Strip of metal has broken off above rear exhaust pipes....any ideas?

[superatticman]

Hi All

Have had a strange minor rattle the last few days coming from the rear. Managed to take a look just now and found the thin strip of metal balancing on the rear exhaust pipe. Pulled it out and its very likely sheared/corroded from the two bolts circled in yellow. Cant see any damage there and it is mounted above the rear exhaust so doubt anything has hit it. 

Any ideas? Wonder if it needs to be replaced with any level of urgency?

Cheers

 

 

[DavidCM]

It could be part of a heat shield.

Is it very light and tinny?

 

[superatticman]

25 minutes ago, DavidCM said:

It could be part of a heat shield.

Is it very light and tinny?

 

Yes...very much so. 

 

 

[DavidCM]

That's probably what it is then.

 

[steve2006]

If you can get the nuts off (soak with WD40 overnight) you can normally reattach the shield by using large “penny” washers to bridge the enlarged holes.

Not having it fitted shouldn’t create any hazards as underbody airflow whilst driving keeps things cooler.

[superatticman]

17 minutes ago, steve2006 said:

If you can get the nuts off (soak with WD40 overnight) you can normally reattach the shield by using large “penny” washers to bridge the enlarged holes.

Not having it fitted shouldn’t create any hazards as underbody airflow whilst driving keeps things cooler.

Cheers. Yes will give that a go at some point. 

Guess if it was in the engine bay above the manifold then it may be a little more pressing to replace. Then again, my previous E60 did away with a manifold heat shield on the last year of the model. Was well known amongst the community that  it caused the rocker cover to warp...as mine ended up doing.

[PRT68]

The irony of the penny washer is they cost more than drilling a hole in a 2p piece! That's what I did when I wanted some...

[KayCee]

Yes the Heat Shield if you don't repair it the remaining bits will rattle like hell

[dandydons]

I am pretty sure that the heatshields now have to be in place as part of the MOT - so best to re-fit with over sized washers as suggested above .

 

[Steven Lockey]

12 hours ago, PRT68 said:

The irony of the penny washer is they cost more than drilling a hole in a 2p piece! That's what I did when I wanted some...

Of course technically you've committed a crime by doing this 🙂

[superatticman]

2 hours ago, KayCee said:

Yes the Heat Shield if you don't repair it the remaining bits will rattle like hell

Cheers. Interested as to why this would be the case?

 

[KayCee]

22 hours ago, superatticman said:

Cheers. Interested as to why this would be the case?

 

If the Heat shield is hanging it will be touching rear silencer (if that is where its Damaged) as there isn't much room unless its all fell off)