# 2012 Ford F-150 - Do I need a heat shield?

**URL:** <https://community.cartalk.com/t/2012-ford-f-150-do-i-need-a-heat-shield/144385>\
**Category:** Maintenance/Repairs\
**Tags:** ford\
**Created:** [July 14, 2019, 6:57pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2012-ford-f-150-do-i-need-a-heat-shield/144385 "2019-07-14T18:57:56Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 7\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Steve54](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ea924/32.png) [@Steve54](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Steve54)\
**Post date:** [July 14, 2019, 6:57pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2012-ford-f-150-do-i-need-a-heat-shield/144385/1 "2019-07-14T18:57:56Z")

</div>

Heat sheld around manifold on passenger side corroded around bolts,falling off,is it necessary?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Renegade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Renegade](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Renegade)\
**Post date:** [July 14, 2019, 7:03pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2012-ford-f-150-do-i-need-a-heat-shield/144385/2 "2019-07-14T19:03:39Z")

</div>

Yes they are there for a reason.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Tester](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/tester/32/15976_2.png) [@Tester](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Tester)\
**Post date:** [July 15, 2019, 3:04am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2012-ford-f-150-do-i-need-a-heat-shield/144385/3 "2019-07-15T03:04:04Z")

</div>

Don’t worry about.

I’ve ripped off so many heat shields over the years because of rust, I’ve lost count.

But have never installed a replacement. Because most times they’re not available.

Tester

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Barkydog](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/barkydog/32/2470_2.png) [@Barkydog](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Barkydog)\
**Post date:** [July 15, 2019, 3:58am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2012-ford-f-150-do-i-need-a-heat-shield/144385/4 "2019-07-15T03:58:56Z")

</div>

Bender shop welded mine back on for $10

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![oldtimer-11](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e79b87/32.png) [@oldtimer-11](https://community.cartalk.com/u/oldtimer-11)\
**Post date:** [July 15, 2019, 5:13am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2012-ford-f-150-do-i-need-a-heat-shield/144385/5 "2019-07-15T05:13:50Z")

</div>

Carefully tease the bolts (screws) out, put a fender washer under them and put back in.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Nevada\_545](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/nevada_545/32/41232_2.png) [@Nevada\_545](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Nevada_545)\
**Post date:** [July 15, 2019, 5:42am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2012-ford-f-150-do-i-need-a-heat-shield/144385/6 "2019-07-15T05:42:44Z")

</div>

> [@Barkydog](#):
>
> Bender shop welded mine back on for $10

Did they weld in a patch on to the shield so it could be bolted on or did they weld the shield to the exhaust manifold? Welding the shield to the manifold will complicate future repairs.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![mperry\_153483](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a4c791/32.png) [@mperry\_153483](https://community.cartalk.com/u/mperry_153483)\
**Post date:** [July 15, 2019, 8:05am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2012-ford-f-150-do-i-need-a-heat-shield/144385/7 "2019-07-15T08:05:37Z")

</div>

I’m sure they’d weld a patch in, if there’s enough material to weld to.

Have you looked at new? I don’t like eBay, but they do have shields (new) between $20 and $60, depending on side and engine. Usually other part stores online have similar pricing.

On the neighbor’s old truck, we simply wrapped the shield in exhaust manifold material. (It looked like asbestos, but was probably fiberglass.) It was designed to come in contact with exhaust manifolds. In his case, the shield had cracked… probably not your problem.