the stock frigging uppipe heatshield dropped to the ground during my up-pipe swap and i can't f'ing figure out which way the !@# thing is supposed to go back on , i didn't expect it to be a problem so i didn't note how it was oriented

i screwed with it for 45 minutes and i'm ready to light the car on fire at this point

does anyone have a pic ? or better yet if you live in the south bay (near 85 and cottle) and feel like swinging by i'll provide pizza, sodas, and/or beer , hell i'm ready to break out the wallet and pay someone to put it back together , pm me if you're interested

 

Best advice I can give you is to just leave the heatshield off, it will just rattle around anyway.

 

That means your heatshield's welds have broken loose. Easy fix though. Pay a mechanic or a muffler shop $20 to weld them back. Just need several spots to be welded, then good as new. If you don't do that, it will rattle like crazy like above have already mentioned.

 

there's a heatshield that is welded on and that one is ok , the one i'm having trouble with is the removable one that attaches to the uppipe bracket with 2 bolts , perrin calls it the lower turbo heatshield

i left it on the ground and started re-assembly , just have the downpipe , ic , and resistor left to do

 

The rattling will drive you friggin NUTS! So do as the others say! You'll be very sorry if you dont because you'll have to take it apart and go through it again.

 

Did you install a catless uppipe or are you going back to stock? If it's an aftermarket uppipe don't bother with the heat shield. If you're putting the stock uppipe back on you will need it spot welded I believe (never seen an LGT up).

 

is this the shield you are talking about?

-Noah

 

yes that's the one , i marked the pic with letters at each hole , i know E and F attach to the uppipe bracket , what do the others attach to or what attaches to them? i took pics prior to disassembly but obviously didn't take enough because i don't have a good shot of this piece

 

The 2005-2006 Legacys have the cat in the up so I'm putting on a catless OEM up off an STI. The heatshield that is welded to the up is fine, it's the detachable one I'm having trouble with. Side by side the LGT and STI up look similar , the lower turbo heatshield brackets are welded to the up in the same place so the heatshield should go back on. I hear they help save the pass. inner cv boot from baking and cracking over time , that's the major reason I haven't thrown it away ..... yet !

Also, during the uppipe install I found my pass cv boot is already torn @52k which should be covered under my ext. warranty. I don't want to take it to a dealer and have them use a missing heatshield as ammo to deny my repair. The CV boot was torn before all this started.

 

Is the heat shield even really necessary? I know that people don't put it on when they go aftermarket, so is it really needed when it's stock?


I swear, the sound of heat shield rattle is one of the worst damn sounds ever. Belt squeal is about the only other sound that is worse (well, sounds that are pretty harmless, cuz nothing beats the sounds of gears grinding!)

 

I don't really see how important it is. I ran one stock obviously, but after my Invidia DP, the stock didn't fit and I didn't buy another one, so I don't think it's an important thing, I think it's there just in case someone doesn't burn themselves if they open the hood or similar, maybe makes the engine bay a little cooler, not that important though.

 

I would need to take a picture of one installed...would be so confusing to attempt an explanation via internet.

AND

yes dont bother installing it again (unless you really want it there). i think folks aren't thinking about your dp being stock, so there is no reason as to why to not have it...I assume this is why you are asking to have it back on.

Also this is not the shield that "rattles" as everyone says. The stock up-pipe heat shield is the one that breaks right at the welds and rattles (see pic below)

-Noah

 

would be great if someone had a motor swap picture of this thing still on

the welds were broken on the uppipe shield and i had that fixed before I started this fun project

 

car is done minus the aforementioned heatshield , no exhaust leaks, and it feels like the boost comes on quicker, that might be all in my head but it makes me feel better about all the time it took to do this , if i ever do one a second time it will be much easier

 

a tip for anyone doing this in the future ..

i couldn't get either O2 sensor out , i ended up putting the exh manifold on the lower control arm with the sensor still attached and it worked great , also its not necessary to remove the midpipe, just drop it and put something to support the rear section to relieve the strain on the rear O2 sensor , less things apart = less things to put back together