2002 MP5 Exhaust heat sheild rusted? Rattles?

[jadi929]

Ok so I've had my car since like last summer and always had this really annoying rattling sound from under the hood, at about 3000 RPM. So today finally I got off my lazy ass (its spring break) and decided to look into it. Turns out its the heat shield and its rusted around one of the bolts. So the bottom bolt isnt doing jack. Question: is it safe to just remove it and go on with life? Or should I replace it? If so, I feel like if I am gonna replace it, I might as well rust proof it somehow, or atleast paint it?

Anyone had a similar problem? I've seen people remove them but wasn't sure it is recommended for mostly city driving.

Heres the video (sorry its a very windy day today) :

 

[JiggaBro]

yes you can live without it. no big deal
or you can just do what i did and use 2 washers to fill the cavity that the rust took out. quick and easy fix

 

[zhy]

you can take off your heatshield for good, but your engine bay's gonna be more heatsoaked
All youd need to do is buy some heat wrap and wrap it around your exhaust manifold, that will keep the temperature down just like if your heatshield was present

 

[Dragonpark]

My heat shield looks very similar to yours. I've been interested in finding a replacement as I'd like to spruce up the engine bay a bit. I've been neglecting the car for a while, but seeing as I won't have the money to replace it anytime soon... I thought I'd put a little bit of money into it.

 

[zhy]

My heat shield looks very similar to yours. I've been interested in finding a replacement as I'd like to spruce up the engine bay a bit. I've been neglecting the car for a while, but seeing as I won't have the money to replace it anytime soon... I thought I'd put a little bit of money into it.

 

[xitoxic]

 

[tweety2300]

Take it off and throw it in the trash. That's where mine went

 

[JiggaBro]

paint it black

<a href="http://s789.photobucket.com/albums/yy176/freddy-ydderf/?action=view&current=1-1.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i789.photobucket.com/albums/yy176/freddy-ydderf/1-1.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

 

[xitoxic]

i like the black, but my favorite option (what im doing) is get some aftermarket headers and putting some black header wrap on it (breakn)

 

[JiggaBro]

i like the black, but my favorite option (what im doing) is get some aftermarket headers and putting some black header wrap on it (breakn)

id love to do that but CA smog is a pain in the butt

 

[Dragonpark]

Yea, I know I shouldn't neglect the car. I've just been rather unhappy with it due to some body damage that I really can't afford to get fixed right now (the front bumper needs to be completely replaced and a shopping cart made a rather nasty dent in the passenger side door).

If I were to pain the heat shield, I would most likely pain it red as it would match both the strut bar and the cold air intake I just installed last weekend. Then I was thinking of giving the valve cover a good cleaning and painting it, though I'm not sure what color.

 

[xitoxic]

painting my valve v cover black

id love to do that but CA smog is a pain in the butt

whats CA smog?

 

[JiggaBro]

smog laws in California are a lot more strict then ..... almost everywhere else i can think of

i wouldnt be able to pass without a stock exhaust mani.
and if i dont have a CARB legal intake i also wouldnt pass

 

[xitoxic]

smog laws in California are a lot more strict then ..... almost everywhere else i can think of

i wouldnt be able to pass without a stock exhaust mani.
and if i dont have a CARB legal intake i also wouldnt pass

well what the hell, is there a secret ninja cop going around checking everyone's engine bay? like how would they know?

 

[Jedidiah55]

oh god the little kids are on the forum now and they are bringing rage comics......

 

[JiggaBro]

well what the hell, is there a secret ninja cop going around checking everyone's engine bay? like how would they know?

well every 4 years or so (i dont remember exactly) you have to get a smog check, and thats usually when they wont pass you for modifying factory emissions.
and if a cop really wants to be a douche, he can give you a ticket (or fix it ticket) for basically the same thing
word on the street is that some squad cars have 'sniffers'. they just pull up behind you at a red light and have the reader check your exhaust eemissions (though i doubt that one)

AND as far as OBDIII coming out, its main purpose is to be a rolling smog machine. so it can send signals out to whomever cares and basically have the car say ' her my owner put a ricky racer exhaust and now my emissions are out of whack, he lives here'

same with going turbo in CA, wont pass if the car wasnt originally equipped with it.

sorry for thread jack

 

[xitoxic]

well that sounds terrible (boom06)

 

[xitoxic]

im sorry to hear that you go through so much pain, hhaha. whats smog even referring to? like the emissions?

and sorry to thread jack so bad

 

[JiggaBro]

im sorry to hear that you go through so much pain, hhaha. whats smog even referring to? like the emissions?

and sorry to thread jack so bad

double posted oops, yup, smog is just emissions.

and to get back on topic!
as you can see on my pic, i just used 2 washers and sanded and painted with high heat paint. it looks all pretty and only costs about $6.

though i couldnt take off the clip for the O2 sensor so i ended up just cutting out a section of the heat shield so now i can pop it on or off without having to pull the plug

 

[jadi929]

the painting sounds like a good idea, i already had bought to engine paint (black) for my valve cover, i guess the heat shield is getting a coat too