inlet manifold issues (I know the exhaust ones are a weak spot)?
Thanks Andy, that's comforting to know. The engine's being tested this weekend (compression) and I should find out what the total damage is next week. It was a fantastic bang!!!
Adrian, I started my car from cold and it instantly went bang. The mechanic's first guess was inlet valve stuck open too...
Anyhows I bought a Vauxhall Combo to tie me over until I get my car back...
Adrian, I started my car from cold and it instantly went bang. The mechanic's first guess was inlet valve stuck open too...
Anyhows I bought a Vauxhall Combo to tie me over until I get my car back...
Well, I'm back on the road 
The mechanic suspects the inlet manifold was slightly cracked which caused the backfire. A full compression test showed all cylinders are within 5% of each other.
New inlet manifold was sourced from Ford and some valve fluids (?) applied, oil topped up and my squeak's gone from the engine bay. Drives perfect now and all for less than £500. Chuffed to bits.
I have a spider crack in the paint work on the rear clam but I'll be having it resprayed at some point. Quite like the one flip green to blue colour.
Thanks for your replies and PM's.
Lee
The mechanic suspects the inlet manifold was slightly cracked which caused the backfire. A full compression test showed all cylinders are within 5% of each other.
New inlet manifold was sourced from Ford and some valve fluids (?) applied, oil topped up and my squeak's gone from the engine bay. Drives perfect now and all for less than £500. Chuffed to bits.
I have a spider crack in the paint work on the rear clam but I'll be having it resprayed at some point. Quite like the one flip green to blue colour.
Thanks for your replies and PM's.
Lee
gadgeroonie said:
i have sourced an aluminium inlet for mine and must get it fitted ASAP !
Just a thought, but you might want to re-consider that "upgrade". One advantage of a plastic manifold if/when you do have a backfire is that it will fail easily because it is relatively brittle. That means the considerable energy and pressure generated by the backfire are quickly dissipated. If that energy is not dissipated because the manifold is too strong you might be looking at a lot more damage to, and in, other parts of the motor.JLSELAN said:
gadgeroonie said:
i have sourced an aluminium inlet for mine and must get it fitted ASAP !
Just a thought, but you might want to re-consider that "upgrade". One advantage of a plastic manifold if/when you do have a backfire is that it will fail easily because it is relatively brittle. That means the considerable energy and pressure generated by the backfire are quickly dissipated. If that energy is not dissipated because the manifold is too strong you might be looking at a lot more damage to, and in, other parts of the motor.Gassing Station | Noble | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff