Under body exhaust heat shield studs rusted
 

Hi All

As you can see from the pictures the fixed studs holding the heat shield over the exhaust and cat have rusted away and some of them missing completely, not sure how the thing was held up. Out of the 8 studs about three are ok. At the moment I am recovering from dealing with the crack in exhaust manifold, cat repair and new silencer. Hopefully I don’t have to take them off to deal with this. The actual shield is fine.

What would be the best way to secure the shield. I have no access to any welding equipment, I was thinking of securing it with a (large) rivets somehow.

Done a repair on one last year using a stainless M8 bolt and some chemical metal. Cut the head off the bolt and cut two grooves in the remaining stud to give the chemical metal something to grab onto. Clean the rust off the car and take it back to bare metal before bonding the new stud to the underside of the car. Leave to set for a couple of hours before priming and painting the area.

You can then use an enlarged washer if the heatshield has rusted away,, making sure to coat it with grease or another suitable rust preventative after securing the heatshield in place. I would advice using a nyloc nut on the stud for added security. It's a cheap and easy fix that should last for years if done correctly.

Thanks Dancake, sounds like a great idea. This v tech rapid steel putty from ECP should do the trick. Will let you know how I get on.

Sorry double post!

Hmm, the pictures tell me another story, I would say, you got a severe problem with rust at your under body. You should first get rid with this, before you refix the heatshields! Otherwise it will be too late in a couple of years.

Gernot

Thanks Gernot. Yes I couldn't leave it like that, so with difficulty I managed get rid of the rust and used fibreglass repair kit to cover the holes and did something similar to what Dancake suggested to fix the heatshield back on. Its fixed nice and solid now.

Sounds good to me! Like that!