So my EXHAUST manifold is starting to get rusty and rattly and I want to get rid of it, I was just wondering what experience people have had with removing or replacing this part. I'm leaning towards just removing and leaving it at that because it makes more financial sense if it's not going to hurt anything. I've heard some people with worries about cracking radiator fans and other plastic engine components and I'd like to hear someone with experience weigh in on this.

 

Are you talking about the exhaust manifold heat shield ? It's there for a reason to keep minimized the heat from all the plastic parts around it and the paint of the hood. But i'm running a header without the heat shield for about a year now and nothing bad happened yet, cross my finger :-)

 

WHOOPS I do mean exhaust manifold heat shield! I've got intakes on the brain. So would the exhaust manifold get any hotter or radiate heat worse than aftermarket headers? I know lots of people run their cars with the headers exposed but I can't remember the last time I saw anyone with their manifold bare, probably because they're so ugly.
I'll see if there's a way I can secure the shield, but really if it's not going to melt anything I'd rather not shell out $50+ on a new one when that money could be spent better (AKA in a more fun way)

 

If you don't want it anymore you can just remove it. Your not running 364685435hp so you don’t have to worry about heat temps. Now if you do want to keep it Go to a local pick n pull and snag one. It's held onto your header with 3 bolts takes like 5min to take off and replace.

I also edit your title for ya

 

Yay thanks for the edit! I think I'll just leave it off. Maybe if a buddy has one he wants to part with I'll take it but it doesn't seem worth it if it's not going to ruin my fans or paint!

 

when i removed mine from my 94 lx my rad fan blades melted and deformed a little bit causing a knocking noise when the fan kicked on, I trimed the blades back a little bit and the problem never came back while I had the stock rad/fan setup. I am not sure if these are related but it happened within a week of me removing the heat shield. Never did I have a catostrophic failure of anything.

 

i removed mine when i installed me aftermarket headers on because they didnt have the bolt attachments for it anyways, no problems, it might be because the part is made for it though

 

3 weeks later and no problems with fans or any other plastic or paint under the hood. I like the look of the cast iron manifold. Looks better than the rusty shield did!

Photo was taken right after removal, still some PB Blaster on there. The bolts were in there real good.

 

maybe you could have it HIGHTemp painted...

 

That would be pretty easy. Or I could wrap them. I'll consider that this weekend depending on how much money I've got to spare