Hi everyone,

Just got back from a 1500-miler, through France, and all praise to the Amazon for getting through it.

Couple of areas I need advice on.

1/I had to have the exhaust pipe welded because it cracked (this isn't the question - see 2 below). THe mechanic lifted the back up on one of those big jacks, and it came crashing down about 2 seconds later, with a rusted bit of sill falling on the floor. THe height was about a foot off the ground. He hadn't positioned it correctly. Anyway, he did it better the second time and mended the pipe, and all was well after I drove off. But the next day, and subsequently, there is a cracking/banging sound from the rear when I move off in first, just 2-3 bangs and then it's fine at speed. The noise happens also when doing a slow turn with lots of lock to the left. There is no noise when at speed, even on a bumpy road, so it's not bottoming out.

Can you point me as to what might have been damaged when the car fell off the jack.


2/The pipe probably broke as a result of daily drives up the road to our holiday house which was a steep hill, probably 1 in 8, and even with care my tailpipe scraped the floor several times. This probably was enough to make the pipe crack, just before it meets the silencer box, which it did on the motorway as we were going home. I may replace the whole exhaust system.

What recommendations for a new exhaust, slightly wider than stock but as quiet as possible? Hopefully something that won't crack!

Thanks for any advice.

Tom, London