Something's fallen off - am I stuck at work?!

[crystalpuma]

My heat shield (?) from above the backbox has fallen off (well the bolt hole has enlargened and it's no longer attached to anything so I pulled it out to stop it falling off in the road...).

Basically, can I safely drive home (35 miles) and then to and from work again tomorrow before getting it fixed on Saturday (while simultaneously moving house!)?

This is all I need!

 

[quest63]

Morning,Its a common problem and some folks just pull them off and leave them off for good,although I bought a new one which are quite expensive for what they are.Circa £30 iirc (I can look it up later if you want)

Repairs to them are fairly easy.I replaced one heat shield kept it and cut bits of it to rivet to other knackered heatshields

 

[Ian G]

They can safely be removed.

 

[Dal]

Don't bother putting a new one on - it's not really needed above the back box.

(You've just lightened your car and made it faster )

 

[JonB]

As per above, if your back box is standard then you are probably OK without it.

 

[Dal]

Even with my Milltek exhaust it isn't necessary around the back box.

I would on the other hand keep the central one as that guards the brake lines from the heat of the exhaust.

 

[Zara]

I remember pulling mine off on my old one!

 

[crystalpuma]

Cool, not standard but doesn't seem to get *that* hot - what about spare wheel, is that affected?

Cheers guys!

 

[Dal]

Nope. The wheels on the car will get hotter driving on the road than the spare being next to the back box.

 

[slayllian]

Mine superheated my boot with it removed :-D kept melting all my chockies :-(

 

[DOH]

I held my heatshield up with very large washers accompanied by the original threaded fixing nut.I kept it on the car , as I was concerned with the exhaust heat warming up the petrol tank.

With regard to the heat shield below the handbrake, not only is there the brake pipes, but also the go & return petrol pipes .So approx 6 in total.I would recommend all people have this shield removed to inspect the condition of these pipes.They are hidden from the MOT testers view, (the tester will only be able to inspect parts of the pipes that are exposed) however I was horrified that Fords used a bracket that allows the painted pipes to vibrate,rub against each other and they corrode badly. This is a potential hazard waiting to happen. Sudden loss of brake fluid causing brake failure & it spraying onto a hot exhaust could cause it to ignite. Similar disasters with Petrol onto a hot exhaust if they rust through.
If you treat the rust and repaint with hammerite and also cable tie the pipes to stop them chaffing against each other. Vauxhall's seem to suffer this problem too. I would hate to hear of a fatality or even the loss of someone's Puma because they were unaware of this

 

[ScubaSteve]

the rear portion of the heatshield does nothing to protect the petrol tank

 

[Hedley JP]

I pulled mine off about 10/11 months ago as it was loose and rattling. If it dont make the car faster then in my oppinion its not needed Hahahaa .... not had any side affects of this other than my car been quieter without the dam rattling lol.