I'm so pist off. You know why?? I just got it back from the dealer'sa week ago, got it resprayed, repaired, serviced etc., and the Service Manager PROMISED me there would be nothing wrong with the car once they'd repaired it.

Just got back from a pub...started the car, and it was 'acting' wierd...start driving off, pull in the clutch to shift to second and suddenly I hear a thud come in from the engine bay...release clutch and there goes another thud. Revving the car has become a burden on it and it sounds like it's scratching its throat or something.

I just called AAA, they'll be here at my place in the morning to take the car back to the dealer's, there is absolutely no way I'm driving it there. I mean it's giving me some serious thuds and knocks when ever I shift, and I'm pretty sure it has to do with the clutch...and I just got it replaced 10,000kms ago and have not been revving it clutch down at all!!!

I really love the car you know, but I just can't bother with so many problems when I'm loaded with work. And I'm fully loaded with work. I put so much trust into the dealer to make sure everything is okay and my trust was betrayed simply because they did not ensure everything was okay before they released it to me.

I'm really thinking of selling it..I will make my final decision tomorrow once I know what the problem is. I feel bad but hey, I can't waste my time worrying about the car anymore :(

*The car is 2.5 years old with a mileage of about 40,000(miles). How much is it worth from its original sale value percentage-wise if anyone can advise me? I ain't gonna follow the advice from the dealer, dealers will always do their best to keep the value down just so they can sell their own brand new cars.

bad news mate, sleep on it and look at it with a staight head

Good morning all.

Apparently, the bolt that holds the engine to the chassis (or something like that, that's what it looked like) came off. I don't know. They brought the car to me just a few minutes ago, I drove it and it seems fine. However, I still don't trust it. I told them to take it back, make sure ALL the bolts are tightened and that everything is ok. They said something about engine alignment to me before or something...I told them to do that today to, plus change the seat cover which they received today.

What do you think? Should I keep the car or sell it? And reasons..

Don't let it get you down Mil.

Give it a few days just to see if they are right. I suspect it is down to the clutch being replaced, someone has either not torqued up the mounting bolt properly or has not used a new Locking nut when refitting it. Its not as uncommon as you think for an engine mounting bolt to come loose/fall off and 90% of the time it seems to strangley coincide with having a new clutch fitted..I've had it happen on three of my previous cars and I always check them when servicing the car.

A Ford Fiesta...which was left with the engine being supported by the driveshaft CV joint taking all the weight of one end !...It was only spotted when I saw the groove that was being cut into it by the chassis as the CV joint rotated !!

A(nother) Ford Fiesta ..(I can see a common theme occuring here? ) which lost its engine mount and every time I accelerated the engine hit the bonnet and the alternator rubbed right through the radiator hose.

An MG metro..A garage fitted a new gearbox and forgot to put the nuts back on the bolts of ALL the engine mounts after they had put the engine back in!!

I know you have put a lot of money into your car, when you get it back drive it for a bit and the problems you have now will seem like a distant memory.

It would be a shame to sell the car and have to start all over again.

I'd keep it but I'd have a discussion with the dealer about this - it's totally unacceptable to hand you a car back that had the engine basically loose in the car :eek: - that would have put enormous strain on whatever was holding the thing in the car.

Hope it will get sorted

Thanks guys.

It's all being sorted out now at the dealerr's, although I can't believe the mount bolt broke off. Judging by what JR has experienced, maybe it isn't uncommon but it don't make sense to me still :(

Yeah I did put in a lot into that car and it would be sad to sell it off, but like a friend once said to me recently, there is no price tag on peace of mind. I just hope that when I get it back I WILL have that peace of mind.

Otherwise it WILL have to go. I have way too many other things to worry about, and summer's off and business is getting real busy again.

Thanks for the support.

I think one of the reasons for the tendancy for the bolts to fail is the technique some garages use when changing the clutch...some garages only detach the mountings at the gearbox end and allow the engine to pivot on its remaining mounting at the crank pulley end (enough for the gearbox to be slid off)... this is fine if the engine mounting 'rubber block' has voids in it to allow bending but some mountings have solid rubber blocks and the bending stress is put straight to the mounting bracket/bolt and can either rip the rubber block apart or snap the bolt..its difficult to prove the garage was at fault unless you see them doing the clutch change.....although I don't think you will have any related problems with the engine as you have done 10k since the clutch change..which IMHO probably hastened your mounting failure.

Wait hold on...

The bolt wasn't on the sides or anything, it was underneath the car. Just one bolt attaching the engine to the chassis (that's what it looked like anyway)...are we talking about the same bolt??

...Sorry Mil I wasn't referring to the Furby in particular only the 'average' transverse engined car....I'm not familiar with the Furbys mounting system but the same priciple applies if the engine has been allowed to pivot on its mounting whether its on the side or at the bottom..

Just got my car back.

It was the rear-engine mount's bolt that snapped. They replaced the whole thing simply because the mount comes fixed up from the factory, the bolt and nut tied up with a special glue or whatever. The noise was the loose mount knocking on the surroundings whenever I pressed and released the clutch.

Another thing happened and I got extremely pist off this morning and started yelling at the guy I was talking to...they told me there was a vibration coming from the grille in front because the some of the plastic clippings had broken off due to them removing and refixing when I asked them to paint the grille and then a few months later asked them to paint the chrome surround, which I paid for.

Then check this...the guy tells me that it is not covered under warranty and I would have to pay for the new surround and for it to be painted...and I was like 'But I din't take it out myself and paint it, YOU guys did, and, taking it out and putting it back is no excuse for the warranty to be invalid'...so I have my rear-engine mount break after having the car out of service for a week, and then they tell me I have to pay for a new chrome surround because it got damaged after constant removal to paint the grille and then the old surround...I just lost it...so they went in and told the service manager that I got pist off, of which he asked why, of which they told him...so he replied 'If I was a customer who was told I had to pay for something I wasn't responsible for, I'd be pretty pist off too...' and he ordered them to replace the whole thing.

I'm feeling better...was told there is absolutely nothing to worry about by the service manager, and he took the car for a test drive too.

In regards to the regularity of the rear-mount bolt breaking, they have had only two cases of it...my car, and the red turbo diesel I told you guys about before.

Still kinda sceptical...but I hope it dies off over time.

Thanks for listening.

crazy.... i notice that alot on here some people have years of rellitivly trouble free motoring and others have one problem after another...

hope it all gets sorted, plus better the devil you know then the devil you dont at leats with this car you know what work you ahve had done

Joel