Heat Shield Advice
 

I had the Boxster in the shop today (not a dealer but Porsche only shop) getting the CV Boots replaced. I mentioned that when backing the car up I hear a rattling .

The culprit as many has said, heat shield bracket. This was the heat shield on top of the cat, drivers side. The bracket that the bolts go into had rusted out on one side and the bolt had nothing to attach to. He said the only choices:

1. Get a new cat $$
2. Fab a new bracket, just as costly
3. Let it rattle

The mechanic removed the heat shield saying there was nothing vital there and would not cause any issue.

Now part of me says there is a need since Porsche bothered to put it there. Part of me says they are reputable, they would not do anything to cause damage to my car.

Thoughts, advice?

I have the same exact issue on my S but did not realize where the noise was coming from. Thanks for the tip. Also, I just replaced 1 CV boot and the other will need to be done soon.

Interested to see where this thread goes.

Jeff

Personally I like knowing it's there. The cat gets mighty hot.

Not sure the cat shield is really needed, as any aftermarket sport cats do not have the shield applied. There still should be that honeycomb aluminum heat shield panel material above the area of the cats anyway.

However, just to be safe, I'd just get under the car to double check if there's anything vital near the area of the cat that might be damaged by intense heat.

Why do you not just tack weld the sheild to the cat?

The bracket that you would bolt the shield or weld it to is what rusted off, so there is nothing there to weld to.

It couldn't be that easy for me, never is :mad:

Just a simple tag weld will do the job in 5 minutes
Mark.

Even if a small metal attachment had to be added, I'm pretty sure the cat heat shield could have been rettached.

Someone needs to invent a bolt-on heat shield for the exhaust pipes where they run under the inner CV boots. When the car is not moving, a ton of heat goes straight up into the boot and destroys the rubber.

Ok, here's the latest. The parts department at the dealer said the rusted bracket is available and only $4.50!

BUT...Being the cat is stainless it has to be tig welded and neither the dealer or the repair shop I use will not weld it on without removing the cat.

I'm torn, They assure me there is another protective shield and there is nothing vital, mostly just added protection for the trunk.

Neither would commit to a estimate but both said it would be costly.

:confused:

If the area where you need to get the bracket welded is reachable from underneath, I betcha a Midas muffler shop would weld it on for ya without asking you to take off the cat.

I had an issue with one of my muffler clamps/u-pipes once, and as a permanent fix, the guy welded it for me in 2 minutes.