Expensive-sounding noises - any ideas what it might be?

[Chris_Blue]

Welcome to Chris's world

Better than yours

[gar074]

Had a frustrating morning underneath the car. Removed the knackered plastic sump guard and had a good look around, but there's no outward sign of any other damage. No bits of dog left under there either...

Took it off the stands hoping for the best, but it's still creaking & groaning when starting off, so the noises weren't caused by the broken guard rubbing on the driveshaft etc. Damn.

It must have taken quite a whack on the offside lower suspension mounting. It's hard to see how the driveshaft/gearbox could have taken a direct hit, as they're both higher up, but the noises seem to my untutored ear to be more driveshaft/gearbox-related than suspension/steering.

So, I'll book it in to the menders and keep my fingers crossed.

[lfcrule1972]

Good luck, let us know what they say

[gar074]

Another update...

After lots of power-on power-off testing today, by process of elimination I reckon that my creaking/groaning/rattling noises are coming from the the exhaust.

That would figure, as the section of exhaust that's just forward of the flexible connector is just about the lowest part of the undercarriage.

So, what damage might a bloody-great-big-dog-sized-impact have done to the exhaust? Broken mounting? Cracked exhaust manifold?

[lfcrule1972]

Oh rattling from the exhaust, did the crash shatter the catalytic converter ? I can't remember the full details but going back a few years a mate of mine had this and the pieces (ceramic I'm guessing) were rattling around in that part of the exhaust....

[monkeynuts]

I have had the same it took me ages to find what the rattle was in the end a lump broke off and blocked the exhaust and the car ran like shite

[lfcrule1972]

Yeah I think that's what happened to my mates BMW, we went up a steep hill on the way home from work and the piece or pieces moved and blocked part of the pipe, it made the car run like a bag of snot so not sure that applies here

[cyclone]

Unlucky Gar- I mean whys there a dead dog in the road.....weren't the owner around?
Take the owner to court (Do they still license dogs?)

Gearbox would have taken a whack and would make funny noises (As you said) same as the drive shaft (As you said)
Specialist check over needed methinks. Sounds expensive unfortunately

Another update...

After lots of power-on power-off testing today, by process of elimination I reckon that my creaking/groaning/rattling noises are coming from the the exhaust.

That would figure, as the section of exhaust that's just forward of the flexible connector is just about the lowest part of the undercarriage.

So, what damage might a bloody-great-big-dog-sized-impact have done to the exhaust? Broken mounting? Cracked exhaust manifold?

That piece fwd of the flex coupling is the Cat which is connected to the turbo. Would pull the top of the heat shield off and check out the connections / mounts. Could be expensive if it is something in here.

[gar074]

Thanks, guys. The rattling sounds more external than internal, but if one of the mounts has broken then I guess it's f*cked anyway.

Damn.

[cyclone]

If so might be able to get it welded?

[gar074]

Still not got to the bottom of this. Up on the ramp, the mechanic found evidence of impact (eg the supports for the bottom lip of the bumper were broken), but there's nothing visible that explains the rattling/creaking/grinding. He gave it a full safety check and the steering/suspension/brakes all checked out OK. So it's going in again for a fuller examination next week. Gulp.

One thing we did find (although it's not the cause of the rattling, cos we checked) was that both exhaust mounts (centre and rear) are badly corroded. I was shocked at how badly corroded, after only 3.5 years - like a Fiat from the 1970s! The centre bracket's completely adrift, & the rear one's only connected at the top. I've seen references on here to the exhaust being repaired/replaced under warranty - has anyone had this done? I wonder whether my Citroen extended warranty might cover this? (Think I already know the answer to that one, but you live in hope).

[Dangerousfish]

One thing we did find (although it's not the cause of the rattling, cos we checked) was that both exhaust mounts (centre and rear) are badly corroded. I was shocked at how badly corroded, after only 3.5 years - like a Fiat from the 1970s! The centre bracket's completely adrift, & the rear one's only connected at the top. I've seen references on here to the exhaust being repaired/replaced under warranty - has anyone had this done? I wonder whether my Citroen extended warranty might cover this? (Think I already know the answer to that one, but you live in hope).

This is a common fault with the DS3. Both mine and WTF's brackets had corroded, WTF had hers replaced under warranty.

It's actually surprising how many DS3's you see with the exhaust hanging at a strange angle because of this. It's especially apparent in the DSports.

[Superfly Guy]

On the exhaust, had my car up in the air at the weekend as I was changing the oil. I had a good look at the exhaust mounts as i'd read about issues on here. Mine looked new painted in light blue so I can only assume at some point they have been checked/fixed.

[gar074]

My guy reckoned they might be weldable - depends on how it looks when it's cleaned up a bit. Reluctant to shell out for a new exhaust when the rest of it looks AOK.

Have they modified it on the later ones?

[Dangerousfish]

My guy reckoned they might be weldable - depends on how it looks when it's cleaned up a bit. Reluctant to shell out for a new exhaust when the rest of it looks AOK.

Have they modified it on the later ones?

No idea, both mine and WTF's were/are 10 plates.

It's easy enough to check and I'm sure a local garage could do an "easy fix" if you're happy for everything to be tacked back together.