Are the heat shields, on a 1996 Nissan Pathfinder, needed?

He's right. Just don't park on tall dry grass.

on 10/12/2007 9:19 AM snipped-for-privacy@huntercomputerinc.com said the following:

The service tech is wrong. The shields serve other purposes than just off-road driving. To shield the hot pipe so it doesn't start a fire if you park in a pile of leaves or park off the road in high dry grass. To shield the exhaust pipe and cat heat from heating the floor of the vehicle. Having said that, the shields can be taken off (I took all my PU shields off to stop the rattles), just remember that they are not there anymore. I don't know about insurance claims if the car catches on fire from the exhaust system and the shields were missing.

hello , i used VERY large hose clamps on my frontier shields and they worked just fine . Dick

on 10/12/2007 3:28 PM D. said the following:

I started with the hose clamps, but as the shields rusted further, I then had the rattle of the clamps, besides the shields.

Just wondering, how can the heat shield prevent starting a fire when parked on tall grass if the shield is mounted above the cat?

CD

The ones above the cat are to keep the floors cooler and protect them in the event of extreme temps. If the engine starts to misfire (a lot) the cat can get very hot. In fact they can actually glow red hot. Of course you'd have to insist on driving a seriously misfiring engine, but it's been known to happen.

Most people rip them off and are fine. I guess it all depends on what level of risk your comfortable with and how deep your pockets are.

My sister once parked her old Escort on packed snow in a parking lot. Within an hour fire destroyed it. I wonder if there was a problem with the heat shield.