Please Help!!!

I have a 93 XLE V6 with 220,xxx miles. 2 weeks ago i noticed that there was a low "knock" coming from the rear of the engine. I called around to a few "car savy" friends and was told that it was possibly worn bearings or that the spark plugs needed to be replaced. After having the spark plugs replaced by a toyota dealer the knocking was getting quieter and enventually went away all together. On yesterday I drove from Shreveport, LA to Monroe, LA (about 250 miles roundtrip) @ between 70 and 80 mph with no problems at all. Later lastnight as I left my driveway I heard a "clunk" felt a bump under the car then it started sounding like a motorcycle. This sound is coming from the rear of the engine just as the original knock was.

Is this a possible exhaust problem?

Get under there and look.

As KimMG said, you have to get under and look. From the description, my guess would be a broken exhaust pipe.

I've check underneath and i don't see anything that's obviously missing or damaged.

From what you describe it's an exhaust problem. Don't think the two problems are related, just a coincidense. Hold your gloved hand over the exhaust pipe in the back. Do you feel plenty of pressure? If not, the pipe is broken up front.

Here's some info: http://www.autozone.com/servlet/UiBroker?ForwardPage=/az/cds/en_us/0900823d/80/13/e7/e0/0900823d8013e7e0.jsp

Click on the figures to blow the image up. Think yours is figure 11.

Do what RIP suggested. Another quick way to check where an exhaust leak is coming from is to stick a rag in the tail pipe while the car is running. This will force the exhaust out the leaking/broken area. If you do this with a cold engine you will see the exhaust (actually condensation) coming out of the leaking area.

Mike

When you find the problem and go for repairs shop around. My daughter had a busted pipe a few months back in San Diego. First estimate was $2200 to replace the pipe and all the motor mounts. Shop said the mounts were worn and made the pipe break. I sent her to a second shop who estimated $1800 for the same work. I found her a third who estimated $90 to weld the pipe back together. I went with the third shop. That was six months ago and all is still well even with those "worn" mounts.

My guess it's an exhaust problem..

I found out that the actual problem is that the exhaust gasket is worn. I was very surprise (and relieved) to find out that I would only be spending $3. Just from looking I know it's not gonna be easy to replace but luckily i'll have all day tomorrow to work on it.

If you don't get this done quickly and easily, I would then take this job to a professional muffler shop. Exhaust work can be difficult for the DIY'r since you will need a torch to break many of the bolts loose. I don't like the idea of working with a torch while on my back underneath the car. It's just too risky. While I do most of the work on my cars myself, I leave exhaust work to the professionals. I suggest you call around to a few exhaust shops in your area to see what they would charge you to replace the gasket. If you still choose to try this yourself, use lot's of a good penetrating oil like PB Blaster, and hope for the best.

Good luck.

Mike

What a turn of events!

Well it turns out that the guy that told me the problem was with my exhaust gasket is not as "mechanically inclined" as one would think. My exhaust system was fine. The problem was actually that one of the spark plugs was apparently loose and the bump that i felt while driving must have been the plug bouncing from the road. Anyway, sorry that this was kind of a waist but the missing spark plug was the culprit!

Cedric

Thanks for posting....the fix. Hope the plug threads in the head aren't stripped.