I have been having a noise from under my 1996 S-10 Blazer 4dr 4wd. I found that the converter heat shield has come loose from the two front spot welds and is still held on with two spot welds at the rear of the shield. I checked with a trusted local exhaust expert and he said that I could just remove it completely. In his experience (he owns a national chain franchise), 2nd generation Blazers in the mid to late 90's had a problem with the heat shields falling off and that 9 out of 10 that come into his shop are missing already. He installed a universal replacement catalytic converter about 4 years ago and said that "in his opinion, I don't even need the heat shield".

I realize that catalytic converters get reasonably hot. Has anyone dealt with this before and can I just break it off (it would be easy to do) or should I get a couple of large stainless steel hose clamps and wrap them around it on both ends to secure the shield? Any input would be appreciated.

 

Except for maybe the first 75 grand I have never had a heat shield and most defiantly never had a cat replaced that still had it. I guess its some gov. reg that they come from the factory with one. If you park on a big pile of dry leaves it could be a fire hazard. IMO rip it off and get rid of the rattle.

 

you can do either one. you can just hose clamp them down if you have them laying around. i dont think i have them on any of my trucks. worse thing they are going to do is give you a little bit of heat into the cab, but with carpet and insulation probably wont even notice it.