Exhaust Hangers

[nc211]

I was under the car today and accidentally hit the exhaust pipe with my foot. I was STUNNED at how "wobbly" the entire system is under there. I mean I gently hit the muffler with my foot, and the entire thing, from the transmission area on back was shaking back and forth, up and down. I checked all the hanger spots "four O rings on the tail muffler" and "two oval honeycomb looking hangers by the differential area". The differential area hangers are really really soft, and feel very brittle. No doubt originals. I could easily pinch the rubber together with two fingers.

Question: is this normal? I had my floor jack proping up the car to give me some room, and when I wiggled the exhaust, it actually shook the car left and right and made the floor jack rattle. I'm wondering when I'm driving the car and I get this occasional side to side shimmy feeling, if it's not the exhaust system shaking back and forth. I won't even mention that other..encyclopedia thread I started.....but....it sure does make me wonder....???? I don't get it as much anymore, but every now and then when turning at an intersection, or when I really stand on the gas, I do get a feeling of the tail-end shaking a bit.

Do they go bad? Do they soften up over the years and begin to lose thier strenght? Or am I missing another hanger spot further up the line towards the engine. I didn't see any other areas, but it was tight, and I was tired!

Edit: found this on search..

http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...exhaust+hangers