Hi all,

My beloved Punto has developed a rasping noise when I accelerate, or more accurately when I put the car under "load" (driving at a steady speed). I can not reproduce this whilst parked up even when revving it warm coming back from a drive. This seems to be noticeable only with the window down and the sound reflecting off a nearby wall and is not noticeable from within the car with the windows up.

This has happened since I had the exhaust replaced (all parts up until the engine block) and I have also noticed the engine block shakes noticeably, with a ticking sound coming from the alternator area. Could it be a replacement of the ancillary/alternator belt that would stop the engine shaking and/or rasping noise or do you think I am overlooking anything?

Hi,
check the heatsheilds.

I have a rasp out of my HLX 16v aswell, i think it's fairly normal if it's from the back box area. I've had it for 8 months anyway. As for the shaking, i would check your 3 engine mounts, particularly the one on the bottom of the engine. (as this one goes in most of them)