for those with towbars....

[tim]

just wondering, for those of you with towbars did yours knock on the exhaust?

and if so how did you fix it/stop it?

i was thinking about wrapping exhaust tape around the exhaust (duh) to stop it hitting metal-on-metal, or just putting enough tape on so it doesn't move...

holden used to have small rubber 'chocks' to fix the problem, but i think that it would fall off/out..

any ideas?

[ABC]

Hmmm....

Can't say its a real big problem and haven't noticed the exhaust particularly knocking on it. There's a rattle every now and then but only after really sharp bumps.

I've got a shackle on there all the time and every now and then It'll jump up and down but most of the time it doesn't make a sound.

The exhaust moves around a little bit anyway and I figured that it was just bumping on something else. Got the towbar fitted about a week after I got the car so can't compare before and after.

Is your towbar factory fitted or aftermarket (most of the time there's no difference anyway). From memory mine is just two bolts up through the rear guard. Freaked me out when I got my nice new car back from the fitters and they'd been hacking at the rear bumper. :cry:

Maybe your rubber ties for the exhaust have perished or are loose or something??? I'll have a look on the weekend when we're all looking under our cars and might even take a piccy for ya. :D

[Trav]

no probs here - fitted aftermarket (hayman Reece) about 8 months after I bought the car, and the only sounds coming from it is the D shackle rattling around, so I removed it...

[tim]

just had a look at mine again,

its a haymen reece.

ok, i'll try to explain my problem...

the V6 (and possibly the 4 cyl) has chrome exhaust tips over the pipes. at the front (ie engine end) of the tips there is only about 10mm of clearence to the towbar.

so anything bigger than a tiny bump moves the exhaust enough to knock on the towbar, well its probably more of a clunk than a knock.

its not a major problem, just wondering if anyone had smart ideas of how to fix it... a friend offered the advice of "push the exhaust down with your foot to bend it out of the way, just don't crease/crush it" :roll:

[BigMal]

Hey there,
When they put my 3" exhaust on they upgraded my rubber
bushes to commodore ones to cope with the extra weight.
Only problem I have is a slight sideways movement where
the tips hit one of the towhooks but it is real close and I do
corner without brakes :)

Just thought I would throw it in there but dont think it will
fix your 10mm gap problem.

Mal

[tim]

i'm back!!
this time with pictures to help explain..

http://home.kooee.com.au/tmusgrove/exhaust2.jpg

arrow 1 - points to one piece of the towbar setup
arrow 2 - points to the dented chrome (factory) tip

as you can see, they are close together, somewhere between 10mm and nothing :roll: ...

i tried to put some rubber matting between the 2 parts, and it fell out after a short drive :?

anyone else with similar probs?

[ABC]

Welcome back Tim!!!

Can't say that I've ever noticed something sticking out the bottom like that. Now have a digital camera myself so will take some pictures myself of how my towbar is setup and get back to you. :)

[ABC]

Well Tim, you're dead right! Mine is exactly the same!
No comments about how dirty the car is please - its been raining!!! :)

Get the odd bump from the exhaust (as you can see) but its not that big a problem for me. Going to get a new exhaust in the next few months anyway so will point that out to the exhaust shop fitters.

http://www.digitalpose.com/mbr/1/18668/p/412343_3093930219950729671_vl.jpg

http://www.digitalpose.com/mbr/1/18668/p/412344_8676458473710807077_vl.jpg

[tim]

canberra must have better roads than newcastle :lol:

mine doesn't knonk all the time, just on bumps/potholes etc..

there is a fair bit of movement in the exhaust, maybe the problem lies in it.

next service i'll get someone to look at it

[Cosmo Dude]

Try putting a jack under the muffler and putting preasure on the tail pipes (stand on 'em) carefully.
Towbar was probably designed for the four not the six :(

Rod