Two Issues For The Weekend

[l67poweredlss]

First off my heat shield above the muffler fell out and was *dang* near dragging on the ground. I took it out for the time being, I know bad idea. So I want it back up but the screws are rusted in the metal. So is there any way I can secure it back up were it will still do its job?

Secondly, I need to replace one of my belts on the motor. I can't figure out which one is slipping. When the engine gets above 5K rpm it reeks of burning rubber in the cabin. I checked both the S/C and alt belts and both have about equal wear and are less than 2 yrs old with the S/C belt being a little newer. Is there a way to tell if the tensioner pulley is in the right position?

[l67poweredlss]

Anyone know if there are any mufflers that already have a heat shield on it?

[teleplayer]

I'm not sure about your car but on my bonnie the heat shield is held in place by large 3/16" pop rivets. In that case if the rivet is broken just take a small punch and hammer and push it up and out of the hole. If yours has screws, maybe you can use rivets in other locations.

[clm2112]

So I want it back up but the screws are rusted in the metal. So is there any way I can secure it back up were it will still do its job?

You can grind the heads off, drill out for a larger size self-tapping sheetmetal screw, or pop-rivet the heat shield back onto the body. Lots of time, you can skip the drilling and just drive what is left of the old screw out with a hammer and punch. Little quicker than drilling it out of the sheetmetal.

Just out of curiosity... if the bolts are still rusted in the body of the car, how did the heat shield fall out? Check the tabs and see of there's anything left to attach the shield with (you may need to make a trip to the junk yard to get a cleaner heat shield to work with.)