Christmas exhaust fun!

[GICarey]

Hi all,

Am on holiday (rented cottage in penzance, Cornwall) and, on the way back from picking up our last Christmas guest last night, a loud bang signified the back box falling off. A common occurance it seems?

So, no damage to car (lucky, was going slowly on country lane), removed rear box and completed journey to cottage. Only 2 miles.

On sat 27th, supposed to be vacating the cottage and driving the 600 odd km back to Letchworth in hertfordshire.

There is a quickfit nearby, or an ate - are they likely to be able to fix it first thing on sat do you think? OR are the parts special orders? Assuming no fix, any major harm in my driving back to hertfordshire with the exhaust being sans back box and a little shorter? I'm guessing louder and risk of fumes in cab if stationery or at low speed? But any other risk?

Thanks all!

Merry christmas!

Gav.

[Trouble at t'Mill]

Hi and Merry Christmas!

I guess you know how loud the noise is?! There are a few posts on here about this which I've read, so I going by that rather than my own personal experience (none ).

I understand there's no problem driving sans rear box. However, if you have some wire available, it's fairly easy to rehang the box using a hole in the chassis member somewhere above the rear axle location. Something like a used tin of beans (I'm guessing here you had a cracking meal...) can be cut and used as a 'bandage' around the join if it's two pipe ends, or slipped inside to act as a bridge if between a pipe end and a 'box. To stop it slipping when inside, wrap some wire around the middle of the can as well and bring it out to wrap around the outside of the join to keep the can in place.

(Obviously, the can needs to be sliced vertically as well as having its ends removed...)

Personally, I'd run the car for a few miles, switch off look underneath at the broken end, and see if any bits are getting excessively hot gases going on to them. If not, then just continue driving without...

Do you have a kitchen fitted? If yes, then watch out for floor vents for the gas cylinder which could allow exhaust gases through. Other than that, I think you'll be ok.

Good luck.

(Hmmm - I smell something wonderful from our kitchen....)

[Trouble at t'Mill]

To confirm what I'm saying above - try it without a repair first and if ok keep going...

(These kinds of repairs tend to loosen after a while, so you might end up giving yourself extra work on the journey home if you try and patch it!)

[Ian]

It's doubtful that a local exhaust place would have these in stock. And if you need to order one, either via the club shop, or via one of the firms on eBay, the earliest it could be sent out is Monday 29th.

I don't think you will do any harm driving back to Herts without the rear section, it will just be a bit noisy. I know someone who drove their Bongo in this condtion from Derby to Newcastle no problem.

[mikeonb4c]

Mine fell off on the M62 and I drove 30 miles home with no probs at all, and only slightly noisier. I'd avoid attempting to reattach it unless you are confident you can make it very secure. Next time it drops off consequences could be more serious.

I think the fume thing will be OK. I suspect mine was leaking from the inlet end for some weeks before it went (strange how you go into denial about an exhaust that's slowly getting more throaty in sound!). On the move, no probs at all I'd say. In traffic jams possibly more so. But Keeping the fans on so they blow fresh air on your face ought to provide insurance against the slight risk of exhaust fumes I reckon.

[scanner]

To be really safe I would remove the rear box as it is really heavy and if it should come loose and drop down the consequences could be dire - smashed rear valences have been mentioned.

You could see if the exhaust place nearby could just bang an odd length of pipe off an old exhaust they've removed into or over the stub that is left and strap that up to the rear mount to get you home without the exhaust venting under the bodywork.

It could be worth a "drink" to get that done for a less worrysome trip home.

[vanvliet]

Do as Scanner suggests -
I ran the van for hundreds of miles when the box fell off mine I fitted a length of old exhaust pipe over what was left to route the fumes past the rear of the van and tied this to the mid point mentioned above and to the rear hanger point Later I fitted a length of stainless steel flexi pipe to replace this which lasted for over a year and I have only recently fitted a full stainless system ( with non standard boxes )
The thought of a badly repaired box falling off in the road and some poor soul hitting it led me to bin the old box in the nearest skip

[GICarey]

Ok, well, back box is off, it was dragging so that had to happen to get me back to the cottage, will try to get qwikfit etc to do proper exhaust, else straight pipe but if all else fails will run home as is and hope for the best. No rear floor vent for conversion so hopefully not too fumy for dog in the back there, tho will keep blowers on and windows open to be on safe side!

Thanks all!

Gav.

[vanvliet]

It will be fine . Just tie up what is left of the pipe using a wire coat hanger

[bigdaddycain]

If memory serves me correctly, the "kwikfit" sytem isn't the most reliable, if yopu really must have a backbox fitted (it seems to be optional) then stick to sourcing one via the clubshop, e-bay, or a local bongo specialist. Fitting of the new back box is simplicity itself, and often, the old gasket can be safely re-used.

[dom_e]

The same happened to us and we drove around 150 miles home without a problem. We found a back box and a middle section for a total of about £100 on e-bay (I'll have to post the details at a later date) and had the local Bongo specialist garage fit it.

Aside from the fuel economy dropping through the floor, we had no problem driving without the back box.

Dom

[bigdaddycain]

Did it affect the economy by that much dome? I didn't think the back pressure was that crucial on a diesel...

[scanner]

Did it affect the economy by that much dome? I didn't think the back pressure was that crucial on a diesel...

Back pressure isn't crucial to anything with a turbo (only tuned buzzboxes and 2 strokes) and I can't think of any reason why no back box would affect MPG on a Bongo unless it did so in the same way as a wheel balance affected Maxpower's (sorry Maxheadroom's).

[vanvliet]

Curious - - - I ran without a backbox for over a year and did not notice any effect on fuel consumption . It just seemed a little louder and responded a tad more quickly to the throttle .

[scanner]

and responded a tad more quickly to the throttle.

That's the effect of less/no backpressure on a turbo.

Which could have the same side effect as getting your wheels balanced.....