Heat shield: Important, or just for giggles?

[PHO2GR4]

Bart, if you can believe it, the remains of MY heat shield looked much worse than yours!

I've driven close to 3000 miles across searing desert heat for 10 hours at a stretch with no obvious problems, though. I wonder what this part actually does? Is it like a spleen, which can be removed without causing any bad issues?

[Dino]

Want a mechanics input... well here it is anyway!

Heat shields are there to protect things surrounding that super-hot exhaust pipe! It's fine moving down the road with air rushing by, but when a vehicle gets shut down with a super-heated exhaust, the heat rises and super-heats your floorboards and other bits that are nearby that don't take well to repeated, intense, heat!

It's best to try to keep them on.
If they're rattling, any competent muffler shop's welder-on-duty should be able to tack weld them back in place.

...and there's me 2 cents.

[Joe Isuzu]

I'm definitely not the only one on this apparently, after I got mine I was very annoyed at the rattling that would happen when the car was idling, I traced it down to the heat shield and the u-bolt (right term?) had rusted, the shield wasn't in great shape but it was mostly there and I simply replaced the bolt so it wasn't sitting on the exhaust pipe, simple enough solution but sometimes I fear looking underneath my VX b/c I see a lot of rusty looking emissions equipment that soon looks like it will need to be replaced....
cha-ching!

[Knigh7s]

I have this habbit of driving next to brick fences, or wall of some sort that reflect sound back towards the car while driving. I just drop the passanger window just enough to where the wind noise isn't so loud.

Well to come to my point. I just had gotten off work the other night and have to drive through a tunnel to get home. I pulled to the far right and dropped the window down a bit. And to my suprise... an annoyingly LOUD rattle (sometimes I could hear the rattle with windows closed, but very faint, but disappears when I concentrate on that sound).

My heat sheilds are rusted up pretty bad.

(after removing the old rusted pieces) Couldn't I just wrap this around it, then maybe this , and tie it down with these ?

It could prevent it from any further rust/rattles.... ...

[/end novel]

[tom4bren]

I think Dino hit the nail on the head. The heat shield does not affect performance and is there mostly for safety. I haven't had any problem with it on my VX yet (but then I've only been a member for a short while and preferred to concentrate on the other VX SNAFUs first - windows, CVs). I've removed most of the heat shields from my TLC over the years (as each succombed to cancer - believe it or not there were six). No problems since. Now for the horror story though - I have heard of carpet melting because the exhaust system got too hot close to the underbelly.

I would not try for a factory replacement. You should be able to find a shop that could fab something up for you @ less $$$ and would actually last longer. Metal tape will work but my experience on an old Dodge P'up was that it is very temporary.

I've seen some ceramic coatings in the past but that was very long ago and probably are very $$$. I've also seen some fiber wrap for exhaust but again long ago and very $$$ - it also wasn't recommended as it would PROMOTE rust.

I'd recommend some leg work to find a small shop with a good welder that could fab something up for you (I'm lucky - I found such a place). Don't bother with the big chain shops. Find JoeBillyJimBob who operates out of uncle Mikey's garage. The big shops probably won't touch a job like that for liability reasons.

[nfpgasmask]

Last night I put my heat sheilds back on. I went to Home Depot and picked up 4 pipe clamps, ended up using 3 of them, but I was able to get the sheilds back on nice & tight. I still have one rattling down there that I need to find and clamp on better.

Bart

[Kenny]

Are you sure it's a heat shield rattle - did it go away when you took off the shields?

I thought I had a heat shield rattle and hoped it would go away with the new exhaust system since the new system doesn't re-use the shields. It didn't, we found that it was an O2 sensor that rang like a bell when tapped - that was the rattle I heard. I replaced it and the rattle went away.

But now I have another one when I go over bumps.... another O2 sensor? dunno yet, too lazy and exhausted from Moab to look right now...

[kelvin]

i have a bad rattle that i thaught might be bad wheel bearings, but it didnt go away when they were re-packed....

can you describe this heat shield "rattle"? mine kinda sounds like bb's in one of those rain stick things... does that make sence? like a clikity-clikity-clickity shaking thing over and over again....

[nfpgasmask]

Yeah, that's probably it. Slide under your VX on the passenger side about 2/3s the way down and look for the loose heat shield (looks the one I pictured above). Usually though, the rattling is coming from the rusted apart pipe clamps, at least in my case, this was the situation. I pulled everything off and put it back on with some new pipe clamps. Easy. Now these don't rattle.

Bart

i have a bad rattle that i thaught might be bad wheel bearings, but it didnt go away when they were re-packed....

can you describe this heat shield "rattle"? mine kinda sounds like bb's in one of those rain stick things... does that make sence? like a clikity-clikity-clickity shaking thing over and over again....

[CrnCnn]

i have a bad rattle that i thaught might be bad wheel bearings, but it didnt go away when they were re-packed....

can you describe this heat shield "rattle"? mine kinda sounds like bb's in one of those rain stick things... does that make sence? like a clikity-clikity-clickity shaking thing over and over again....

I dont think that is the sound but I dont know that I've heard a rain stick in a long time, or ever. I have the same loose shields Bart is describing. Mine happens mostly while sitting at a stop light or when I first start the VX. I used to have a Chevy that made that noise but it was a catalytic converter that was falling apart.

[nfpgasmask]

Oh yes, this was definitely the culprit of my loud jingling. Once I removed it, the rattling from the right side immediately went away. I still have a quiet rattle on the left side though, which I am going to find soon. I just figured that even though the sheilds are rusted, I am better off with them on. And quite honestly, it was pretty easy to do. Took me about 40 mintes to get them back on nice & tight. I don't know the source of the quiet rattle coming from the drivers side, but maybe its an O2 sensor like you said. I have to get under there again and poke around.

Bart

Are you sure it's a heat shield rattle - did it go away when you took off the shields?

I thought I had a heat shield rattle and hoped it would go away with the new exhaust system since the new system doesn't re-use the shields. It didn't, we found that it was an O2 sensor that rang like a bell when tapped - that was the rattle I heard. I replaced it and the rattle went away.

But now I have another one when I go over bumps.... another O2 sensor? dunno yet, too lazy and exhausted from Moab to look right now...