Technical New car and exhaust foul problem

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Technical New car and exhaust foul problem

MadAlicesDad

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Hi, new member to the forum and my first post; hope it's as useful as other car forums I use.

My daughter has just bought her first car, a 2008 black 500 Sport with checkered roof.

First impressions are excellent, I'd forgotten what fun a small car can be (too many years of Zafira driving...) and it could prompt me to resurrect my Mini that's sat in my garage for 10+ years, but I digress...

I've fixed the centre brake light (broken wire in the gaiter between body and rear hatch), but one problem I cannot sort is the banging of the rear silencer box against the suspension.

I was aware of the noise when we bought the car and could see what caused it. The seller said it only started when he had the rear box replaced a few months before, so I thought it would be a simple job to tweak the joints to move the silencer. However it looks like the front edge of the box is approximately 10-15mm too far forward and is being hit by the suspension. There is no way to move the box rearwards (and if there was the rear of the box would probably foul the bumper), so I suspect it is a case of the non-OEM box being too long.

Before I commit to a new box, has anyone else had a similar experience and if so, how did they fix it?

TIA

Mike
 
Hi, new member to the forum and my first post; hope it's as useful as other car forums I use.

My daughter has just bought her first car, a 2008 black 500 Sport with checkered roof.

First impressions are excellent, I'd forgotten what fun a small car can be (too many years of Zafira driving...) and it could prompt me to resurrect my Mini that's sat in my garage for 10+ years, but I digress...

I've fixed the centre brake light (broken wire in the gaiter between body and rear hatch), but one problem I cannot sort is the banging of the rear silencer box against the suspension.

I was aware of the noise when we bought the car and could see what caused it. The seller said it only started when he had the rear box replaced a few months before, so I thought it would be a simple job to tweak the joints to move the silencer. However it looks like the front edge of the box is approximately 10-15mm too far forward and is being hit by the suspension. There is no way to move the box rearwards (and if there was the rear of the box would probably foul the bumper), so I suspect it is a case of the non-OEM box being too long.

Before I commit to a new box, has anyone else had a similar experience and if so, how did they fix it?

TIA

Mike

Hi,
Welcome to Fiat Forum.
Broken wires in the hatch loom are a known issue, keep an eye on it. The only option with the rear box is to take it off and do a little "panel beating" to reshape the part that is fouling the suspension. Rear boxes are cheap enough so it's probably not worth the time and effort.

Robert G8RPI.
 
Thanks for the suggestions.

I tried removing it in order to do some 'panel beating' as suggested above, but with a limited amount of space and leverage I cannot undo the rubber couplings and can only move the rear box pipe along the centre pipe by about 20mm, ie not enough to separate them. I'm going to take it to a local exhaust place (NOT FikWit!!) and get them have a look. If they can guarantee it will fix the foul, I'll get them to replace the box and/or centre pipe. Not the cheapest solution, but I don't have time to do it myself at the moment and we need the car ASAP.


Mike
 
Might need to replace the centre pipe to sort the problem.

I'm guessing the original exhaust was a single piece. They are made like that for the production line, and are fitted before the suspension. Simpler, quicker, cheaper.

When replacing the rear box, the original has to be cut. This is where the problem occurs. Where the replacement has to overlap the centre pipe, the cut should be made to accommodate this. But many people, owners and professionals, place the new one alongside, and mark a cut point at the end of the new pipe. This effectively cuts it too far forward, so the rear section will always sit too far forward, as the joint has an overlap. Because the centre pipe is now too short, you'll probably need a new one.

Not a Fiat specific problem. Used to be very common on Ford Sierra. Sad the trade has not yet learnt.
 
Alternatively If you're planning on keeping the car for a while take it to an exhaust specialist and have a stainless one.
ETS here in Derby fitted one to mine. They had the car for the day and actually built it from scratch on the car to ensure no fouling and knocking. the cost was £250 which I didn't think was too bad.
 
Alternatively If you're planning on keeping the car for a while take it to an exhaust specialist and have a stainless one.
ETS here in Derby fitted one to mine. They had the car for the day and actually built it from scratch on the car to ensure no fouling and knocking. the cost was £250 which I didn't think was too bad.

I must add that ETS are not exhaust specialists as I found out when mine began to blow ! Two of the welds were only tacked and it took almost 8 hours to make, because the man doing it kept getting taken away to do something else.
I will merely add this....do your research if that's the way you go.
 
Took the car to an exhaust place on Saturday and got it on the ramps.

Both pipes (centre and rear) are non-original and it was obvious where both had been heated and bent. The manager suggested that the car had been reversed into a low kerb bending the exhaust and this was an attempt to reshape them. It was also clear that the centre section was on the way out (cracked welds) so a new system will be fitted this week. Stainless would be excellent but it's a learner driver's car so let's save the pennies!

Hopefully that will sort it.
 
A quick update.
The centre box was replaced last week and the foul has gone; the tail pipe is now at least 15mm further back. Unfortunately because the rear section is also bent, the pipe to the rear box is now close to the underside of the car but the occasional slight knock is tolerable.
New rear box when funds allow..

Cheers,

Mike
 
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