hi fellow insighters
i recently bought my yr 2000 from a guy in utah
where they salt the roads during the winter
so there is a lot of rust on various components
under the hood
one being the heat shield at the head of the exhaust
the mounting tabs had all but rusted off leaving it only
held on by 2 of the tabs. i bought a replacement sheild, ($35)
i tried to replace it this AM but the bolts were completly
rusted tight. i rounded them trying to get them off.
the heat sheild was hanging by a thread so i just, basically
pulled it off.
how bad is it to drive with it off in the short term?
should i get it put back on immediatly?
The "heat shield" is there for a reason. To keep the heat from the first Cat away from other components, especially wireing and rubber material near the Cat.
I've been running without a heat shield (or Cat) for over 140,000 miles without any "ill effects".
Short term, probably no problems.
Check for anything that is within an inch of the exposed cat. Nothing there,, don't worry about it.
My opinion...............
Willie
__________________
01 5 speed. "Little Red Rocket"
The first "TURBOCHARGED" Hybrid, (01/2003)
296,000 mi. @ 58.0 LMPG
2007 Honda Fit, Red Sport AT
1998 Ford F-150, NASCAR "Limited Edition"
(3K made, possibly the prototype one)
Short term should not be a "problem". And Willie's correct. For a properly operating fuel system there is little long term consequence without it.
However (you knew this part was coming ), should there be a failure in the fuel system such that the CAT is "over fed" it can overheat and glow _bright_ red Under those conditions the CAT is typically destroyed and given how poorly the Insight would have been running you should not have been driving it anyways. But if you did its quite possible that you'll be replacing more than just the CAT.
A "red" wrench can work wonders Oxy-acetylene torch (others won't usually be sufficient). Heating the bolts to dull red will usually break the rust bond to the nut.
But if that fails IIRC the upper shield half has the nuts spot welded to itself. Replacing both halves would be the final solution. And with a torch in hand there are other repair options readily available. e.g cutting or brazing. The complete and sufficient torch "repair" will only become evident as the job progresses.
I had a little rattle whenever I lugged my engine and finally determined where it was coming from. The heat shield on my cat converter was loose. The only thing holding it on was the bottom O2 sensor. I took the low tech approach and used a large hose clamp, no rattle and the cover isn't going anywhere.
The hose clamp solution has worked well for me too. I could not find one big enough to go all the way around, so I connected two clamps into one. It was about a $3 repair.
__________________
Fuel savings (at $2.60/gallon) to date since "retiring" my Pontiac Firebird for my Insight during 10/04: $3,000+. Gallons of gasoline saved=1,000+
Hose clamps can be a good mediocre repair. But without an air gap between the CAT and the shield more heat will be conducted and escape to the surrounding area.
With a hose clamped shield during the most ciritcal event when a CAT is severely overheating its not going to be as effective as it was designed to be. A resulting fire Maybe yes, maybe no.
In all cases its better to avoid the need and be aware of the conditions that can cause the CAT overheat situation. Its a loose-loose situation otherwise.
Having the same headache in New England. All four bolts are almost gone. I have the new heat shield. Going at it tomorrow...
Someday soon the metal that the heat shield attaches to looks like it'll rust away. That'll be fun. Maybe this part was a little too much on the lightweight side.
A loose heat shield seems to have the potential to damage the O2 sensor or its wiring.
I still have a heat shield on the cat under the hood, but if it came off, it would not be a problem for me...
Since the car has full underbody panels under the engine, and is sensitive to cat heat, I wrapped the entire cat with fiberglass batting to hold in the heat.
So far it has worked out very well. The batting vastly reduces under hood temperatures, the engine bay is relatively cool, and I still have to use a healthy sized cardboard radiator block in the winter to help maintain engine heat.
With the full engine panel, water does not splash up from the road and get into the batting, so it seems to be working fine up to this point.
The fiberglass also allows the cat to "fire-up" quicker, which helps with the environment as well.
The AutoGuide.com network consists of the largest network of enthusiast-owned enthusiast-operated automotive communities.
AutoGuide.com provides the latest car reviews, auto show coverage, new car prices, and automotive news. The AutoGuide network operates more than 100 automotive forums where our users consult peers for shopping information and advice, and share opinions as a community.
heat shield
), should there be a failure in the fuel system such that the CAT is "over fed" it can overheat and glow _bright_ red 
Under those conditions the CAT is typically destroyed and given how poorly the Insight would have been running you should not have been driving it anyways. But if you did its quite possible that you'll be replacing more than just the CAT. 
Maybe yes, maybe no. 
