This is the second time my heat shield has come loose and is vibrating. The dealer says its a very common problem and they can tighten the 4 shields again at a cost of $35 or they can cut them off. My brother said a friend cut them off, parked over a leaf pile and started a fire. What is your advice? Why the heck doesn't Subaru have a fix for this defect? Should I just cut them off or have them tightened?

 

Also, as it gets colder, the car revs real fast on start-up. Then the idle kicks low. Also seems to be a little extra rough in low. Dealer says this is typical. The problem is when it kicks down low and you are trying to pull into traffic, it seems to react very slowly and is dangerous. The dealer can't duplicate the problem, but believe me it is there.

"tighten" the heat shields?? Get under there yourself with some "jubilee clips"* and clamp the shields in place.

 

*Those threaded bands that you also use to clamp hoses with.

I tried the clamps and they only solve part of the problem. The only thing that silenced them for good is when I drilled the right sized holes thru the shields at the right places (near junctions most of the time) and screwed in metal screws (half, 3/4, and 1 inch) until they exert a pressure on the inside pipe. I did that more than two monts ago and they're still silent. I can enjoy the true sound of my engine at last. I dulled the point of the screws on my bench grinder to protect the exhaust pipes.

Hope that helps.

Nice work, Frag. Sounds like a good permanent solution.

 

 

I cut the shields off the center section on my old Legacy.

Ditto on the nice work Frag.

 

Did you use stainless steel screws?

 

Commuter

Ditto on the nice work Frag.

 

Did you use stainless steel screws?

 

Commuter

Frankly, I'm not sure. All I know is that they were «rust proof» but that probably means they were galvanized or something of the sort.

Stainless would be ideal for sure. I'll check them next spring and see how they fared and will replace them if rust seems to have set in.

By the way, Commuter, I'm still using those Purolator filters out of the box you sent me. Thanks again.

Frag,

 

Even if they are just regular screws, they'll last several years.

 

Someone had wedged a couple of screws into my heat shields to stop rattles. I'm not sure when they disappeared, as I just replaced them. They must have been in there for at least 4 or 5 years.

 

Commuter

my mech just spot welded the vibrating heat shields in place, took 2 mins, and now they are silent.

btw, my 97 obw just had the dreaded head gastket procedure done...all told 1300 dollars....runs like a top now..