Exhaust hangers...how much do I buy?

[bbig119]

I know that I have at least one exhaust hanger broken in the middle/back of the car. Its the one that looks like a 8 (#10 here (http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?model=HE63&mospid=47410&btnr=18_0210&hg=18&fg=20)).

Its cheap from BMA(before shipping of course), but BMA says that the car has two of them; buy both? Also, the muffler is moving around enough to hear it knocking against the car while driving, should I assume that I need to replace both rear hangers too? Again, not very expensive.

Any chance that I'll need to replace the actual brackets that the rubber mounts into? I'd rather not be in a position where I get it all apart and find out I'm out a part that I need to finish it properly.

Also, it appears from older threads that removing the rear bumper makes this job much easier, for the rear hangers. What about the first one that's more in the middle?

Thanks. I need to get under it and look a little more closely, but I've been busy.

[bubba966]

Yes, buy both figure 8 hangers for the middle, and both donuts for the rear.

I got one of my rear hangers on without removing the bumper with a good amount of RuGlyde, but it was a pain in the ass. Then I looked at the other one and said f-it, that one is waiting until I pull the rear bumper off. There's no way I'm going to even attempt the one on the outside of the car with the bumper on. So I still need to do that one and both of the figure 8 hangers.

The metal part of the hangers should be fine if you're not in an area that salts the roads. Only reason I could see the metal hangers going bad is from a good hard hit that'd bend them so bad they'll break, or if they're severely rusted.

When you put the rear donuts on, pay careful attention to the orientation. There's a flat spot in the donut that fits on the flat spot on the metal hanger. If you don't get it arranged with the flat spot in the right place the metal hanger will cut through the donut. I can go give it a look in a bit and tell you which way the flat spots go as I'm going out to put the battery back in the car in 15 minutes.

[shogun]

What about the first one that's more in the middle?

I use a cheap scissor type jack and lift/push the middle part of the exhaust up and then slip the hanger over. Still not that easy, but it works better.

[Ross]

Buy all the hangers you even supect are going. Just cut the old ones off, one at a time.
The new ones are a bunch softer than the old, a greased pry bar makes it easier to lever them on.

[attack eagle]

take the #9s off the car fit the new rubber to them, then fit the new rubber to the exhaust... THEN rehang the metal brackets.

a little vaseline or Pb blaster will make fitting the new rubber very easy.

[Kibokojoe]

I bought the exhaust kit from Bavauto. It has pretty much everything you need.

535i 1989

http://www.freewebs.com/kibokojoe/exhaust%20hanger.jpg

[bubba966]

Those figure 8 hangers in that kit (as well as probably the rest of the kit) are aftermarket. They aren't as thick as the OE BMW ones you get from the dealer. Have talk to a good many people in my area that made the mistake of buying ones like those and having to replace them within a year or less.

Just stop at the dealer and spend a buck or two more to get the good ones.

And those donut hangers don't look nearly as beefy as the BMW ones.

[Kibokojoe]

Ken, Thank you for your inquiry.

You have to take what you read on message boards with a grain of salt so to speak. It’s amazing how out of proportion things become sometimes. A good many people could very well be one person that told everyone they knew. The rubber exhaust hangers as well as the gaskets in this kit are from Bosal, a large aftermarket company that makes foreign car exhaust parts. We have carried this brand for years. We use these on our own cars with no problems, and they have the same 1 year warranty as parts from a dealer that cost significantly more. I’ve been here for almost 10 years and I have heard of only a couple failures on these hangers.

Ken Brown

Bavarian Autosport Web Services

275 Constitution Avenue

Portsmouth, NH 03801

800-535-2002


Those figure 8 hangers in that kit (as well as probably the rest of the kit) are aftermarket. They aren't as thick as the OE BMW ones you get from the dealer. Have talk to a good many people in my area that made the mistake of buying ones like those and having to replace them within a year or less.

Just stop at the dealer and spend a buck or two more to get the good ones.

And those donut hangers don't look nearly as beefy as the BMW ones.

[bubba966]

Ken, Thank you for your inquiry.

You have to take what you read on message boards with a grain of salt so to speak. It’s amazing how out of proportion things become sometimes. A good many people could very well be one person that told everyone they knew. The rubber exhaust hangers as well as the gaskets in this kit are from Bosal, a large aftermarket company that makes foreign car exhaust parts. We have carried this brand for years. We use these on our own cars with no problems, and they have the same 1 year warranty as parts from a dealer that cost significantly more. I’ve been here for almost 10 years and I have heard of only a couple failures on these hangers.

Ken Brown

Bavarian Autosport Web Services

275 Constitution Avenue

Portsmouth, NH 03801

800-535-2002

No, I'd not been told by just one person that the thinner aftermartket style figure 8 hangers would last maybe 1 year or so by just one person. I've heard it from multiple people in my area. Granted they're using them on E36's, not E34's. But the part is the same and the E34 exhaust system is heavier than the E36 system.

And FWIW I looked up all of the pricing on the things in that kit as applied to a 540 (540's don't use those U-Clamps) at www.mileoneparts.com and you can get the OE BMW parts for $48.04. That's $48.04 for everything in that picture except the U-Clamps for the 540. And if you just wanted the metal & rubber hangers and wanted to skip the gaskets and bolts it's then costing $31.68 from Mileone.

I'd personally rather put the thicker factory hangers on myself. And it's not like they cost more.

[bbig119]

Sorry to revive an old thread. First thanks for the replies to my original post. Turns out the hangers by the muffler are intact, but both central hangers(figure 8 guys) were broken or missing. I ordered two but was only able to replace one of them because the bracket that holds the hanger to car on the one side (#9 here (http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?model=HE63&mospid=47410&btnr=18_0210&hg=18&fg=20) was missing. I picked one up from the stealer and want to put this bracket and the second hanger on. Does anyone know what I need to torque this bracket to? Are there any other things I should know about installing this? ie, should I use locktite?

Thanks.

[e34.535i.sport]

The OE rubber '8' shaped hangers are VERY STRONG... I found both my rear hangers rusted through and the figure 8 rubbers were holding it all up!!! Good job I replaced them a few months previous with dealer parts.