I have an old 07 Impala that is about ready for the junkyard. It’s been making a lot more noise than usual. I looked under it and noticed this. Not sure if it’s related. Can anyone tell me what this is? I only use it as a work vehicle and ususlly don’t go more than 5 miles.
Thank you so much.
Looks like the part of the car that the rubber hanger mounts to has rusted away from the frame. I would find some way to reattach that hanger so the resulting sagging of the exhaust pipe doesn’t cause more trouble.
Judging by your username I assume you’re familiar with the rusty spots on your car.
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Exhaust hanger it is. You didn’t describe the noise, but a broken exhaust hanger can easily result in the exhaust vibrating and making quite a bit of noise as it rattles around.
Other than that, with the rust, you very well might have a rusted out muffler, or some other part of the pipe.
You said it’s about ready for the junkyard. But if you want to limp it along for your 5 mile drive to work for a while, describe the noise and people may be able to advise.
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Indeed especially being in the rust belt. Having a friend look at it early in this coming week. Thanks for the advice. Definitely got my moneys worth out of this car over the years.
When an exhaust hanger is no longer attached, it can cause part of the exhaust system to sag.
And if any part of the exhaust system is rusted in can result in this.
Which would then cause the exhaust to be loud.
Tester
I just wanted to know what that part was but I do still appreciate your response. There are several different noises. I have a bad timing belt which causes the car to shake at times when driven. I also have what I believe is a caliber sticking on one of my back brakes. There is other noise as well. The body is getting bad plus it has almost 200k miles. My friend is going to look at it early this coming week. Again, I do appreciate your feedback.
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Your car doesn’t have a timing belt
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Probably just meant the serpentine belt.
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I am going out on a limb here and say that since the OP didn’t know what an exhaust hanger was that they probably don’t know the difference between a timing belt and a timing chain, I mean after all they serve the same basic function.. Me, I think since the OP stated that it causes the engine to shake at times that they were referring to the timing chain and that since they don’t understand all things vehicle related that the VVT is being affected by the chain tension or whatever… Sometimes instead of just correcting them, try to educate them… 
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I almost forgot I posted this until I seen a bunch of emails. You are correct. Yes it is the ‘timing chain’. I’m not by any means a mechanic, but some mechanics(yes certified) and some people on the the internet like myself seem to call it a timing belt by mistake. Most likely because we don’t always get corrected and like you said, they serve the same basic function. It is good to know the proper terminology though. I do know to never let a bad serpentine belt go considering they are not all that difficult or expensive to replace.
I got the rubber hanger replaced. A lot of the noise was from bad tires which were replaced. Brakes and rotors were also replaced. Car sounds so much better now. It’s likely much further from the junkyard than I thought. I’m told these cars are usually decent for a beater car. I sure got my moneys worth out it over the years.
Thanks for the clarification on the chain. Hoping it doesn’t go on me anytime soon but I know the risk.
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Congratulations on your car’s progress
[quote=“Rustedimpala, post:8, topic:200900”]
car to shake at times when driven.
you’ve stated you believe this to be due to the timing chain
Have you had an illuminated check engine light or engine noises?