A silver Vauxhall VX220 on track
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Exhaust dropped or clonking: the sheared hanger bracket

An NA exhaust found resting on the rear clam cut-out, a clonk over bumps and no blowing. The cause was a sheared triangular bracket between the cat and backbox, and what owners did about it.

Applies to: VX220 and Speedster, NADifficulty: ModerateTime: An evening (one owner’s 2012 experience)

Parts

  • Exhaust hanger bracket (Vauxhall) (About £20 from Vauxhall in 2012, but on back order at the time. No part number in the thread. One owner had a spare)

Tools

  • Basic hand tools
  • Axle stands (see the jacking points guide)

In 2012 an NA owner with 88,000 miles heard a clonk and found the exhaust pipe resting on the rear clam cut-out. It could be seen resting on the rear undertray through the gap in the rear wheel arch lining. It wasn't blowing, and nothing rattled, so he suspected a failed hanger. The photo carries the Photobucket watermark.

What to do

  1. Take off the rear undertray. One owner says it is self-explanatory when you look under the car. Support the car safely first: see Jacking points.
  2. Look for the bracket. One owner says the same happened to his and he left it like that for ages. He thinks it is likely to be the bracket that fits on one of the bolts between the cat and backbox.
  3. On this car the failed part was a triangular bracket on the driver's side, which joins a mount on the other side of the heat shield. It had sheared. It had been bodged and welded before, and the photo shows the gap where it sheared earlier and the fold from the bodge.
A hand holding the failed exhaust hanger bracket: a thin folded steel plate with a tube welded across it and a spring clip, with a sheared edge at the top
The sheared bracket, with the gap at the top where it had broken before, and the fold at the bottom from an earlier bodge.

Fix and parts

  • A replacement is a Vauxhall part at about £20 (2012), although it was on back order. One owner offered a spare to buy.
  • The two owners who worked on this one made a temporary "racetrack" repair for the weekend. The thread doesn't say how.
The original poster asked whether the car was safe to drive for a few days like this. Nobody answered directly; one owner says his was left like that for ages.

See also NA exhaust upgrade and Exhaust shroud (heat shield) replacement.

Help wanted
We don't have the Vauxhall part number for the bracket or a picture of where it sits. If you have replaced one, please tell us the number and send photos.

Send us details or photos →

Sources & credit

Written up from these owners' original posts. Thanks to everyone who contributed.

Last updated 2026-10-15