diff --git a/fs/afs/inode.c b/fs/afs/inode.c
index 299dbae..ade6ec3 100644
--- a/fs/afs/inode.c
+++ b/fs/afs/inode.c
@@ -54,8 +54,21 @@ static int afs_inode_map_status(struct afs_vnode *vnode, struct key *key)
 		inode->i_fop	= &afs_dir_file_operations;
 		break;
 	case AFS_FTYPE_SYMLINK:
-		inode->i_mode	= S_IFLNK | vnode->status.mode;
-		inode->i_op	= &page_symlink_inode_operations;
+		/* Symlinks with a mode of 0644 are actually mountpoints. */
+		if ((vnode->status.mode & 0777) == 0644) {
+			inode->i_flags |= S_AUTOMOUNT;
+
+			spin_lock(&vnode->lock);
+			set_bit(AFS_VNODE_MOUNTPOINT, &vnode->flags);
+			spin_unlock(&vnode->lock);
+
+			inode->i_mode	= S_IFDIR | 0555;
+			inode->i_op	= &afs_mntpt_inode_operations;
+			inode->i_fop	= &afs_mntpt_file_operations;
+		} else {
+			inode->i_mode	= S_IFLNK | vnode->status.mode;
+			inode->i_op	= &page_symlink_inode_operations;
+		}
 		inode_nohighmem(inode);
 		break;
 	default:
@@ -79,18 +92,6 @@ static int afs_inode_map_status(struct afs_vnode *vnode, struct key *key)
 	inode->i_generation	= vnode->fid.unique;
 	inode->i_version	= vnode->status.data_version;
 	inode->i_mapping->a_ops	= &afs_fs_aops;
-
-	/* check to see whether a symbolic link is really a mountpoint */
-	if (vnode->status.type == AFS_FTYPE_SYMLINK) {
-		afs_mntpt_check_symlink(vnode, key);
-
-		if (test_bit(AFS_VNODE_MOUNTPOINT, &vnode->flags)) {
-			inode->i_mode	= S_IFDIR | vnode->status.mode;
-			inode->i_op	= &afs_mntpt_inode_operations;
-			inode->i_fop	= &afs_mntpt_file_operations;
-		}
-	}
-
 	return 0;
 }
 
diff --git a/fs/afs/internal.h b/fs/afs/internal.h
index af1d91e..39de154 100644
--- a/fs/afs/internal.h
+++ b/fs/afs/internal.h
@@ -559,7 +559,6 @@ extern const struct inode_operations afs_autocell_inode_operations;
 extern const struct file_operations afs_mntpt_file_operations;
 
 extern struct vfsmount *afs_d_automount(struct path *);
-extern int afs_mntpt_check_symlink(struct afs_vnode *, struct key *);
 extern void afs_mntpt_kill_timer(void);
 
 /*
diff --git a/fs/afs/mntpt.c b/fs/afs/mntpt.c
index d4fb0af..bd3b65c 100644
--- a/fs/afs/mntpt.c
+++ b/fs/afs/mntpt.c
@@ -47,59 +47,6 @@ static DECLARE_DELAYED_WORK(afs_mntpt_expiry_timer, afs_mntpt_expiry_timed_out);
 static unsigned long afs_mntpt_expiry_timeout = 10 * 60;
 
 /*
- * check a symbolic link to see whether it actually encodes a mountpoint
- * - sets the AFS_VNODE_MOUNTPOINT flag on the vnode appropriately
- */
-int afs_mntpt_check_symlink(struct afs_vnode *vnode, struct key *key)
-{
-	struct page *page;
-	size_t size;
-	char *buf;
-	int ret;
-
-	_enter("{%x:%u,%u}",
-	       vnode->fid.vid, vnode->fid.vnode, vnode->fid.unique);
-
-	/* read the contents of the symlink into the pagecache */
-	page = read_cache_page(AFS_VNODE_TO_I(vnode)->i_mapping, 0,
-			       afs_page_filler, key);
-	if (IS_ERR(page)) {
-		ret = PTR_ERR(page);
-		goto out;
-	}
-
-	ret = -EIO;
-	if (PageError(page))
-		goto out_free;
-
-	buf = kmap(page);
-
-	/* examine the symlink's contents */
-	size = vnode->status.size;
-	_debug("symlink to %*.*s", (int) size, (int) size, buf);
-
-	if (size > 2 &&
-	    (buf[0] == '%' || buf[0] == '#') &&
-	    buf[size - 1] == '.'
-	    ) {
-		_debug("symlink is a mountpoint");
-		spin_lock(&vnode->lock);
-		set_bit(AFS_VNODE_MOUNTPOINT, &vnode->flags);
-		vnode->vfs_inode.i_flags |= S_AUTOMOUNT;
-		spin_unlock(&vnode->lock);
-	}
-
-	ret = 0;
-
-	kunmap(page);
-out_free:
-	put_page(page);
-out:
-	_leave(" = %d", ret);
-	return ret;
-}
-
-/*
  * no valid lookup procedure on this sort of dir
  */
 static struct dentry *afs_mntpt_lookup(struct inode *dir,