Heat Shield Rattle

[Wiarton Willy]

My '99 Forester has had it's heat shield tightened twice and it is still
rattling at >3000 rpm. The dealership tells me the rattle is very common
in Subarus and is difficult or impossible to fix. They want to remove it,
claiming it is only to prevent grass fires when off-roading. I figure it
also acts as a rock-guard for the exhaust.

I don't take it off road but it sees lots of winter weather and has had
plenty of rocks strike it at highway speeds.

Is this a common problem?
Is the heat shield impossible to secure?
Is the heat shield a trivial part?

Any experience would be helpful,
Thanks
WW

 

[Gene]

Yeah, I've got a 2001 Outback Limited, and the same problem has occurred.
It's pretty common, from what I uunderstand. And yes, the dealership is
great for excuses, but light on any real action. And since I really *do*
take this car off-roading, I'm not about to remove the heat shield just yet.

Here's an idea I'm going to try, as soon as I get the critter back on the
lift: I'm going to place a spacer washer above and below the bolt holes (not
too thick; just enough to allow for greater mechanical advantage when
tightening the bolds down) and torque the whole assembly to factory spec.
From what I can gather, the two spacer washers will "clamp down" in a little
metal sandwich, and will grip the heat shield more effectively, holding it
in place, but givving it no "wiggle room".

It's just an idea - I'll let you know how it turns out...

Gene Moody

 

[Mark]

My '99 Forester has had it's heat shield tightened twice and it is still
rattling at >3000 rpm. The dealership tells me the rattle is very common
in Subarus and is difficult or impossible to fix. They want to remove it,
claiming it is only to prevent grass fires when off-roading. I figure it
also acts as a rock-guard for the exhaust.

I don't take it off road but it sees lots of winter weather and has had
plenty of rocks strike it at highway speeds.

Is this a common problem?
Is the heat shield impossible to secure?
Is the heat shield a trivial part?

Any experience would be helpful,
Thanks
WW

Why not use lock-tight on the screws? Or find someone that can weld
and have them fix the problem.... I would not allow them to take off
the heat shield. This seems like half ass way of fixing somthing.

 

[F. Plant]

Yeah, I've got a 2001 Outback Limited, and the same problem has occurred.
It's pretty common, from what I uunderstand. And yes, the dealership is
great for excuses, but light on any real action. And since I really *do*
take this car off-roading, I'm not about to remove the heat shield just yet.

Here's an idea I'm going to try, as soon as I get the critter back on the
lift: I'm going to place a spacer washer above and below the bolt holes (not
too thick; just enough to allow for greater mechanical advantage when
tightening the bolds down) and torque the whole assembly to factory spec.
From what I can gather, the two spacer washers will "clamp down" in a little
metal sandwich, and will grip the heat shield more effectively, holding it
in place, but givving it no "wiggle room".

I'm not yet too familaiar with subarus but I had similar problems with a
civic. A couple of other suggestions:

-if extra clamping preasure dosn't help maybe slightly bending the lips to
make better or less contact.
-put spacers between the halves to amply seperate the 2 halves.
-use a bit of high heat silicone to keep the metal parts seperated. Maybe
even let it set up befor reassembly, so its putting a up a bit of resistance
to being clamped dowm. Sometimes even a blob on the edges or at some key
point is enough to dampen the harmonics.

Good luck
F. Plant

 

[ed]

Easy fix: get a hose clamp of the right diameter, use a washer or two to
take up the space between the shield and the pipe (bend the washer to
conform to the pipe), and tighten the clamp. Lasts for years, but get the
all stainless clamps used for underground work. Most dealers simply remove
the shields when they get loose.
Ed

 

[meld_b]

Interesting! Our 2002 Outback started rattling and the dealer ordered
parts! I had assumed this was under warantee... maybe I better ask. Glad
this thing is new... Seems like we are leaning into the warantee pretty
heavilly. -D

 

[Bob5958]

My '99 Forester has had it's heat shield tightened twice and it is still
rattling at >3000 rpm. The dealership tells me the rattle is very common
in Subarus and is difficult or impossible to fix. They want to remove it,
claiming it is only to prevent grass fires when off-roading. I figure it
also acts as a rock-guard for the exhaust.

I don't take it off road but it sees lots of winter weather and has had
plenty of rocks strike it at highway speeds.

Is this a common problem?
Is the heat shield impossible to secure?
Is the heat shield a trivial part?

Any experience would be helpful,
Thanks
WW

I had a 2011 Impreza that had a rattle in the heat shield. I had my local garage and also The Subaru Dealer fix it. It finally got to the point that it couldn't be fixed again so I learned to live with it. I was also afraid to remove it completely.

 

[Splitter]

Are you referring to the heat shield above the muffler? It shouldn't rattle unless the muffler strikes it. Maybe rotate the muffler for clearance.