Over the weekend, I took a piece of road debris that tore the heat shield over the flex pipe of my 97 Taurus back from its front bolts. The shield is actually in pretty good shape save for the fact that the tabs the bolts go through were torn off. I was able to bend the thing back into place very easily and it actually looks almost as good as new, but without the front bolts, you can imagine the rattle.
Question for the professionals - what would your suggested repair be? I’ve currently got the thing held in place by JB cold weld (rattle free for now)… but for a final fix? I’ve thought of the following:
1) use more JB to really fix it in place
2) get some sheet metal to screw to the shield and then into the bolt holes for the shield
3) get a junkyard shield and slide it over the pipe from the side (just looks like one exhaust pipe hanger to the rear of the flex pipe is the only thing in the direct path of this
4) get a new Ford part (ridiculously expensive at $130 MSRP)
Fender washers.
Or large stainless-steel hose clamps.
Get a large hose clamp from the hardware store (two if you need to do a “daisy chain”) and clamp it on that way. it’s a permanent, shop-type fix.
Is this shield attached to the floor pan of the car. and not on the exhaust system itself.
Good point. I was thinking of a shield over the exhaust, not attached to the body. If it is attached to the body, I vote for option #2 if fender washers don’t do the job.
Missed that detail, thinking all would be the same… but you’re right…
The heat shield over the flex pipe is bolted directly to the floor pan, and just sits above the flex pipe (no direct connection to any part of the exhaust). Think of it as a big semi-rectangular piece of stamped metal that is bolted in the four corners via tabs/wings. The front two were torn by the road debris, but the main body of the shield is still in good shape…
Oops. I retract my suggestion.
If JB Weld fails you may also want to try the muffler repair goop. That stuff has excellent tenacity and withstands heat well.
How about a junk yard replacement one.