want to make a heat shield

[talondsm24]

hey guys i really want to make my own exhaust manifold heat shield out of the aluminum diamond plate that i have. only problem is im horrible at making templates and dont have a stock heatsheild to go off of. so my question is can anyone make me a template off of their heat sheild preferably a jm fab one or, just give me some dimesions. ive seen a few other people make their own so please help me out guys.

 

[rlacasse1]

Use some cardboard and mock up something that looks good to you. The copy it over onto metal.

 

[talondsm24]

ive tried that but i can just never get it how i want it on the carboard plus i have a hard time cutting carboard straight

 

[dsm-onster]

Get better scissors

 

[draculia]

This is mine that I just finished making to cover my Turbonetics manifold. I haven't ground down the welds or anything yet, so it's still pretty rough looking. I honestly just took some sheet metal and started cutting, bending, and welding. I eyeballed everything since I was planning this to just be a practice piece. There are just two mounting points, the left lower exhaust manifold stud, and the bracket that used to have the front engine hoist mount attached to it. Before I boxed these mounting tabs, there was enough movement for some rattling against the wastegate. Everything wraps around too, which is sort of difficult to see in the pics. I plan on extending it down a bit to further cover the turbine housing. It took about 2 afternoons to make.

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[RipperXX]

IMO just sheet metal over it will do little. I know because the first covers I used were just sheet metal, polished, but did little, since they just heat soaked and spread. That being said, of course it was better than nothing. BUT it wasn't like you want when you put a heat shield on.

So this is what I did, and it seems to be working well. First I put on a DEI turbo blanket around the hot side. Then I got some of the DEI cool tape and layed down a layer under the manifold heat shield. There "cool tape" if I recall correctly can reflect a sustained 1500*F or a temporary blast of 2000*F. And then sprayed down the outside with black VHT paint, which also can withstand well very high temp. I think it was sustained 1300*F with temp blasts of 2000*F.

I did all that on the manifolds heat shield, and then I made a lower shield, so far it only has been sprayed with the VHT paint, since the turbo blanket is there, BUT after I put some ribs across it to keep it from acting like a reed and vibrating, since the bolt holes for the shield are both on the left side. I plan to then put the cool tape on the back side of it too.


Heres pics.

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After all that, I could tell a big difference when I popped the hood after a little drive. Normally it would singe your eye brows off. Now it's about as hot as you would expect, which is MUCH cooler than it was. Hell I even removed the drivers side radiator fan (long story, didn't want to, but until I redo the intercooler pipes it is a must) And the coolant still sits at 183-190*F. Which is actually better than before! By a lot, before it would only be around 180 if I were cruising down the highway. But in town it would get on up to 213 or so which I did NOT like. And this was with two fans. Now with just 1 fan it is running cooler!

Which to a degree confirms my suspicion that all that heat from the turbo etc. WAS heating the radiator. I mean hell it was melting some of the wiring at the fans, and I have seen people melt fans before as well. So it's like blasting the radiator with heat, preventing it from doing it's job. That said, it's only been in the mid 70's here, I am sure when the temp goes up 20* or so this summer, temps may not be as good. But that fix is easy. (custom pipes made, so I can use both fans like it should be)

 

[Shadow21]

I made mine out of a lid to a brushed stainless steel grill for my galant last month. It wasnt hard. I bent the corners by sandwiching them between 2 2x4 blocks and welded the creases.

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[innocenttalon]

heres mine with cool tape under it also, fp race manifold under it....

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[Imback]

That thing is HUGE

 

[innocenttalon]

the runners do come high so I had to make it fit somehow , doesn't look as good as the aftermarket ones they sell though....

 

[Imback]

I know i made a mock up of one but never got the chance to transfer it over to a sheet. How is yours mounted?

 

[innocenttalon]

Im using a square u-bolt ( 3"x6" , I think), and a 'L' plate/bar on the open side...mounted it kinda similar to the JMF heat shield...