My car since I got it has been rather loud. It's always been my suspicion that there is a hole somewhere in the exhaust. My neighbor also noticed that it may have a cylinder misfiring as well, so I decided to change the plugs. After changing the plugs, the engine sounds the same (whoo! didn't mess anything up further!), but I'd like to know if there is still a misfire and if there is anything else that people can glean from the sound.
Here is a video a took of the engine sound. The video's sound isn't the greatest, but it is very loud. http://youtu.be/NzRpvnOxuos
I would think this only if it were leaking coolant or puffing white smoke...
Sounds like an exhaust leak to me. I'd investigate that first.
I should note this video was taken after the car had warmed up. It's 32*F here and while the car was first running, there was white smoke from the exhaust, but I attributed this to the car being cold. There was no smoke from the exhaust after being warmed up.
Are there some parts of the exhaust that are more like to be leaking than others? Or is it a case of check each part of the exhaust system?
At least two years (time I've owned the car). I don't know when or if the PO replaced them or not.
I'd start off looking at the manifold (and manifold gaskets as SamHill mentioned). Work your way back from there looking for anything obvious.
As far as the white smoke goes... it's possible that the head gasket is blown to some extent. While its cold (and contracted) it leaks coolant into the combustion chamber, thus the white smoke. When it warms up (and expands) this goes away. It will probably only get worse over time. Definitely something to look into. Are you positive it is white smoke and not just the winter-time exhaust effect?
I'd also check the oil and make sure it isn't milky in any way.
Did you notice any exhaust smoke coming out from around the gasket area before the engine warmed up?
I don't recall any smoke from within the engine bay before the engine warmed up.
Originally Posted by OverlandMan
I'd start off looking at the manifold (and manifold gaskets as SamHill mentioned). Work your way back from there looking for anything obvious.
As far as the white smoke goes... it's possible that the head gasket is blown to some extent. While its cold (and contracted) it leaks coolant into the combustion chamber, thus the white smoke. When it warms up (and expands) this goes away. It will probably only get worse over time. Definitely something to look into. Are you positive it is white smoke and not just the winter-time exhaust effect?
I'd also check the oil and make sure it isn't milky in any way.
Oil doesn't look milky, but I'm not positive if the observed smoke from the exhaust is winter-time exhaust or bad-gasket-exhaust. Is there a difference in smell or some other way to make the distinction?