2001 Pathfinder heat shields

[telbdm]

Just bought a used 2001 Pathfinder for my daughter to drive. The exhaust system seems to have some, what I call heat dissipation shields made out of aluminum held on with clamps covering a good portion of the exhaust pipe system. Unfortunately, these aluminum shields have dissintegrated over time and are no longer effective and in some places causing rattling noises. Does anyone know exactly what these parts are called or have any idea what the part numbers for these are? They have to serve a purpose, and I don't want to risk heat damage to other parts just by removing them and not replacing them with something. Please respond with as much info as you can. Thanks in advance for your expert opinions.

[wisehunter1]

I think you'll be fine removing them. Mine were removed when my exhaust was installed.

[Towncivilian]

Yes, you can remove them. Many people have removed them without issue.

[GRNMACHINE]

There was alot of talk about this last year, if you want to read all the posts (you can do a seach on heat shields). Most of us in salt states and Canada have removed them. The rattling can really become extremely irritating.

[Buzzman]

Mine eventually rotted and fell off, like years ago.
I never replaced them and have zero issues.
The rattling was really irritating. I don't miss it.
Where are you located BTW?

[yeldogt]

The original exhaust has two resonators that sit directly under the seats -- many people mistake these for catalytic converters but they are resonators -- if you look the O2 sensors are in front of them. These are the resonators that split at the seams and leak --- Nissan had a worthless paste and clamp fix that they charged you $200.00 for and it failed within 6 months.

I was told that Nissan had to have the shields because of ground clearance issues with grass in wildfire areas -- this may be true as many SUV's that go "off road" need shields over any part of the exhaust that could possible ignite grass -- but it does not explain why they put them on top of the pipes. As I said above .......people think these are converters -- and converters get hot. Most of the shields are around this part of the exhaust before in goes into the single pipe resonator under the back seat.

In any event -- Nissan changed the design of the two resonators -- they now are a pipe with a bulge .... they look like a snake that just ate!

From what I was able to find out when I was looking at the factory replacement parts diagram - Nissan no longer sells the shields with the new pipes. I ended up installing an aftermarket exhaust system as the Nissan system was going to cost me almost 2x -- that was almost two years ago and I have not had any problems without all the shields and I even went and felt around after a long drive to see if anything was hot.


If you have the original exhaust -- I would bet your front resonators are leaking. The seams split and you can feel the exhaust blowing out the sides. Check to make sure yours are OK -- from the sound you will say they are not leaking .... feel on the side of them just above the cross member whey you first start up the truck. The engine is very quiet when they are fixed. If they have been fixed with the paste and clamps - you will not be able to weld them -- they must be replaced -- less than $100 each.

I recently purchased a 02 LE that was a real garage queen ---52k -- still all original -- nothing rusted. I had the original cans welded and put back in -- the original system is stainless and very high quality ... unfortunately the seam design was faulty. The guy I bought the truck from assured me that they were fine -- I heard them the second I started it and showed him .... he was shocked!

[telbdm]

Buzzman, I'm close to Birmingham Alabama. Thanks everyone for the info. i will do some further inspecting as to the resonators and most likely remove all the clamps and shields.

[hmqx4]

One thing to look at if you hear rattling is a metal bracket that supports the two exhaust pipes when they join together (about halfway down the length of the car. Sorry no pictures but its easy to find). I got underneath and sure enough the bracket was rusted off but still contacting the exhaust and vibrating against it like mad. I had a buddy with an impact wrench remove it since it was on there pretty tight.

No more rattle!

I think the bracket was overkill since the exhaust still holds fine without it (it was rusted and not doing its job anyways...)