Last week my car started making a rattling noise whenever I turned it on and when I went over bumps or potholes in the road. It sounded like it was coming from the trunk latch or something. It also started squeaking- I knew it wasn’t my breaks because I wasn’t using my brakes when the squeaking happened. I finally realized my muffler is jiggling around, so I crawled under my car to check it out. There’s a part on the left of the muffler right by the rear tire that connects the muffler to the under side of the car. It looks like something is missing- rubber or something that holds the pieces of metal there. Is this something I can find and fix myself? Or do I need to go to a mechanic? I was going to zip-tie it up, but there’s not really anything to loop it through. Will my car be further damaged if I don’t fix it soon? Help? (2004 Chevy Cavalier)
These are called rubber exhaust hangers.
Some parts stores sell a product called HELP! And one of their products are these rubber exhaust hangers.
Tester
It seems to me that I see those rubber exhaust hangers all the time on the ground at the local wrecking yard. The ones I’m thinking of are like a very fat black rubber loop, as thick as a finger in cross section, and a few inches in diameter, though there are probably all kinds of variations.
So a junkyard might also be a source for them, but whether you’d find one about the right size might be trial and error, or might not be worth the time to look for one if you can buy a new one.
Is there one still on your muffler? I’d expect that there should be two - one on each side of the muffler, and you might be missing one? Or maybe you’ve lost them both? There’s nothing technical about installing them, takes a bit of muscle to stretch one hanger while you are hooking the other one, but you don’t need to be an Olympic body builder to do it. I’d fix it soon because the continual excess motion on the pipe, muffler, etc might cause metal fatigue and result in something breaking, ending up costing more.
Thanks, guys!
I didn’t check the other side- I will do that tomorrow!
@Tabithajoy
If what you find is not conclusive, maybe take a picture and post it here. But I’ll bet you’ll figure this out, and fix it yourself with no trouble.
It may help you to go to the website for Autozone (retail auto parts), identify your vehicle, and search for the part-you’ll probably get a picture. Even if you don’t have an Autozone store nearby, this might help you recognize what’s missing, and give you a rough idea of the price for a new one at whatever parts store you do have. Good luck, and let us know how it goes.