Hello and welcome to the forums.

Whe you say underneath, do you mean underneath where you sit or further back. It could be a lose braket near the downpipe/cat or the baffle lates in the cat could have gone which means a new cat being fitted. Not too much of a hard job really but Cat's can vary in price depending where you go. Might not be it but mine was when I had a vibrating rattle underneath my Meg.

How many miles has the Meg done?

 

Could be the catalytic converter breaking up or the heat shield above the cat is loose. Happened twice on my Meg - 1st time it was the heat shield but eventually the cat did need replacing.

An unscrupulous exhaust centre will tell you you need a new cat if the heat shield has loosened. They'll not tell you its the heat shield of course, they'll tell you its the cat

 

Pretty much covered what I have said bob. I thought I might have been wrong but glad I have been backed up, lol.

If youu take it into a garage to look at then look at it yourself and see if it is the heatshield. Don't let them fob you off.

 

Thanks all

It's hard to tell but sounds more as though it's near where we're sitting rather than right at the back. Not sure of mileage but will have a look. But if it does turn out to be the catalytic thingy, that sounds horribly expensive, would it be worth doing?

 

If it is below where you sit then it will be the cat (catalytic convertor) and yes, well worth doing. it is also the most expensive part of the exhaust system unfortunately. Your best bet is to ring around for some quotes, don't just go to one garage.

 

Sounds to me like a heat sheild I have noticed that the heatsheilds on renaults often come loose and make a slight rattle mine did it lol if that is what your problem is then at least its cheap and easy to fix, I hope this has helped

 

What has happened with this? Was it the heat shield? My '98 1.6e makes a zingy rattling sound, but can't get under it to see properly, so I'll have to go to an exhaust place for a "free" check (if my rad seals ok (see my recent thread)

 

Thanks all, it has turned out to be the rear exhaust box, but also has a oil leak from the head gasket, so going to cost more to fix than it's worth. So looks like we'll be looking for a new car...

 

Ah bugger. Thanks for letting us know. If you do get rid of it the please don't forget to advetise it on here too as someone might want it.

 

The Meg will linger on with an oil leak from the head gasket for ages and ages. It will eventually go bang so its up to you how long to risk it. Glad you got to the bottom of the rattle though, even if you are moving the car on

 

Thanks again all. It was quite funny at the garage, we could hear all the mechanics behind the door going 'you tell them!' 'No you tell them!'

We just got back from a holiday and it was OK although doesn't half honk of burning oil! We don't really use it for a lot anyway so if it goes kaput on the way too or from work, it doesn't matter too much.

 

Thanks again all. It was quite funny at the garage, we could hear all the mechanics behind the door going 'you tell them!' 'No you tell them!'

We just got back from a holiday and it was OK although doesn't half honk of burning oil! We don't really use it for a lot anyway so if it goes kaput on the way too or from work, it doesn't matter too much.

Ha ha ha. Bet it would have been funny to watch. I hope it runs on for a while yet for you anyway. At least it isn't going to be too much of a shock when it does go.

 

Mine would have limped on for ages I think with the oil leak from the head gasket. This was the first HG repair the car had BTW I always wished I'd left it and not fixed it as it went again later!

 

Hey Bob
About the heatshield, my local exhaust centre said the rattling coming from my Laguna was the heatsheid and that they could remove it for £30. They said it would not affect anything.
Any idea on this?

 

cat for scrap

do u get good money over there for old cats, the precious metals in their construction brings good money out here, any old cat is worth 25 to 30 bucks for scrap, thats about 8 quid in your dough, so if your old cat needs replacing, keep the old one for scrap value, the muffler shops make a mint out of keeping the your old cat convertor, they are worth money.

 

Unless the heatshiled is badly corroded or mangled they can usually be repaired using a few additional washers and nuts, etc. I would think the cars manufacturer designed and fitted it for some good reason. Although the car may run OK without - it does help a bit to reduce cabin noise and it also may be protecting cables or pipes whch run nearby.