Changing clutch damaged the inlet manifold?

[Matt H]

Hey everyone, I'm hoping someone can help me out with a bit of info.
I took my P reg 1.6 Bravo (serviced 10 months ago) to have its clutch changed a week ago. The car drives great now but this morning when I started the engine it was blowing from the front of the car. It was a really noticeable noise at first but once the car got warmed up you couldnt really hear it too much.
I'd had the exhaust changed last sep and it was still under guarantee with Kwik Fit so I took it there this morn and they said its the inlet manifold which is not a part that they change.
I've booked it into the garage that changed the clutch for monday, but could it have been caused by something they've done? To get to the clutch would they take the exhaust off?
The new clutch has been a dent in my pocket this month and if possibe I'd like to avoid spending any more on my car for a while!
Thanks in advance.

 

[anon]

re clutch

There would be no reason to take the manifold off to change the clutch

 

[Tom]

Inlet manifold or exhaust manifold?

 

[Ash]

i will tell you exactly what they have done!

here we go

basically you have had monkies working on your car!

to change the clutch on a 1.6 you need to remove the front passenger side and rear engine mount, so you can push the engine over to get the gearbox off!

now the bravo only has 3 engine mounts so when two are removed the engine needs to be held up by an engine crane! to stop it falling out the bottom of the car!

what these monkies have done is attached the crane round your inlet manifold to hold the engine up!! the weight of the engine has bent the manifold and caused it to blow!!

if they had been pros they would have supported the engine properly but its clear they havent!!

its the garages fault they will have to fix it

personally i would be down the garage shouting infront of all there potential customers!! that will get them to fix it sharpish. if you go in there half harted ur get them telling you ********.

start the conversation with you have ****ed my inlet manifold by using it to support the bloody engine with the crane!! after that they know that you know ur stuff and should agree to sort it!

garages only understand foul language as its their common dialect!! if they keep denying it stand ur ground stay firm and say you cocked it up now you can fix it or i will have trading standards down here.

if they still wont sort it i suggest you phone the vosa for what to do next they dont normally deal with this kind of thing but they will tell you your next plan of action etc.

 

[Matt H]

Thanks for the help guys.

@ Tom- the guy at Kwik Fit said the inlet but he only came to that conclusion from the location of the noise, he couldn't properly root around the engine because it was too warm. Its definately coming from the front of the car and you cant hear it blowing when it reaches temp. Would it make more sense if it was the exhaust?

@ Ash- is there any easy way I can have a look at inlet manifold to check if it is bent? I've looked in the Haynes but its the method for removal and I'm not that mechanically knowledgeable. It would be easier for me to be able to point at the damage when I get there rather than them try and convince me it has nothing to do with them.

I suppose it could just be coincidence that its gone now but it seems a bit suspicious that its only started a few days after they've worked on it.

Thanks again for your help guys.

 

[Tom]

Inlet manifolds don't blow, there is no pressure in it.

The 1.6 inlet manifold is bolted to the top of the engine as well so it would be VERY VERY hard to break it unless you were a true moron.

If the inlet manifold was cracked the car would run like a bag of spanners, it would not idle happily and would lack power.

A pint says they've cracked the exhaust downpipe by letting the engine drop too far when they removed the centre gearbox mount.

 

[Matt H]

Thanks Tom.
Would it be easy for me to have a look at the downpipe before I take it to the garage? If its in a difficult place I'll just have to trust the honesty of the garage to own up to their mistake.
Many thanks.

 

[Tom]

Its down the back of the engine.

Get a few feet of garden hose, stick one end against your ear and then use the other end to listen around the engine bay. you'll find the source of the noise quite easily.

 

[Matt H]

I'll check it out. Thanks for all the help guys.