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MG MGF Technical - Scared to ask !

Over the last two to three months my F has developed this sort of crack type noise from the left side I think middle to rear.
It does this usally about 4 or five times for the first mile or so and then goes away.

Had techspeed job in Feb. Any ideas bush's or worse. Not going to look aint got any money left.

S Laithwaite

Stephen,
Is this crack when you go over a bump/pothole or could it be the water pipes under the car expanding with the heat of the water passing through them, like a wet central heating system when it first starts up?
Regards Mike N, Yellow Trophy M2 VJN.
Mike

Now that you mention it the noise is similar to that type of central heating thing only louder. It doesn't seem to matter about pot holes simply going around a shallow bend or more usally starting from a standstill will cause it.

If I had the cash I would get it looked at by Techspeed or Mike Satur but I don't so I will settle to get it up on ramps and have a good prod if I knew what the heck to prod at !

S Laithwaite

Stepehen,

I had exactly the same problem in a different car (SAAB 9-3)It turned out to be nothing more than the door moving very slightly when stopping/starting or cornering, i.e anything that introduced a small degree of body movement Noise was a very loud crack and sounded serious - but was just a striker plate adjustment. HTH
TerryC

Very good point !
S Laithwaite

My F used to make a similar sound, except it did it just once per journey as the car warmed up. I always assumed it was coolant pipes expanding or similar, and many on this BBS have said the same in the past.

I found that one way to solve the problem is to spin the car off the road on a corner and damage large parts of the bodywork on a grass bank. Since doing this the noise has never recurred. Honest! :-)
David Bainbridge

Oh, car Mechanics magazine(read MikeS) said something about a spacer between the pipes and the bodywork that he adds- a line of investigation.

Will
Will Munns

David

Just out of curiosity where and how did you do this.
S Laithwaite

>>Had techspeed job in Feb. Any ideas bush's or worse.<<

Might be a good idea to ask the chaps at Techspeed their opinion on the noise? Some MGFs have very weak rear upper damper mounts - I doubt that yours has cracked, but for safety's sake, it would be wise to get this checked out.
Rob Bell

The thought had crossed my mind and I will follow it up but you see the problem is that the noise does go away after 1-2 miles. Will check it out anyway.

Thanks
S Laithwaite

I agree, the fact that the noise subsides does seem to argue against it (I wonder if one of the Bilstein dampers is at fault - another possibility) - but still something important to be excluded.

Better safe than sorry.
Rob Bell

if it is the pipes then just sitting stationary in the car with the engine running from cold should show them up (just don't do this in the garage!)
Will Munns

As the noise goes away after a short distance - have you looked to see if a neighbours cat was keeping itself warm in the engine compartment and the crack is when it decides to jump free!

Just a thought or hope.

Ted
Ted Newman

>>>>David, Just out of curiosity where and how did you do this.

Christmas eve, 300 yards or so from my home. 90o right hander freshly smeared with finely divided dried mud, presumably by farm vehicle. Rear wheels lost contact with road at 30-35 mph'ish. Passenger side rear wheel clunks grass verge, but not too bad, but bounces car over to other side where driver side rear does same on other side of road, but this time spinning car round 180o to come to rest on passenger side sill on grass bank. Ar*e!

New sill panel, new rear panel, new alloy, but no major structural damage! Good repair by Mantles, despite their long wait for parts (see other threads ad nauseam).
David Bainbridge

Good morning all

Thanks for all your advice. Yesterday evening on the way home I thought right lets test this thing when cold. Drove reasonably hard, braked hard started quickly again up a hill therefore plenty of stress. Nothing not a squeak, rattle or bang.
Same all evening and I can assure some of the roads I was on you literaly need strapped in.
Of particular concern are these mounting turrets for the Shocks that Rob mentioned. I took a quick look from the boot and from what is visible the welds all seem ok. Should these be checked from underneath?

BTW the cracking noise happened once this morning after about 3 miles and seems on this occasion to come from the engine bay direction. Engine mounts ?

Again thanks for the help








S Laithwaite

What kind of condition is your flexipipe Stephen? Not heard of 'cracking' noises coming from this before, but I guess it might be a possibility?

To best inspect the shocker mounts, I think you're going to have to remove the engine bay inspection cover - but any damage *should* be visible from above.
Rob Bell

Not sure Rob but since I have got so much help I am going to beg for a half day and check alot of this stuff out. May aswell change the oil whilst I am at it.

See you all later!
S Laithwaite

This thread was discussed between 18/06/2002 and 19/06/2002

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