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Every component added to a car is there for a purpose; while you can still drive your car without most of those components, they are yet valid and important to have on your car. But what about the heat shield? Can I drive without the heat shield?
Technically, you can drive without a heat shield, but it’s not a good idea. A heat shield is an important component installed in the exhaust system; usually attached to the muffler -it performs a great function that cannot be overlooked.
In this article, we’d explain the importance of heat shields, and why you should replace them when it falls off or go bad.
What Is Heat Shield and What’s The Function?
As the name implies, a heat shield is a safety accessory added to car exhausts to prevent the exhaust from heating up adjacent car parts or tall grass/flammable items that may come in contact with the underside of a vehicle.
Apparently, as you drive, your car’s exhaust heats up excessively, with such excess heat, if the exhaust directly comes in contact with a flammable item when you park (in a field or garden with tall dry grasses), it could cause burning to occur.
Can I Drive Without The Heat Shield?
Sure you can. But you need to be more cautious than you used to be. Driving without the heat shield would imply you don’t park in places with tall dry grasses – wheat fields.
Driving without the heat shield also poses fire outbreak threats; when your car’s exhaust is extremely hot, it could easily set fire on any flammable item that comes in contact with your car’s underside.
More so, you may feel the hotness right under your feet, depending on how your car was designed. Removing the heat shield completely also poses harm to other components underneath your car – those components could fail completely due to excessive heat.
In some scenarios, driving without the heat shield can also trigger engine overheating. So, in order to prevent some components underneath your vehicle from melting and failing, it is important to have the heat shield installed.
Well, there are some exceptions. Someone that drives less than 4 miles daily may never experience any issues while driving without a heat shield. This is because the exhaust won’t be “very” hot for driving such short distances – it won’t get as hot as triggering a burn.
Can I Take The Heat Shield Off My Car?
So, the heat shield on your cat is rattling and you’re considering completely taking it off? Not really a bad idea, but you should consider having a rethink. Heat shields are designed as a protective gear to keep other car parts – that are installed around the exhaust – from extreme heat.
Removing the heat shield means exposing your car’s underside to extreme heat, which could cause premature failure of some components installed there, or even trigger a fire outbreak if you parked in a place with tall dry grasses – wheat fields.
Yes, you can remove the heat shield on your car, but you could be making a big mistake for doing that; you need to think it through. Rattling heat shields can be easily fixed – you should consider fixing yours instead of getting it off completely.
What More?
Can I drive without the heat shield? Yes, you can, but it’s best to have it fixed back to prevent potential damages or occurrences that could occur due to the overheating of your car’s exhaust system.
Most mechanics would rip off a rattling heat shield and tell you it’s okay to drive without that piece of metal. However, it was added to your car for a purpose; hence, you should try to reinstall a new one or have your rattling one fixed.