Catalytic Converter Heat Shield

rokemester · 07-14-2013, 07:11 PM

There are a number of threads on the forum about the purpose of the heat shield and many just say leave it off. I kind of want to keep mine on and OEM. Does anyone have pictures of one properly installed on a 3.2 liter. It's a bit tricky as there are two shield mounting brackets that are integral in the assembly of the crossover pipe and driver side heat exchanger. I'm worried about the system leaking, so want to make sure I use the proper and correct number of exhaust gaskets. Thanks.

rokemester · 07-16-2013, 03:01 PM

The Bentley manual shows the two brackets but doesn't detail how they go back together, particularly the bracket nearest where the cat and the muffler come together. In the past the shield has been a rattle trap, but the P car engineers had a reason to put it on the car so I want to keep it there. Thanks.

db_cooper · db_cooper's Garage

I think the shield is there to help protect the left rear tire from the catalytic heat and the unintentional ignition of any loose leaves or brush when parked.

rokemester · 07-16-2013, 05:03 PM

Yes, thanks I gathered some of that information from other threads in this forum. What I can't seem to find is detailed information about how the various exhaust components come together. The various flanges all protrude from the flange by 1/8" so it would appear that the order of gaskets is important to insure a good seal.

Arne2 · Arne2's Garage

I'll take my camera to the garage, see if I can get any decent pictures. I think there's only one way to get it all to line up, IIRC. Stand by...

Arne2 · Arne2's Garage

Well, I got a pic at the cat outlet. Can't see the other without removing the wheel. But the idea is the same. At the outlet, the order is Cat-flange, gasket, muffler-flange, shield-bracket. The brackets must be the farthest out from the cat. The other is the reverse.

rokemester · 06:06 PM

When I laid out the exhaust system components it became a bit more apparent on how the bits might come together.

I think this bracket position is correctly positioned.

This may be more like it, with the support bracket on the back of the muffler. As you can see the PO tore up the brackets so I either need to weld some new receiver holes (a stainless steel washer perhaps) or break down and try to buy the bracket if they are available.

rokemester · 07-16-2013, 06:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Arne2

Well, I got a pic at the cat outlet. Can't see the other without removing the wheel. But the idea is the same. At the outlet, the order is Cat-flange, gasket, muffler-flange, shield-bracket. The brackets must be the farthest out from the cat. The other is the reverse.

COOL Arne! Thanks for doing this! I just went into the garage and laid out the system, and your install confirms what I need to do. THANKS AGAIN!!

r-mm · 08-01-2013, 06:18 PM

Can someone tell me what how to remove the heat shield? I can't quite figure out what type of nuts those are. Thought they were bolts going into speednuts but when I try to remove them they either spin the "speednuts" on top of the heatshield or somesuch other parts rotate.

firstclassof86 · 08-02-2013, 11:22 AM

if bolt is spinning, the clip that holds the nut is broken. you may have to cut the bolt or drill it out. spray pt blaster on the other ones overnight. maybe u can get some vise grips to hold the nut. but the amount of rust that builds on these makes them hard to remove.