M42club.com - Home of the BMW E30/E36 318i/iS

DISCUSSION => Engine + Driveline => Topic started by: Rich Dixon 91is on June 24, 2010, 12:24:15 PM

Title: cat heat shield rusted away
Post by: Rich Dixon 91is on June 24, 2010, 12:24:15 PM

I have been using a stock cat with an aftermarket cat back exhaust with a magnaflow muffler. The heat shield on my cat converter has broken free because the weld spots look like they're completely rusted away. There's nothing left to weld, so I think I have to replace the factory cat. Any suggestions?

Title: cat heat shield rusted away
Post by: cristimm on June 25, 2010, 03:15:31 AM

Yes, remove the shield and you're done. I did this more than a year ago and there are no downsides (the car has a second heat shield above the cat).

Title: cat heat shield rusted away
Post by: Rich Dixon 91is on June 25, 2010, 04:33:45 PM

Quote from: cristimm;93893

Yes, remove the shield and you're done. I did this more than a year ago and there are no downsides (the car has a second heat shield above the cat).

Oh really? I started to snip it off to have a look, but I was afraid of going any further because the element in a cat obviously gets red hot and I don't want that on my kiester. I assumed a dead heat shield would be a new cat, but I thought of trying to shield it on the undercarriage side with something. If you deleted your shield and kept using the cat with no problem then I'll try it.

Title: cat heat shield rusted away
Post by: jscribble on June 25, 2010, 10:18:57 PM

Definitely try it. If there are no leaks, then there is probably not much of a reason to swap it out, especially if you are happy with the tone you get from yours.  Mine had a small hole (unlike the res and muffler - you could fit a baseball in either), and I guess I got lucky, as many don't like the sound a universal cat gives.