I have a 2009 AWD SE 2.4 and I noticed a 1/2" black, steel band clamp around the body of the muffler. It is oval and about 10" wide. The ends fasten together with a bolt. It has rusted through and I think I can replace it, but I cannot find the part in the catalog or the manual. Also, I am not sure where this band clamp is positioned. It seems to have been around the body of the muffler. The band doesn't look like it had any hangers attached to it. Any ideas? I can send a photo tonight. Thanks.

 

A picture is worth a thousand words. Without a picture it is hard to give any meaningful advice. However, heat shields on the entire exhaust system are very susceptible to rust. I had to apply twice a fix (see post #878 here) in my ride. Is your clamp 1/2" wide or 10" wide? I doubt it would be an original part. Someone must have applied a fix like myself to eliminate a rattle.

 

The metal band is about 1/2” wide but when the ends are joined, the oval it forms is 10” across (to fit snug around the muffler body). I will post a photo when I get home. It looks like it may have held a heat shield around the muffler itself, but I don’t think there ever was one around the muffler, and I have been the only owner of the vehicle. It looks like it was just tightened around the middle of the body of muffler before it broke, but it doesn’t look like it was doing anything, or attached to any hanger on the undercarriage.

 

Here is the part I’m talking about.

 

As you can see the service manual does not specify a band like the one you displayed. At some point someone must have installed it. You might want to check whether you have all the hangers present that are supposed to hold the exhaust system.

 

Thanks, AWCAWD. I will take a look. I did grab and shake the muffler a bit yesterday, and it appears to be still solidly attached to chassis.

 

You are welcome. I guess you have nothing to worry about then.

 

HI,

That clamp pictured was dangling from my wife's 2010 Outlander last week. Its purpose is to secure a heat shield directly above the muffler. It has no stability function of the muffler itself. I removed the dangling, rusted bracket in two seconds which also resolved her "clanging" problem.

 

Oh Band CLAMP LOL glad you got an answer before my stupid post happy hollidays!