02 solara v6 muffler hanger question

[fenixus]

ehh, can someone take a look at pic below and tell what is or may be wrong with the muffler hanger thing (it's offset and rubbing)?



is it the whole exhaust pulled/pushed and bracket fine or the vice versa? or some pin is missing?

anything I can fix with a hammer? or some stuff would need to be replaced (hanger bracket?)

exhaust hanger bracket on this car is unusual part for me, unlike any gen4 camry based car. rather it seems to be used on later gen5 camrys maybe...

bracket p/n is 17573-28010
seems to be used on 2002-2004 toyotas.

that thing rubs and squeaks (metal to metal) while rear is going over bumps or any unevenness in the road ... driving me nuts ...

[pmesfun]

Swap one for them junkyard without the hook thing. Or bend the current one.

[fenixus]

that's an option, but I need a second opinion on this.

also I'd like to know if this bracket is actually supposed to look like that (shape), because in diagram it looks "normal" like the one with single protruding pin going through the support (hanger thing)... similar (different part number still) to those used on 97-01 gen4 camry base models.

[fenixus]

huh!

I was messing with my wife's car drum brakes today and had a chance to take a look at i4's muffler hanger. after all I think my V6's muffler hanger in question is bent.

take a look, it's the same style of hanger, same shape, just different size (smaller on i4).





seems I may get away with new bracket only for V6 and thing will be good

[fenixus]

question. how much weight does the muffler hanger carry actually?

what I mean is, what happens after I remove 2 bolts holding the muffler hanger bracket to body? should I expect the exhaust drops on ground or something lol ?

will be getting replacement bracket soon. I believe mine is twisted and bent a little ... wondering actually what happened so it ended up like this ... for sure exhaust pipe tip end took a little hit when someone backed up into something like a high curb or so. wondering if this is what caused the hanger to bent and twist.

[pmesfun]

25.8 pounds... Idk, isn't there another hanger on the muffler?

A jackstand should support it fine.

[fenixus]

ehh I know how to support from falling to ground if all fails hehe (if that's the case) ... but I had something else on mind.

of course there is another hanger on the very end (below bumper) and center pipe is mounted with brackets to chassis, but I want to know if those doesn't get ripped off or torn if I remove the hanger in question.

another thing I had in mind was how hard that is to put back in place you see. unbolting something is easy, but sometimes bolting things back properly is another story. for example go ahead and unbolt sway bar bushing bracket on one side with only one wheel off ground and try putting it back together, that problem I mean.

[pmesfun]

I've seen a couple camrys and avalons with the last rubber hanger ripped out, the exhaust was hanging lower. I assume their isn't much weight if one hanger is supporting the whole weight of the muffler while being stressed constantly.

I doubt it will be hard to put back in, can't be much to it. I don't understand your sway bar explanation, of course it will be hard to remove/put back in because of stress, etc.
The muffler is just hanging there.

[fenixus]

Originally Posted by pmesfun

I don't understand your sway bar explanation, of course it will be hard to remove/put back in because of stress, etc.

the key words were tension and weight. never mind though, seems you never tried unbolting one bushing bracket with a single wheel off ground (I tried LOL )...

thanks for input though, seems nothing crazy about unbolting that bracket. should be easy.

[pmesfun]

Originally Posted by fenixus

the key words were tension and weight. never mind though, seems you never tried unbolting one bushing bracket with a single wheel off ground (I tried LOL )...

Yeah I don't remember anything from Physics.
I actually did barely feel tension when I changed the sway bar bushings, and I had the car as level as possible.

[fenixus]

hehe, I don't remember much from Physics classes either LOL ... some scraps of theory ... and zero ability to calculate anything

I will be giving a shot to the bracket replacement. Placing order soon (among with other OEM parts like new MC+gasket).

[fenixus]

new muffler hanger bracket



seems the old one is bent and twisted compared to this one (and one on i4).

[pmesfun]

Shiny

Seems like your squeaking days are over.

[fenixus]

haha, yeah shiny it is, not for long in Jersey haha salt in the air, snowy Winters with salt on roads and humid Summers will quickly "adjust" the way it looks hehe

I really hope this is the last squeaking source
Will do FSB bushings just in case too hehe

Originally Posted by pmesfun

Shiny

Seems like your squeaking days are over.

[fenixus]

replaced that hanger bracket finally. OMFG, you won't believe how hard is to pull it out from the rubber block (actual hanger/dampener)

it took 45 minutes of fooling around and using 2 flat screw drivers to pry a bit on rubber. then I finally realized I MUST use a silicone spray ... and jammed one screw driver by the hanger pin all the way through the hole in rubber and finally then 10 minutes later it was out







installing new one in took 5 seconds haha ... once it pops in it takes a lot of time to remove it without destroying rubber. I can imagine that shops probably replace both bracket and rubber hanger at same time, as they probably cut it into pieces when removing old bracket out.

old hanger was twisted and bent. new one is perfect, it sits nicely in there at correct angle

no more metallic rubbing noises, suspension is totally quiet