Securing the rear exhaust mountings

[Stephen Edwin]

Two rubber blocks or donuts. One at each end of the exhaust box at the rear of the car. They push fit on to 1cm diameter metal pins. Two pins per mounting. One for each mounting on the car, one for each mounting on the exhaust box. As the rubber mounting gets older, they tend to slide off the metal pins. I'd like to secure the mountings so that when they get old there is more time to get them replaced.

I'm thinking of attaching some wire rope to join each pair of pins. At each end of each piece of wire held by say a bulldog/saddle clip, and the wire rope passing through the centre of the rubber donut. Possibly plastic covered wire rope, or enclose the wire rope in plastic hose, to protect the rubber mounting from abrasion friction.

Set the wire rope lengths to retain the exhaust from moving sideways pulling the mountings off their pins, but Let the main weight of the exhaust remain on the rubber mountings. And the rope will be a temporary mounting if the rubber mounting fails.

Has anyone tried anything like this or got any comments please? Any simpler ideas would be especially welcome. Yes. Replace the mountings well before they show any sign of wear....possibly the best answer.

Stephen

[Clifford Pope]

Yes, I've had this problem. I concluded it arose mainly because replacement silencers are not quite as long, so the pins don't project so far, so when the rubber softens the pins are able to slip out.
On a previous car the silencer was about an inch shorter. I unscrewed one of the chassis pins and made a longer one out of a bolt.
But I've also resorted to a rather inelegant makeshift, with wire twisted round to hold the rubber firmly against each pin-stop.

Another complaint I have about exhaust mountings generally - they are called "hangers", and that's exactly what they do. But on rebound over bumps there is little to restrain the exhaust from bouncing upwards and hitting the bodywork - it's like a one-way shock absorber.
My solution on critical points, like the rear silencer, is to stick a rubber bung through the slot in the rubber doughnut, so that it can't compress upwards on rebound.

[Stephen Edwin]

Yes Clifford I have concluded that exhaust box silencer length is to blame, at least in part. Thanks for the information re the car mounted pins being screw fitted. I had not noticed that. I will look in to fitting a pair of bolts. Neat idea. And maybe I'll go ahead with my wire and bulldog clip "rope trick" idea which I think is after the style of the wire method you describe.

[loki_the_glt]

Some replacement rear boxes used large Jubilee-type clips with studs on them to supprt the box. The clip ran round the circumference of the box and could, IIRC, be moved along the box's length to aid with keeping the box in place.

[volvo always]

When I had the garage replace the exhaust on my 240 GLT they had to use a crow-bar to prise the back box to one side to get the rubber hanger to go on.

It was a tight fit between the pins, so glad I paid them £40 to do the whole exhaust fitting, rather than me struggling! The exhaust was either BM make or Euroflow and cost £180 inc downpipe off ebay.

James

[Stephen Edwin]

Clifford thanks again. I will still add my "wire rope trick" when the weather is warmer. Belt, braces and safety net I suppose.

Stephen