Replacing Worn Exhaust Rubber Mounts

Exhaust rubbers don’t break down often, but they do need replacement when broken or worn. Broken rubbers will lead to rattling exhaust noise from the underside of the car. If not replaced other exhaust rubbers and even the exhaust pipe may break. A key function of these mounts is to support the exhaust system and absorb shock.

Although I did this replacement on a 2008 Toyota Matrix, the principles are the same for any vehicle.

Materials: Knife, silicone grease (not a must but recommended), support stands, and a jack.

Tip: If your exhaust rubber is broken and you don’t have a replacement yet, it can be kept in place by tying a piece of hard wire around the broken one. This can save you from having a broken exhaust pipe! I actually did this prior to this repair. See image below.

Broken exhaust rubber kept in place by by a piece of wire

Steps:

Rear end on jack stand

1. Jack up & place affected side of car on support stands: Remember never work under a vehicle supported by just a jack. Jacks do fail!

2. Using a jack take the weight of the exhaust system from the worn rubber mounts: This is crucial to prevent damage to the exhaust pipe.

3. Remove the worn/broken rubber mount: Because of the retaining end of the exhaust hanger, it can be difficult to remove the old rubber (I had a real laugh watching some YouTube videos of people swearing while trying to pry the old rubber off). I found it easier to just cut the worn rubber free from the hanger. Quick and easy, and you’ll be done in seconds.

Cutting the worn exhaust rubber

Cutting off the rubber from the exhaust hangers

4. Use a wire brush to remove dirt & remnant rubber from the hangers: Doing this will make installing the new exhaust rubber easier.

Wire-brushing the hangers…

5. Apply silicone Lube to the retaining ends of the exhaust hangers: Silicone grease (lube) is recommended as it won’t degrade any kind of rubber. Petroleum grease will degrade rubber. If you don’t have silicone grease you can use a little dish washing liquid.

Lubing the retaining ends of the exhaust hangers

6. Install the new rubber mount: I started by installing it on the upper hanger. With the silicone lube it was easy to push in by hand.

Exhaust rubber installed on upper hanger

To install the bottom end of the rubber mount, pull the bottom end of the rubber backwards in the direction of the tip of the lower exhaust hanger. Then pushing up on the exhaust pipe, complete the installation of the part and you’re done.

All done

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