Exhaust problems?

Hey,

Today I was driving across a parking lot, and didn't notice there was a huge drop between Needs and Carline mufflers. Long story short, the bottom of my bumper is scratched to hell and the exhaust sounds really bad... The check engine light is on steady. Basically, when no gas is applied it sounds normal just a little bit more "hard", I guess you could say. Whenever you apply gas, it rattles/muffles out and is fairly loud, you could compare the sound to a dirt bike starting to put out kind of sound.

Anyone have anything to say? The car still runs perfectly fine besides the extra noise and the new scratches. It's up for inspection here at the end of this month and I already need new brakes and a wind-shield. I'm going to be selling it and getting a 2012 Civic at the end of the summer.

Thanks,
Brendan

I am now lost.

Try reading it again, I'm wondering if anyone has any idea specifically what might be wrong? Maybe its just something came loose and could be tightened up?

Not with that, but buying another car, that's where I got lost.

Problem wise, you knocked something loose, like a sensor or something, maybe knocked and damaged the muffler or cat as well, with the cel, you should just check the code to tell you exactly what is wrong, but if you are getting rid of it, I would not worry about it. I do not know how you are going to sell it easily, you really can only trade in, but that will be hard as well, between your tickets and insurance, I don't know why you would buy something else that will cost more in many or all aspects.

Well basically I'm worried about fuel economy and the fact it sounds like ****.

As far as getting a new car, I'm not going to get another ticket. The 2nd tickets going to court September 26th, but I get 3 points back on the 14th which put down insurance. By the end of September insurance and everything will be back to normal the way it was before all this happened...

I'm going to work for the summer in another province, buying a new car and driving home. The Aveo will be fixed up and sold while I'm gone to pay my folks back.

The car still sounds like ****, took a look under the hood and from the bottom of the engine where two pipes connect (the one coming from the engine area and the one that runs out underneath to the rear end of your car) there seems to be a leak, you can see a little bit of smoke from condensation and the rim of where the join is black and there is some sort of liquid on it.

Anyone have any thoughts? The engine light isn't lit up now either.

If its a cracked exhaust pipe just have an exhaust shop weld it shut. If you don't know if it is the exhaust pipe, get us pictures so we can see what is going on.

Alright I'll park in a pavement parking lot, jack it up and snap some pictures for you. Thanks!

If the check engine light is on, your O2 censer on your exhaust is most likely damaged of missing.

Strange thing is the check engine light isn't lit up now... Whenever it was though it was steady, not flashing.

The light will go off over time, but I'd check for the censer. Because if is got ripped out that would cause the noise and the light being on.

flashing only means current misfire, solid is typically emissions.

Sounds like you have a leak in the flange between the down pipe and the muffler pipe, tighten the bolts. Or change the gasket if you need to. An exuast leak there will set off the 02 sensor code.

So the 02 sensor code would cause a solid check engine light? It's on again, performance is fine but the exhaust isn't fixed yet. Rattles a little bit, tomorrow I'm gonna jack it up in a asphalt parking lot and see what's going on. The roads in my subdivision and my driveway are all dirt.

Yes, like Rabbit said, any malfunction related to emissions will cause a solid check engine light. Therefore a bad O2 sensor would cause a solid check engine light.

Well what I'm wondering, if it is loose at the flange, do you think extra oxygen getting in that way would throw off the sensor? Maybe once it's clamped back up, the light will go away and the sensor will be fine.