When driving Medina last month, I noticed an increasingly noisy rattle coming from the rear. Turns out that the noise started from a broken rearmost exhaust hanger. I brought the car to a local mechanic whom I know, as there was no chance for me to drive to Rockford and back before the Midwest show this Saturday (work comes first).
When the car was up on a lift, we found that the following issues had developed:
Luckily, @marty mopar had the correct part (P/N 3404844 ) -- so I bought one hanger for Medina and a spare just in case, as one of my other cars might need it (Marty had three hangers available, so there is one left at Arizona Parts if someone needs it). Here is Medina's exhaust this Friday afternoon, with the NOS hanger installed. Notice that it now runs parallel to the rail -- no more rattles! Notice also that as a result the exhaust was brought a bit rearward, with the scalloped tailpipe running perfectly in the continuation of the rear valence.
While fixing the rear hanger issue, it became apparent that another hanger was too loose and that its brackets could not be tightened enough, causing a second (smaller but still noticeable) rattle. So a piece of metal of appropriate thickness and curvature was cut to fit and was inserted between the hanger bracket and the pipe.
Voilà, no more rattle. Right? Well, not so fast. The butterfly nut holding the rear tire had gone missing. No idea why or when, but the tire occasionally rattled as a result. I had used a simple nut when I first noticed the issue in May, but it did not stay tight and there was still a tight rattle. Not having an original nut on hand, the mechanic manufactured a really cool one that I like so much I've decided it will stay with the car!
One more thing. When I bought Medina, she was missing the trunk "Dodge Division" badge (P/N 3570337 ). I found a used one in good condition on eBay, negotiated a good deal, and had it installed today after moving the remnants of the old double-sided tape.
We used old factory photos and a scaling software to figure the correct placement (3.5in from the trunk's right and bottom edges). Here it is on the car (using double-sided tape):
When the car was up on a lift, we found that the following issues had developed:
Luckily, @marty mopar had the correct part (P/N 3404844 ) -- so I bought one hanger for Medina and a spare just in case, as one of my other cars might need it (Marty had three hangers available, so there is one left at Arizona Parts if someone needs it). Here is Medina's exhaust this Friday afternoon, with the NOS hanger installed. Notice that it now runs parallel to the rail -- no more rattles! Notice also that as a result the exhaust was brought a bit rearward, with the scalloped tailpipe running perfectly in the continuation of the rear valence.
While fixing the rear hanger issue, it became apparent that another hanger was too loose and that its brackets could not be tightened enough, causing a second (smaller but still noticeable) rattle. So a piece of metal of appropriate thickness and curvature was cut to fit and was inserted between the hanger bracket and the pipe.
Voilà, no more rattle. Right? Well, not so fast. The butterfly nut holding the rear tire had gone missing. No idea why or when, but the tire occasionally rattled as a result. I had used a simple nut when I first noticed the issue in May, but it did not stay tight and there was still a tight rattle. Not having an original nut on hand, the mechanic manufactured a really cool one that I like so much I've decided it will stay with the car!
One more thing. When I bought Medina, she was missing the trunk "Dodge Division" badge (P/N 3570337 ). I found a used one in good condition on eBay, negotiated a good deal, and had it installed today after moving the remnants of the old double-sided tape.
We used old factory photos and a scaling software to figure the correct placement (3.5in from the trunk's right and bottom edges). Here it is on the car (using double-sided tape):
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.... im hungry for a 71
