UK-POLOS.NET - THE VW Polo Forum

Hello. I'm new to the forum.

I got a smallish problem that looks quite complicated now.

I have a 1984 Polo 1.05 (86C, 2F, etc.).

I changed the rear silencer. I bought it from GSF. The rubber wearings were separate.

When I fitted those, the exhaust bumps against something under the car when it starts or when I'm changing gear when driving slowly.

When I use my old rubber wearings, everything is fine. The problem is that those old rubber wearings have a lot of cracks as they seem to be quite old.

I tried to get new ones from Halfords, two local motor spares dealers, my garage, from the local Volkswagen dealer (the guy there has even noted the serial number from the engine compartment to order them), from Kwik-fit, from my favourite scrap yard ...

I was shocked that even the Volkswagen dealer could not get the right ones and that from the scrap yard I got 4 rubber wearings from two Polos and every rubber wearing was a different one

And none of them let me start the car without that bumping noise ...

I also tried to move the metal hooks that carry those rubber wearings, but they look very stiff and I'm afraid to damage them.

Now my question:
Does anyone know where I can get those original rubber wearings ?

They are simple O-rings, but thinner and more stretchable than the others.

I would like to use these before I eventually build some sort of connector that fits between the stiffer rubber wearings and the hooks to carry them.

This won't help much I'm afraid, but the exhaust mountings are pretty much standard. I know the replacements are a bit of a different shape to the original 'O' shaped mountings, but they're the same size. They should be a lot less flexible because the old ones had been pulled and stretched for 15+ years, rather than because they're a different design. I think you'll need to look elsewhere for the source of your knocking, perhaps something's come loose and is hanging closer to the exhaust than it would have done originally? You're not trying to start it with the back of the car jacked up are you, as this will press the exhaust against the rear beam which would make a bit of a clatter when you fire it up.
Sorry I can't be more help, but welcome to the forum anyway

Is it possble you've got the rear section hung at a slight angle to what it should have been?

I made this mistake when I did the rear section on my Escort. Ramped the back end up and went under to swing on the exhaust and spotted that the rear silencer was tapping one of the bolts on the towbar.

Thanks for your answers.

@GroovyCarrot:
Yes, I thought, too, that my rubber wearings have been simply stretched out, but until now I haven't found ones of similar shape. They are effectively thinner then all the ones I collected so far.

@omicron:
I also tried to correct the angle of the rear exhaust pipe. It was already right from the beginning, but I was not sure.
That evening, I was moving in and out of the pit like stupid and tried all sort of things and got finally my wife to start the car. At the end, the battery was almost empty.

I think, the next days I'll check the remaining scrap yards in my area.

Some people search for treasures, I am searching for rubber wearings.

Well, after checking two further scrap yards without any Polos, I went to a Kwik-fit garage where the manager insisted to lift the car just for curiosity.

He showed me a hole for a third rubber piece: a distance holder. That was missing.

On two other Polos from the scrap yard, that piece was missing there, too. So, I had no idea of it. I saw now that there's a photo in the Haynes manual: chapter 3.12, photo 17.6B. I must have overlooked this.

This distance holder is the key thing.

The man from Kwik-fit didn't have the original pieces, but the ones he fitted do well.

At the end, he didn't want to charge anything, but I gave him 5 £ anyway. That's nothing for sorting out my problem (and my Odyssee ).

So, that's too late for a Xmas gift to my little Polo, but the New Year can start very well.

I'm not too great at this game yet but might I suggest taking a look at your actual engine mounts, if you find that they are worn and cracked (much like your old exhaust mounts) then no amount of fiddling will help you out as the whole exhaust will move about with the engine movement.