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Superu264
12-18-2005, 08:18 PM
My heat shields are rattling BAD, although only in the lower RPMs. Has anyone had to fix/replace these? Im not even sure I know what Im looking for. Any help would be appreciated, thanks.
shazapple
12-18-2005, 08:46 PM
usually its the ones around the headers. You can stick a bar in there and pry them off apparently. I was going to cut mine off with a reciprocating saw. If you want to keep them on, you can put some hoseclamps on them, and put a screw into the other end so the screw pushes them tight against the header.
GT Wagon
12-18-2005, 08:50 PM
On my 91 they came loose and I took them off. As sha_zapple said, you can basically pry them off. Mine has rusted so bad on one side that prying at it tore it in two. I've had them off for 2 years with no issues during winter.
gil_ong81
12-18-2005, 08:58 PM
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/viewtopic.php?t=1456
Superu264
12-18-2005, 09:58 PM
If I do just pry them off what kind of problems, if any, could I face?
voorhees
12-18-2005, 10:12 PM
start a fire in a dry field of hay
Wiscon_Mark
12-18-2005, 10:36 PM
start a fire in a dry field of hay

basically...it might hurt performance a little bit.

the idea is to keep the heat from radiating through the metal in the piping and to get it to go out the muffler tip...that's what the heatshields are for, really...and they're a little bit of protection against rocks and various ish on the road. But taking them off probably wouldn't make a noticable difference.
Superu264
12-18-2005, 11:38 PM
if its going to hurt performance, even a little bit, I'd rather fix it than rip it off.. the Legacy is already sluggish enough, I dont need anything else to slow me down
Legacy4Life
12-19-2005, 06:15 AM
Mine are all off because they all slowly came loose and began to rattle.

They've been off now for about 2 years and I haven't notice any difference, except for no more rattling.

I remember a dealer telling me one time that they dispise the heat shields because they are cause of one of the top complaints from customers with vehicles under warranty. They want the rattles fixed all the time. But they aren't allowed to take them off when it's under warranty, they have to fix them. And I guess they do a lot of them!
GT Wagon
12-19-2005, 07:05 AM
if its going to hurt performance, even a little bit, I'd rather fix it than rip it off.. the Legacy is already sluggish enough, I dont need anything else to slow me down

If there is any difference in performance you will not be able to tell. THink of it this way . If you replace the headers with aftermarket ones its only marginally more powerfull. Don't let a "performance drop" stop you from taking them off.