I had the car in for a new starter and asked my indy to check this out. Turns out it's the exhaust pipe not quite lined up with the rubber stop that's just under the driver's footwell. (The PO had the entire exhaust system replaced about a year before I got the car, and apparently the shop that did the work didn't do a great job lining up the parts during installation.)

My indy said it wouldn't be a big job to loosen up the exhaust parts and rotate them back into the proper position when the car's on a lift, but after having just spent a small fortune for a new starter I decided to put it off this visit.

Any idea if this would be an approachable DIY project with ramps/jack stands?

Charlie

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05 E320 CDI - 185K miles
82 300D - 200K miles (sold)