Morris Minor Owners Club

apparently i'll be needing a new one (although i think the "putt putt" noise is rather endearing, i am apparently startling small children with the volume!) - so can any garage do it, and how much is a reasonable price?

cheers
as usual.....

before you do,check that it isnt the joint between the pipe and the manifold itself,this is a very common cause of this problem,start the car and put your hand near the clamp where the exhaust pipe joins the manifold,if you can feel it blowing against your hand,thats your problem.

If it is the manifold gasket,its very easy to do yourself,undo the nuts on the manifold,pull away from the engine,change the gasket and replace

I'm currently on work placement at my old high school which is at the top of a rather steep hill. So foot off the accelerator at the top of the hill and let the car "trumpet" (I'm being polite ) all the way down the hill, there's houses either side of the hill, so the noise echos.

The result when I leave at 3:30 is a few hundered kids, with a suprised look on their faces, staring at me as I drive down the hill.

Sad little story you reminded me of, it amuses me a lot though

'Trumpeting' is nothing to do with leaky gaskets or joints - it's just a chracteristic of the system. If it bothers you - either put your foot down and accelerate (try to not mow the kids down ) - or just slip into neutral and 'coast' down the hill.

bmcecosse wrote:'Trumpeting' is nothing to do with leaky gaskets or joints - it's just a chracteristic of the system. If it bothers you - either put your foot down and accelerate (try to not mow the kids down ) - or just slip into neutral and 'coast' down the hill.

I know that it's got nothing to do with leaky gaskets or joints, just the original post reminded me of the recuring incident

Do tell then!
To get back to the original poster's problem - check if the manifold securing nuts are tight before rushing in to a new gasket. It's a very simple 20 minute job if you know what you are doing - just take all the nuts off - slide the manifold away from the engine - swap gaskets - and slide the manifold back on - then retighten the nuts. Hopefully they are brass - and should loosen/tighten easily. If someone has foolishly fitted steel nuts - then it could take a bit longer......... If you entrust the job to garage - get a fixed price beforehand! But it is such a simple job - it's very do-able at home.