rattling exhaust

[geo <gamills@ns.sympatico.ca>]

I posted some time ago about this happening under hard
acceleration to the right on the 5kq.  Nothing looked
amiss.  Well, it got worse of course, and I developed an
exhaust leak at the back of the cat.  From what I can tell,
one of the adjusting bolts on the triangular, split flange
broke.  Over time the whole thing got loose.  The flange had
seen better days, so I called the dealer to get an idea what
I wasn't going to pay (~$50 CDN!).  Phoned around and got
one from a local  who's into VW's for about half that.  If
you had some time and were adept at welding, you could
probably make something up for cheap.  The sleeves for the
adjusting bolts are welded on two sides of  triangular
flange, and then the whole thing if cut in half.

I am impressed with the exhaust system on these cars.  From
what I can tell, it's original and 12 years old.

HTH someone.

Geo