Strange damage

[inferno94]

While driving the fiancee's auto pro, a snow plow pushed snow in front of me forcing me to go over it. It was 8-12" high and didn't damage the bumper or splash guards.

As soon as we were over it the engine got loud like an exh leak (like having a BIG hole) in the down pipe. This noise is only present in drive, in reverse there is a rattle like a heat shield vibrating (at times it's seemed like the exh was vibrating near the muffler) and in neutral there is no noise at all. In drive my fiancee said she could intermittently smell a burning smell but couldn't identify what (plastic, oil, wood?) and my nose is plugged from her mom's cats.

Engine runs fine and car drives normally and sounds great even revved to 5k in park. All belts are in place and in normal / good condition.

It is dark so I can't check it out underneath but will be in the morning. This seems really weird and I was wondering if anyone had any insight.

[yunvmyegt]

flex pipe broke? i was at a light one day and jumped on it when it turned green, it was like having a cut out in the exhaust....lol.... boy that was a loud long ride home.....

[wheresthericego]

sounds like the flexpipe/downpipe

[viper_707]

seeing as your in the BJ section i'm sure its a 99 and up protege. thats means theres no flex pipe. it uses a donut type flange with springs and bolts. its very common that the downpipe breaks at those bolts. youll probably need a new downpipe

[inferno94]

Yep the ears broke off the cast dp and I can't get one for a few days. Ah well her car will just be loud for a while.

I'm looking into a mild steel replacement rather than the oem cast piece since it appears the casting is meant to have the ears break off when under pressure. Mild steel bosal ones seem to have thick flanges and are my 1st choice, as long as I can find a place that sells them (every exh place open today didn't).

[viper_707]

Yep the ears broke off the cast dp and I can't get one for a few days. Ah well her car will just be loud for a while.

I'm looking into a mild steel replacement rather than the oem cast piece since it appears the casting is meant to have the ears break off when under pressure. Mild steel bosal ones seem to have thick flanges and are my 1st choice, as long as I can find a place that sells them (every exh place open today didn't).

that or u can just put a header on her car lol

[inferno94]

I ended up with a coated mild steel replacement that has 1/4" flanges for $100 the dealer recommended it over the oem piece which cost the same.

Instalation was a B***H! but I got it done just in time to go to work so she could sit at home and do nothing.

[inferno94]

The best part of this repair is that 10 hours after completion she was driving and got read ended! She's perfectly ok, and the bumper is the only thing damaged but when I heard I was so pissed.

She stopped cause a garbage can blew out in front of her and some guy in a late 80's accord hit her. He's being good about it so far but he hasn't seen the estimates yet.

[mclovin]

Flexpipe, take it to ron.

[uncle buck]

definetly someone named ron.
all exhaust guys are named ron and they were born knowing how to weld.

[mclovin]

definetly someone named ron.
all exhaust guys are named ron and they were born knowing how to weld.

This man speaks the truth!

What time you want to head back to the park? I got some work to take care of during the hibernation season.

[uncle buck]

6:30

[mclovin]

6:30

Sounds good, sea you their. Don't forget matches and hot sauce.

end threadjack! But I think the question was answered.

[dtatham]

Rear Ended

Make sure when you have the estimates done to ensure you aren't getting water in your trunk. I was at a stoplight and got hit by a kid that was looking at his CD player rather than the road. It didn't look like it did any damage at the timre, but I discovered later that it bent the area where the spare goes and broke the sealant. This caused water to get into the trunk when driving in the rain. It also broke the plastic support under the fascia and pushed the frame in so the trunk didn't latch properly.