Hello folks, thought I'd get round to joining this forum!

I have a 1998 civic (3 door, 1.4i). The problem I have is that my exhaust is scraping/rubbing the control arm. Not just when I'm carrying heavy loads as well. It is especially noticeable when the right rear wheel goes over a bump, especially on a left turn.

I've had a quick check of all the hangers and they seem to be in place and the rubber is not particularly stretched (see photos). I was wondering what I could potentially do to increase the height of the pipe so that it doesn't smack the suspension all of the time? The car is completely 100% stock. I'm wondering if a specialist exhaust centre would be able to lift the pipe/back box further up in some way? Or is the fact that the pipe is hitting the control arm a sign of something else, i.e. worn springs?

Many thanks for your help!

Pete

 

What suspension, I like how you left that out of your pics.

 

bend doesnt look right

 

Could your rear shocks or springs be weak?
The age of the car suggest that it could be unless you have had them replaced??
If you had it replaced then I would ask when you had the exhaust done
It looks pretty new. So when did this noise start happening?
Time frame in relation to work being done on car??

Maybe the exhaust pipe is not bent correctly??

 

Is that rusted exhaust hanger on the bushing attached to the exhaust? It should be attached to the mid-pipe (the pipe before the axle-back/muffler)

 

There's always more to the story.

 

The picture shows crush-bent exhaust shop created piping... the problem is the shop that did the work did a poor job and the solution is to replace the axle back portion with a properly engineered piece.

 

Thanks everyone. Oops, sorry, for some reason I thought that the control arm was a suspension component - that's what I get for posting while almost asleep!

The rear springs are original - my car is worth around £200 max so replacing them isn't viable. The car has a number of other issues including engine knock/burning oil, timing belt overdue to be replaced, whining in 4th and 5th gears, pulls slightly to the left, water leaks into the spare wheel compartment (I drilled a hole - instant fix!) rust holes that have been duct taped over etc. My cassette tape player is also broken and chewed up my dad's 70s "Focus" album. But the car still works!

Yeah the exhaust back box was replaced recently, in any case I'm going back to the original garage to see if they can do anything about it + show them the photos. I'll let you all know how it goes

 

that is RUST on top of RUST. I would be scared just to remove a single bolt/nut.