Morris Minor Owners Club

Having bought a 1957 Traveller a few weeks ago I have trying to make it a bit quieter. I've done some sound proofing on the roof, panels and floor also in the spare wheel compartment, these have all made an improvement but a fair bit of noise is coming from the exhaust which is a fairly newish stainless steel job. I'm going to try a mild steel one to see if there's any improvement, does anyone know of nice quiet exhaust or is it pot luck? If this doesn't work I might try adding a back box but not quite sure if that might slow the car a little. Any suggestions would be gratefully received.

Just wondered what your location is,I have a nearly new one piece mild steel exhaust but could do with going stainless....
Fancy a swap?

John
Manchester

Welcome to the messageboard. I have a fairly newish stainless steel exhaust on my traveller and in terms of noise it is fine - not noticeably louder than the mild steel one it replaced. Exhaust noise tends to be a bit louder in a traveller than a saloon but I seem to recall that someone on here recently had a noisy one which turned out to be faulty so don't rule out that there may be a fault with it.

There is a resonance, a general 'thrumming' or droning noise at tick over. This decreases when revs are increased and when driving is much less but still there so on a long journey can be tiresome. I know it will be almost impossible to eliminate all noise but it should be possible to make it 'acceptable'. The engine and gearbox mounts seem ok, I've loosened the steady bar at the back of the engine but doesn't seem to make any difference. So using the Sherlock Holmes edict it should be the exhaust.

Its probably worth checking your engine mounts as new hard ones could be fitted.

Unlikely to be engine steady unless weld at the bulkhead has cracked or head nut is loose.

Check Gearbox mounts and steady cable.

Check where exhaust passes thru bulkhead, They frequently foul here as they are no longer well made or produced and produced in one section rather than two or three. Mine required heat and bending a few degrees to give me clearance and eliminate exactly the noise you have described.

Elsewhere, worth looking at the bonnet cross member.If the foam / felt has disappeared / degraded , this can cause drum.

Sounds stupid but have you looked under the rear floor of the traveller / rear seat. people leave tools and bits etc which can cause vibration - worth eliminating.

As said in other posts do check it's not rattling against the body anywhere!

Adding a second silencer to the exhaust would certainly have the desired effect, as many non-standard aftermarket ones do. I found going for a slightly bigger bore exhaust with two boxes was a net noise decrease - but it also reduced the charm!

i had a stainless on mine , you will find it does get quieter as it fills with carbon from use , stick with it , will be fine .

ive got a maniflow now it sounds wonderful

Exhaust not touching anywhere and I've put Silent Coat soundproofing on the back roof and cab roof, door panels, passenger floor and rear doors. Also some foam soundproofing on the bulkhead and on the passenger floor (over the exhaust). It could be the engine/gearbox mounts but they seem soft to the touch. I suppose that this is a case of elimination. If the new exhaust doesn't fix the noise the engine mounts are next. It all depends on how much money you want to spend!!
Thanks to everyone for your replies. John.