Hey all

is it a bad idea to remove the heat sheild off the exhuast manifold on a 93 2.6L magna? it is rattling and is getting under my skin. there is alot of room there and in my car back home (mustang) I dont run any and it pumps out way more heat then this little motor can.

any feed back would be great.

Thanks
Sean

I am not an expert on this stuff but I was told that the heat shield no longer comes with new gaskets .. and can result in eating up your cables "faster" (but not much you can do about it)

Curious to see what others say..

I am not an expert on this stuff but I was told that the heat shield no longer comes with new gaskets .. and can result in eating up your cables "faster" (but not much you can do about it)

Curious to see what others say..

gaskets for the heat shield?

I am running no heat shield. I found it to get in the way of the oil filter and dipstick. however, i do feel the difference in heat when i open the bonnet and am considering putting it back on.

conclusion; if you want to remove it, do so. it wont harm anything. if you're worried about putting extra heat on your bonnet (already fading paint?) then best is to tighten the screws holding it to the exhaust manif.

there are no gaskets for the heat shield.

it serves a purpose and when its gone anything above it will be toast
i'd get a set of headers and wrap em in thermal bandage..... after all tis the perfect excuse

I am not an expert on this stuff but I was told that the heat shield no longer comes with new gaskets .. and can result in eating up your cables "faster" (but not much you can do about it)

Curious to see what others say..

Wow, a cable eating engine, and gaskets for heat sheilds hmm

Look, you can remove it, it is there to help prevent scuff burns when working on the engine despite it also gets hot and also to try and deflect some heat from the manifold down and keep the engine bay a little cooler. In both respects it fails.

Remove it by all means, will not eat your cables (have to watch those exhaust manifolds, they are hungry little critters)

Wow, a cable eating engine, and gaskets for heat sheilds hmm

Look, you can remove it, it is there to help prevent scuff burns when working on the engine despite it also gets hot and also to try and deflect some heat from the manifold down and keep the engine bay a little cooler. In both respects it fails.

Remove it by all means, will not eat your cables (have to watch those exhaust manifolds, they are hungry little critters)

in all honesty mal, i wouldnt say it totally fails. Ive noticed a massive increase in engine bay heat since i removed it. It's actually quite useful fot keeping temperatures down in the 'bay, but dont expect it to keep engine temps down or anything, thats not what its made for.

lol @ 'hungry little critters' *giggles*


it serves a purpose and when its gone anything above it will be toast
i'd get a set of headers and wrap em in thermal bandage..... after all tis the perfect excuse

umm, I've removed mine with the wiring for the oil pressure sender and the wire for the o2 sensor aswell as 4 spark plug leads around it. nothing is 'toast'. chaos theory...

takes time dude... it wont happen overnight but it will happen

Well the problem is that I am missing 2 bolts off the heat sheild, and finding replacement bolts is a pain, and I dont have any scrap yards near me, so I thought about just removing the sheild, it rattles alot, maybe I will just go get some exhaust wraps.
and as for headers this my GF's daily driver.lol

takes time dude... it wont happen overnight but it will happen

been three years since mines been off, slightly longer than overnight. ;)

anyway, OP, next time i go wreckers I'll have a look if I cant grab a couple of those nuts for ya, i need some for mine too as i've painted it and it's going back on. (because i check oil at operating temp and the dipstick is searing hot from being just next to the exhaust *note-hasnt melted or been eaten*

yet many cars get crispy leads from the heat, are you running factory leads or they been replaced already?

yet many cars get crispy leads from the heat, are you running factory leads or they been replaced already?

3years, same leads. 3yrs, same o2 sensor, 3 years same oil pressure sender wiring...

hard to accept? come check it out...replaced my leads just a few days ago.oh and dont forget, my car was built in 1994, so if it were running the same leads as when it came from the factory, there'd be good reason for them to be crusty and old.

im not disputing you claims... just relaying my experience as an autosparkie
o2 sensors are built to get hot and the oil switch is not directly above the manifold
and factory leads are built cheap but non oem leads like bosch and ngk are built to take the heat so you wouldnt have a problem with them

and ive seen plenty of "older" cars still running original leads

im not disputing you claims... just relaying my experience as an autosparkie
o2 sensors are built to get hot and the oil switch is not directly above the manifold
and factory leads are built cheap but non oem leads like bosch and ngk are built to take the heat so you wouldnt have a problem with them

and ive seen plenty of "older" cars still running original leads

not talking about the sensor irstlf, the wires are there, directly behind the pieces. the tiny little o2 sensor wire is less than 5 inches away from the searing hot exhaustg manif, yet it doesnt melt. in other words, it'd have to be alot hotter than normal to do any damage.

...ALOT hotter...

5" is still quite a distance dude and if i recall it is not above the exhaust manifold like the leads which are like above the manifold and less than an inch
but seriously i must be offending you to have you biting back so ferociously

5" is still quite a distance dude and if i recall it is not above the exhaust manifold like the leads which are like above the manifold and less than an inch
but seriously i must be offending you to have you biting back so ferociously

im not biting back, im posting, much like you are.

the spark leads aren't directly above the manif if you've put them in the clips that hold them to the rocker cover. they are also a fair bit further away from the heat source than the wires for o2 sensor and oil pres. unit.

anyway, conclusion is, heat shield can be removed with no damage to any part of the car. im out.

I keep my car's heat shield on. I don't like the idea of a red hot exhaust manifold radiating heat into the plastic top tank of the radiator and turning it brittle.

Wow, a cable eating engine, and gaskets for heat sheilds hmm

Look, you can remove it, it is there to help prevent scuff burns when working on the engine despite it also gets hot and also to try and deflect some heat from the manifold down and keep the engine bay a little cooler. In both respects it fails.

Remove it by all means, will not eat your cables (have to watch those exhaust manifolds, they are hungry little critters)

Oh .. I was thinking about the wrong thing.

On mine the exhaust manifold gasket has a heatshield as part of it - and I was told apparently newer ones don't have that and can wear the sparky leads a bit faster .. now I figure you guys are talking about the other metal heat shield .. my bad.

Trent

I really wanna get one of these and put it back on, I got 10mm race leads made up for mine which can handle the heat, but im pretty sure its at its limitations.... hangs right over my turbo manifold :S

I really wanna get one of these and put it back on, I got 10mm race leads made up for mine which can handle the heat, but im pretty sure its at its limitations.... hangs right over my turbo manifold :S

if the turb manifold is the same shape exactly as the stock manifold then it'll fit, otherwise forget it. lol

uses the std flange so still bolts up fine.... dno bout fitting, cant I just bend it a little?

uses the std flange so still bolts up fine.... dno bout fitting, cant I just bend it a little?

the heat shield bolts to the front of the manifold. isnt held on from where the primaries meet the head.

Bolts Size for the heat sheild was, M8 1.25

my heat shield was taken off when extractors were put on and it does heat the engine bay up ALOT. but it hasn't seem to of cooked anything (exept my oxygen sensor thing). there is no problems with it off.

There is alot of room under that hood for ait flow. maybe I will ditch it and put on a cowl hood.lol keep it ice cold.lol

Al, "cowl hood" - is that a bonnet scoop? Sorry, I am now stalking your threads for interesting terminology - not really - but do you mean holes in the bonnet/hood with air scoops to take outside air and force down into the engine compartment?
These are bordering on "ricey", unless done really well. Hope I haven't offended the "Bonnet Scoops Division" of AMC.

Al, "cowl hood" - is that a bonnet scoop? Sorry, I am now stalking your threads for interesting terminology - not really - but do you mean holes in the bonnet/hood with air scoops to take outside air and force down into the engine compartment?
These are bordering on "ricey", unless done really well. Hope I haven't offended the "Bonnet Scoops Division" of AMC.

stuff the bonnet scoops devision. There's only two cars that i like with scoops and that's 'robz88' and GRDPuck, even then they're not really 'scoops' but more like the ram-air type of thing.

bonnet scoops are ricey.

stuff the bonnet scoops devision. There's only two cars that i like with scoops and that's 'robz88' and GRDPuck, even then they're not really 'scoops' but more like the ram-air type of thing.

bonnet scoops are ricey.

Not if done right. PS I am in the works of making a custom bonnet...

No a cowl is completely different. I will post a picture in a link, usually old muscle cars have then back in NA.

They way they work is the center of the bonnet (hood) is raised up and open at the windscreen. You could look through your front window and seen ur engine.

As you drive the fast moving air going over the top of your car creates a Low pressure zone, then the high pressure air infront and under your car then pushes air through you engine bay and out that gap.

cools the entire engine bay down and if you have a cone filter provides a little pressure and clean cold air with out the ricey scoop

Also in muscle cars it allows more room for bigger engine and air filters that classically are fitted directly to the Carb on the top of the engine

Most Drag cars run cowls.

I had one on my Mustang, but I ran a scope for the turbo on my daytona shelby to allow it to breath easier and add a little ram air effect.

http://www.cowlgaugeconcepts.com/images/3gaugecowlhood.gif
http://media.photobucket.com/image/Cowl%20hood/Jason628/Nova%20pics/park4.jpg
http://www.fquick.com/images/vehicles/full/17729001.jpg

I have done a bunch of air flow stuff for cars if you guys have some other Q's, my freinds back home are all into cars and mechincal engineers

Thanks Al!

maybe with a cowl on 3rd gens, I could watch to see which tappet is noisy on any particular day - jokes!!