We had a mechanic replace the clutch on our '96 ford ranger. We learned he might not be as good as we had once thought. He removed the transmission and muffler to replace the clutch. Once he was done and we drove it, it was making a loud noise like it didn’t even have a muffler anymore. Any ideas on what happened here?
No idea but have you not returned to have the mechanic solve this ? Also have you looked underneath to see it something in the exhaust system has come loose ?
Going back to him isn’t an option. Nothing is loose. We’re thinking he didn’t put the bushing back on, could that cause the noise?
I’m not sure what "Bushing you are referring to, Unless you mean the donut gasket for the exhaust. If I remember there is no donut…it is metal to metal.
The mechanic would have had to remove part of the exhaust to remove the transmission. The trans had to be removed to replace the clutch.
With a 20+ year old vehicle…the exhaust would most likely be a little brittle. and I think removing the exhaust put too much stress on part of it and it failed.
Sometimes exhaust parts are so brittle that just wiggling them can take them from seeming to be solid to junk crumbling in your hands.
I don’t know why you have such distaste for the mechanic, but I would not blame him.
You may have indicated that you could not afford any more and he put the exhaust together as best he could…hoping that it would last you another 6 months.
Yosemite
Why not ? The other option is a muffler shop if that is what the noise really is.
Thanks for the info! Our distaste for him comes from a long list of issues which led us not to trust him anymore. It certainly had nothing to do with money.
What kind of noise? Scraping or squealing?
Neither, as the OP said