Exhaust Issues
Discussion
Hi,
I think I may have a couple of issues with my exhaust, but I'm not entirely sure on either!
Firstly, I keep grounding. A lot. I do seem to remember sparks flying when I test drove other cars on bumpy roads, but it seems to be happening a lot more often. The ride height looks about right, so I took a look at the tailpipes. They're certainly not hanging down (no lower than the centre section), but about a foot in there appear to be signs of some welding on top of the pipes, as if they'd been tack welded to a bracket of some description. I tried pushing the pipes up by hand and quite a lot of force was needed to move them - they certainly seem happy where they are! The continual grounding and the spots of weld just made me wonder though... Can anyone explain (or better still provide a drawing) of how the exhaust is supposed to be supported at the back?
Secondly, I think there may be an exhaust leak somewhere. I'd noticed that I seem to get a dry mouth when I'm in the car and a friend who came out in it the other day reckons he could taste exhuast fumes, then got a dry mouth, then a headache and then a little light headed. It's possible we're both being paranoid, but is there anywhere in particular I should check for exhaust leaks which would get into the cabin? There's no obvious signs of sooting up anywhere (I suppose perhaps there shouldn't be, but I'm used to dealing with diesels!) Can anyone suggest how best to diagnose the problem?
(Hope a few other people got a blast in before the rain decended!
)
I think I may have a couple of issues with my exhaust, but I'm not entirely sure on either!
Firstly, I keep grounding. A lot. I do seem to remember sparks flying when I test drove other cars on bumpy roads, but it seems to be happening a lot more often. The ride height looks about right, so I took a look at the tailpipes. They're certainly not hanging down (no lower than the centre section), but about a foot in there appear to be signs of some welding on top of the pipes, as if they'd been tack welded to a bracket of some description. I tried pushing the pipes up by hand and quite a lot of force was needed to move them - they certainly seem happy where they are! The continual grounding and the spots of weld just made me wonder though... Can anyone explain (or better still provide a drawing) of how the exhaust is supposed to be supported at the back?
Secondly, I think there may be an exhaust leak somewhere. I'd noticed that I seem to get a dry mouth when I'm in the car and a friend who came out in it the other day reckons he could taste exhuast fumes, then got a dry mouth, then a headache and then a little light headed. It's possible we're both being paranoid, but is there anywhere in particular I should check for exhaust leaks which would get into the cabin? There's no obvious signs of sooting up anywhere (I suppose perhaps there shouldn't be, but I'm used to dealing with diesels!) Can anyone suggest how best to diagnose the problem?
(Hope a few other people got a blast in before the rain decended!
)
Its not the bolts of the front clamps for the "J" pipes and the centre support bolts thats grounding is it ? mine were U bolts at the front and ground terribly... I replaced them with Band Clamps which gave about 3/4" additional clearance on mine. The centre clamp bolts were also too long and were grounding... I shortened them too
K
K
This thread gives a really good picture of the rear support - different to mine as Mine has custom exhaust
TJC46 said:
Hi guys, i am going to try and make some more petrol tank cradle covers out of stainless steel. Through work i have access to some stainless steel sheet and over the next few weeks i hope to fab some up. I should be able to make approx 6 so if you want one let me know. I hope to be at the chatsworth meet next month or failing that s club heaven,you can collect off me at either. I have had some invaluable advice from people on this forum so these are for free and its first come first served.
Markmerky300 said:
Hi
Not the best photos, but the rear of the exhaust should have a bracket welded to it which bolts through the petrol tank cradle.
Tony
Hi Tony,Not the best photos, but the rear of the exhaust should have a bracket welded to it which bolts through the petrol tank cradle.
Tony
Suspected there might be something like that involved. Looks like I've broken the bracket!
Some other good info there - I'll definitely take a look at the bolts on the clamp. I think I managed to break the bracket on Staurday. I had a friend in the car who's quite large (signficantly bigger than me and I'm 13st...) and as we went over a bump there was the usual grounding noise, but much worse. We then heard a lot more scraping, but I wasn't sure if it was just the difference in ride height being 2-up. I guess that answers that one!
dougc said:
Chris - you can compare to mine on Wednesday if you like. I used to get a fair bit of grounding before the suspension upgrade....
Thanks Doug - sound like a good idea. I'd be quite intrested to speak to you about the suspension upgrade in general - mine seems a little soft at the moment, but it seems similar to the other standard cars I've driven.I presume the fact the fumes are getting into the cockpit suggests the leak is towards the front - maybe the one of the exhaust gaskets? I presume the runners from the are seperate to the actual tailpipes - maybe it's where they join?
Barkychoc said:
Get someone to hold a rag over both tailpipes with the engine running to see if you can see where it is leaking.
Good suggestion - I'll try and find an unfortunate victim with a rag (Doug? )Make a gasket stethoscope! Get a plastic funnel, I pinched one from the kitchen, and attach a metre or so of garden hose to the narrow end. Stick the funnel over your ear and move the hose end around the manifold/motor join until you find the leak.
Makes pinpointing the problem in a noisy environment really easy.
Makes pinpointing the problem in a noisy environment really easy.
that looks spotless, and from the future tooMorning gents,
How does the bracket attach to the exhaust and the chassis respectively? I might have a go at welding it back up if I can get it away from the car (or more precisely the fuel tank) first.
That said, I'm going to need to check that there's actually one there still, I don't specifically remember anything other than the tank cradle and a suspicious looking blob of weld on the exhaust!
How does the bracket attach to the exhaust and the chassis respectively? I might have a go at welding it back up if I can get it away from the car (or more precisely the fuel tank) first.
That said, I'm going to need to check that there's actually one there still, I don't specifically remember anything other than the tank cradle and a suspicious looking blob of weld on the exhaust!
Chris71 said:
Is welding stainless especially different to normal mild steel?
Look at http://www.mig-welding.co.uk great siteI had a good look at Doug's car last night and as well as solving several other mysterys (such as my ill-fitting hood due to Chimera struts!) we got to the bottom of this exhaust bracket.
It almost seems like it has been purposefully removed. The plate on the chassis and the captive nut remain (as far as I could feel there aren't any sheared-off bits of bolt or stripped thread involved!). The plate itself has dissapeared completely, as has the bolt.
It doesn't look like fabricating a new bracket would be too difficult and I presume the rubber doughnuts are fairly readily available. I'll probably take the car back home to sort this out as I've been meaning to show it off to my dad (also a TVR owner) for a while and he's got a full workshop with the crucial welding set. He's also rather more skilled with it than I am!
What's involved in removing the tailpipe and is there anything else you'd recommend looking at whilst I've got it off?
It almost seems like it has been purposefully removed. The plate on the chassis and the captive nut remain (as far as I could feel there aren't any sheared-off bits of bolt or stripped thread involved!). The plate itself has dissapeared completely, as has the bolt.
It doesn't look like fabricating a new bracket would be too difficult and I presume the rubber doughnuts are fairly readily available. I'll probably take the car back home to sort this out as I've been meaning to show it off to my dad (also a TVR owner) for a while and he's got a full workshop with the crucial welding set. He's also rather more skilled with it than I am!
What's involved in removing the tailpipe and is there anything else you'd recommend looking at whilst I've got it off?
Chris71 said:
What's involved in removing the tailpipe and is there anything else you'd recommend looking at whilst I've got it off?
If it is the original exhaust or the same as the original exhaust the system is one piece front to back, which is probably a good thing or your back end would probably have fallen off by now!Gassing Station | S Series | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff