Do I need this hunk of metal?

Runnah

New member
The heat shield/rock guard that covers the drive shaft right above the junction where the 2 cats meet the resinator pipe, mine is all busted up and rattling every time I accelerate.

Can I remove this since most of the mounting holes are thrashed and will be a real PITA to fix? Or does this provide much needed drive shaft protection?

 
keep it, or find a replacement at a junkyard. virtually any older impreza or Forester will have this part. hit the fasteners with PB Blaster, let em soak, and the bolts will come out OK even if they look rusted to crap.

that shield is primarilly about heat protection of the driveshaft...unless you WANT to cook the rubber mounts and U-joints? Its function is only partially for stone protection.

Here's a for instance about heat shields. While rebuilding the motor in your old wagon, I found 4 pieces of rubber oil and coolant lines in the area around the up- and downpipes where heat shelds had been left off either the exhaust parts or the lines themselves. The hoses were cooked to death and came off in chunks. That motor had evidently been out of the car before, and whoever put it back in used a motor mount on the turbo side that did not have the WRX stock heat shield on it. Guess what was also cooked to chunks? Guess what kind of motor mount I put back in there?

Heat shields are not simply a PITA, they are there for a reason.

DG

BTW, PITA jobs are just part of the deal when you do your own work on a Subaru. this is why jacks, jackstands, and LIFTS were invented.

 
heat-damaged hoses weren't melted, the rubber was hardened and cracked. when I pulled the hoses off, they split at the ends.

that's not why engine failed, but if one had blown, it might well have caused engine failure...if not a nice barbecue!

DG

 
some small gauge single strand wire or some small nuts and bolts work wonders at restaining the ones that are already there.

 
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