Not using a manifold heat shield

[logan]

Would this be a problem? When I went to remove my shield the bolts had not head so I have to cut it off. Would I be ok without one?

[skimsucka]

yea it doesnt need to be there just looks good if u can get a straight one and paint it nice

[Bert]

Rusted-off heat shields litter the roadsides like garbage around here. None of my cars have ever had them remain intact after 10 years. I suppose they protect careless people from burning themselves, and reduce the radiant heat exposure to high tension wires and such, but 'no' you can live and drive quite well without them. I have.

[logan]

Rusted-off heat shields litter the roadsides like garbage around here. None of my cars have ever had them remain intact after 10 years. I suppose they protect careless people from burning themselves, and reduce the radiant heat exposure to high tension wires and such, but 'no' you can live and drive quite well without them. I have.

I just wasn't sure if it would cause too much heat on the plug wires or not.

[WmWatt]

On carburetted engines the heat shield supplies warm air to the air intake when the car first starts up which does something to help fuel efficiency.
I don't know if the fuel injected engines have the same feature.

[88FestivaLX]

Mine has been off of my 88 carb for a few years. Of course, it doesn't get really cold that much here, but I haven't had any problems.

[Fordverde]

mine also never had it; funny thing, never thought about it but could it help in the warming up in a carb???

[worfdog]

Fordverde you are correct. It prevents possible icing of the carb on a cold start up. Once the engine warms up, the vacuum line running to the snorkel stops the warm air from the exhaust manifold.

[bravekozak]

Icing on the butterflies is only a problem when there is high humidity in the air and the temerature is just a degree or two above freezing. When the gas evaporates, it sucks the heat away right at the edge of the butterflies and ice forms from the water vapor in the air. This will cause the engine to stumble and die because that is where the idle bleed screw holes are located. You either waste gas by keeping your foot on the throttle until the engine is warmed up or shut the engine off for a couple of minutes to allow for heat soak to melt that thin ridge of ice.

This was a problem for people with street engines who blocked off the exhaust crossover under the base of the carb to not have oil splash against a hot surface and make the air/fuel ratio denser. Mazda uses a heater plate under their carbs, so this is not much of an issue. We are only talking about cold starts. After the engine is warm, all this is a non issue.