The Shoeman

I am in the middle of an engine swap on my (new to me) 2005 S430 4matic that came with a bad engine. The donor engine came from my 2001 E430 Sport (wife was in an accident and was hit on the rear passenger side door and wheel and the insurance company said it was a total loss). I'm swapping the necessary parts like the oil pan and such and keeping my fingers crossed that this goes smoothly.

I'm noticing the exhaust manifolds appear to have the same dimensions, but the S430 manifolds have little brackets tacked onto them in order to bolt the heat shields onto it. The E430 manifolds do not have these small brackets.

My questions are, how important are these heat shields? Can I use the (already mounted) manifolds from the E430 without using the heat shields, or are they absolutely NECESSARY?

I've removed heat shields from further down the exhaust system in the past on other vehicles when rattling around without any adverse effects, but I don't recall removing them this close to the engine compartment/heat source.

All information given here is appreciated. Thank you.



Bill

Jack_88

I'd recommend trying to make it work. Heat shields protect all sorts of things, including rubber components and wiring. Any problems you would have would be long term, not that I'm certain you would have any.

Welwynnick

Can manufacturers don't do anything for fun. Those heat shields are there for a reason. I would also try to keep them.


Nick

The Shoeman

Thanks for the information.

I am just trying to avoid breaking any exhaust manifold bolts.

I've been soaking them in PB Blaster for the last 2 days, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Astro14

PB'laster has never worked well for me. Liquid wrench works far better. Tests have shown that a 50/50 mix of acetone and ATF works best of all.

The Shoeman

hmmm....I did not know that. I love learning new stuff.

I'm definitely going to try this. I'm almost out of PB Blaster anyway.


Thanks.

kraut56

Ditto! Amazing stuff!