145 Sounds like its running out of gears

[Engwi]

Greetings,

Is it normal for a 145 to sound like its running out of gears? I did compare the engine revs in top gear and the travel speed to all my other cars and it does not seem to be “out of line”, it really does sound like she had to have had another gear.

It’s difficult to explain but in essence, allot of engine noise from +- 4 000 revs onwards, I rarely attempt driving that car above 120 km/ph, it just sounds like torture. Can it be the type of exhaust system fitted to the car? I am the second owner so I don’t really know too much about its history.

Thanks in advance.

[Erik]

I had the mechanical indentical 155 2,0 16v some year ago (and now a 156 2,0 which have same engine/transmision), and I don't remember what you discribe.
As you write, it can be a overly noisy exhaust or it's badly aligned or leaking.
It can have too small wheels and tires, standard fitments was 195/55-15 or 205/45-16 (alu) and at 4000 RPM the speedo should show about 135 km/h - it does about 33,5 km/h per 1000 RPM in 5. speed
These models had a engine mounts weakness, so maybe you need new ones.
If non of this is the chase, check for missing grommets for cables thru the boulk head or missing noise isolation.
Erik