Heat/exhaust shield came loose - how to remove it

tacticalx86

tacticalx86

tacticalx86

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Made the mistake of driving through a partially flooded road, the water was high not high enough for a car to get stuck or anything. Anyway I drive through it and the car is making a horrible noise, engine smoking, but still driveable. Surprise surprise, a traffic car is behind me and flashes me over. The two police officers get out and tell me the exhaust shield is loose and is being dragged along, they managed to dislodge it slightly with a broom and its not as bad but still stuck. how can i remove it, will pliers do the job
 
Water and cars don’t mix. I went through a big puddle at 30mph and the resulting splash broke the under trays of my car. Straight after running through the puddle I could hear a scraping sound. That was the under trays hanging off.
 
tacticalx86 said:
Made the mistake of driving through a partially flooded road, the water was high not high enough for a car to get stuck or anything. Anyway I drive through it and the car is making a horrible noise, engine smoking, but still driveable. Surprise surprise, a traffic car is behind me and flashes me over. The two police officers get out and tell me the exhaust shield is loose and is being dragged along, they managed to dislodge it slightly with a broom and its not as bad but still stuck. how can i remove it, will pliers do the job
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Has the noise gone after you took off the undertray? Also, was it an exhaust heatshield or a plastic undertray?
 
nlel1975 said:
Water and cars don’t mix. I went through a big puddle at 30mph and the resulting splash broke the under trays of my car. Straight after running through the puddle I could hear a scraping sound. That was the under trays hanging off.
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I imagine it might have already been loose from something else. I wasn't going fast through it. How hard is it to remove and is it ok to drive without it? I'm reading that it is but others saying the cat converter can run hot.
 
Gaygle said:
Has the noise gone after you took off the undertray? Also, was it an exhaust heatshield or a plastic undertray?
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I haven't touched it, the police officer shoved it with a broom. When I got the car home and looked it looks like an exhaust heatshield on the front left hand side of the vehicle.
 
Also don't pull anything off with pliers unless you know what it is and that it's broken. Use a proper tool (likely a socket on the end of a wrench) to undo it.
 
If it's made of metal and appears sort of bobbly - it'll be a heatshield. If it's black, plastic and smooth, it'll be an undertray.

Metal heatshield is there to stop the hot exhaust from damaging more sensitive parts around the exhaust such as the body, sensors or wiring. An undertray is there to catch crap from the engine, reduce corrosion and wear to body/components by protecting it from road grime and provide better aerodynamics.

Metal heatshields are normally held in place by nuts that screw onto the body. Undertrays are normally held on with screws (usually torx) or hex bolts or a combination of both
 
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Also you mentioned when you went through the puddle "the engine was smoking and the car made an awful noise". Was that noise from the engine? And is it still making that noise? Because if it was and if it is - forget the undertray, your engine will likely be internally damaged.
 
Gaygle said:
Also you mentioned when you went through the puddle "the engine was smoking and the car made an awful noise". Was that noise from the engine? And is it still making that noise? Because if it was and if it is - forget the undertray, you're engine will likely be internally damaged.
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No, it wasn't noise from the engine. There is no noise from the engine. There is also no smoke from the engine anymore. The awful noise was the heatshield being dragged along the carriageway. I'm useless at telling where noises are comign from and what they are but it's 100% the heatshields. I'm taking it to a garage tommorow
 
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Gaygle said:
If it's made of metal and appears sort of bobbly - it'll be a heatshield. If it's black, plastic and smooth, it'll be an undertray.

Metal heatshield is there to stop the hot exhaust from damaging more sensitive parts around the exhaust such as the body, sensors or wiring. An undertray is there to catch crap from the engine, reduce corrosion and wear to body/components by protecting it from road grime and provide better aerodynamics.

Metal heatshields are normally held in place by nuts that screw onto the body. Undertrays are normally held on with screws (usually torx) or hex bolts or a combination of both
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it is the heatshield.
 
If its the undertray rip it off, it just makes it more annoying to service.

Heatshield just use tin sinps or bend it until it surcombs to metal fatigue
 
katy81 said:
If its the undertray rip it off, it just makes it more annoying to service.

Heatshield just use tin sinps or bend it until it surcombs to metal fatigue
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This.

Did this in the Mrs Fiesta years ago and been fine since.

It's not required to be there on the MOT but if it's hanging off etc it'll be an issue.

It's not an issue if it just isn't there at all.
 
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:cry: Took the heatshield off one of my classic beamers, due to it being ripped/knackered beyond belief and trying to mate with my propshaft.. The gearbox tunnel and floor used to get rather hot after driving it a few hours/a whole evening:D

My mates weld in rollcaged drift cage was completely stripped with no sound deadening, and my trainers would stick to the floor 9/10 times going out for a blast in it:cry:
 
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tacticalx86 said:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/bHtZDCjZb6KPWP4U9

What is under that heat shield though, it's not the cat is it ? I could probably get it pulled off myself but if it's covering something like that i'd rather get the shield replaced.
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That just looks like plastic undertray, you definitely want to unclip/unscrew it, some of it is probably resting against your exhaust... That can only end well :cry:

I had a blanking plastic trim piece where optional air con was, on one of my older cars...
After a spirited drive, I could smell burning... Somehow it'd decided after the 20 years of being factory clipped in, that it'd like to make friends with my massive exhaust manifold and have a bbq! Luckily I pulled over and checked straight away and it literally ripped off... What was left haha!

OP FWIW, the heatshield is usually shiny looking aluminum with a pattern/texture on it...
iu
 
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Don't rip it off like an idiot would. Next people will be telling you to burn it off with a blow torch. Take it off properly, don't be an idiot.

Also, undertrays are there for a reason, it should be replaced.
 
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sigma said:
It looks to me like something has broken and pushed itself through the under tray.
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It looks like a heat exhaust shield, the undertray of my car has come off before (pothole), and it was very different.
Is it a MOT faliure to not have a heat shield?
I guess either way it's going to the garage tommorow so hopefully it'll get replaced tommorow and it won't be too much in cost. Lesson learnt I guess. Still could be a lot worse, thought I might have flooded the engine but given the car started fine and the noise doesn't seem to correspond to that of an engine with water (from what i know and what i've seen online), it seems to just be the shield.
 
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