hi everyone.....my r reg 1.3 felicia xli has a strange noise coming from the back end when i pull away in first gear....its a low pitch rumbling type noise and im not experianced enough to tell what it might be.......it only happens when another person is in the front or back....and it does not happen when im in my car myself????????any ideas guys and ladies........

thanks alot joe k

If it's only happening with other people in the car, I'd suspect the exhaust is making contact with something when the suspension is under load. Easy enough to check with the car on a lift; look for a clean point.

The usual answer to that would be 'wheel bearings', but if it's that critical about how much load you have on board, it might simply be the exhaust pipe just contacting something when the extra load is applied (which will cause the car to ride a very few mm lower. In turn, that will no doubt be due to an exhaust mount having failed - they're only souped-up rubber bands, after all, they don't last for ever. Easy enough to wriggle underneath with a torch and have a butcher's.

:thumbup:thanks guys if it stops raining this century i will sneak a peek under at the exhuast:D

Well, will you look at that - Ken, are you my unknown twin or something? We posted the same suggestion at the same time.....

So we did! That says to me that we probably went through the same thought process.

I excluded wheel bearings because the noise is load and gear dependant, and a first gear issue for the same reason. That really only left the exhaust (well or the bottom of the gear lever) rubbing on something.

Well .....i Got To Jack Up My Felicia Today And Low And Behold It Was The The Exhuast That Was The Root Of The Problem.........

Although The Rubbers Were Badly Worn They Were Not The Cuse Of The Noise.......i Replaced The Two Back Rubbers....

.but I Noticed That The Problem Was That The Noise Was The Part Of The Pipe That Bends Over The Cross Member Was Hitting When The Car Was Laden......

As It Was A New Exhuast Fitted By The Previous Owner I Just Ran Some Sticky Padding Over The Cross Member And Now I Cant Hear Anything While Pulling Away..........

That will probably burn or wear through, in time. That said, getting a exhaust hung right is a tricky job.

getting a exhaust hung right is a tricky job.

Especially when some of the ones you buy from A.N. Other supplier are made wrong! The back section on my Fav is a case in point - the best I can get is a reasonable bodge which is OK as long as I check all the hangers regularly, 'cos at least one of them is overloaded!