Strange sound when shifting gears down...

[pcspinheiro]

Dear all,

I, unfortunately, suspected that since my recent post relating to possible bearing/hub issues (still unresolved) it wouldn't take long for me to turn again to you knowledgeable people...

Since a few days ago I noticed that when gearing down I hear a strange noise coming from the the engine compartment... I can only describe it as some sort of hollow metallic rattling... sort of ploc.......ploc....ploc..ploc. It happens when shifting down, mostly (but not exclusively) to 2nd gear and especially when shifting is "rougher" (e.g., if I take too long to perform it so that the engine revs up again from idle. I was under the car today cleaning the underside and applying rust protection and I looked at the engine mounts and exhaust, all seems in place. Also, when putting load on the engine with the brakes applied the engine almost doesn't move, so the mounts should be OK... My only thought is the exhaust broken somewhere, but I could not find cracks looking from bellow. Engine was too hot when I got home to try and give peek from the upper side. Could it be the exhaust manifold? The engine sounds as usual, though...

BTW, we are talking about a phase II Xsara estate, 2.0i 16v 136 HP

Any thoughts are greatly appreciated, I'm on vacation now and want to get it all sorted out before taking the family for a road trip down to Portugal (if we ever make it that far, with the kids whining in the back seat and all...)

Thanks in advance!

Paulo.

[citronut]

maybe the exhaust flexi is slightly split inside the woven wire exterior,
so on changing gear the gap/split opens