Metal Plating above Rear Exhaust Muffler Loose

Hey, guy - first poster here, looking for a bit of advice.

Noticed a loud metallic vibration coming from the exhaust area recently. I have take a look and noticed that the bracket and nut holding a large metal plate *above* the rear exhaust muffler in place have completely rusted off, which has caused this plate to drop down onto the muffler and vibrate loudly.

I suspect the easier of the options would be to remove this plate completely, but I don't know what this plate is protecting - whether it's just there to protect stones from hitting the underside, etc. if off-roading, or something else. I do a lot of distance driving, and no off-road driving, aside from a small amount of driving across loose stones and gravel on occasion.

The alternative would be to replace it, but would rather avoid this cost unless necessary.

If relevant: 2008 Freelander 2 2.2 TD4 XS

Any advice greatly appreciated!

Cheers,

- D

It's a heat shield, it's a common thing, same thing happened to mine. Needs to be there, so do NOT remove it, especially if you do a lot of distance driving and therefore the exhaust will get very hot... get some new fixings, or, if its still under warranty like mine was, take it to LR and get them to fix it

Thanks for the information, much appreciated. It had recently been for an MOT (within the past fortnight) and passed with no issues at all - I know corrosion to the body work should at least be flagged up as an advisory, and more so if this is an integral part for protecting against damage from the exhaust temperatures. It's a bit of a concern that nothing was flagged up on the MOT so I'll be getting in touch with the garage for this. Do you have any idea of what price range I'd be looking at for the repair?

It's only rusty fixings, so unlikely to show up on an mot as its not structural or a risk to the integrity of the vehicle. If its only fixings then you should be able to get replacements for under £20 from LR, don't know the part number so can't find a price for you.

Hi All,

I would just like to thanks for the help provided in this specific post.

I just bought a Freelander 2 and before i bought it from this post I knew the strange rattle at the back underneath was the rear heat shield.

So after spending £1 on some large washers at my local garage, I now have a shield that is held in place. And for future newbies like me, I hope you don't mind I have included some images. BTW, make sure the washers are very thin, as if they are too thick the nut may not stay tight (in my opinion)

One more BTW, did not realise until crawling under the car that there are 4 places the shield is held.

Thanks again.

great photos they will help people

cheers for the feedback.

Amazing. Signed up just to say how helpful SES88 and thealiendad are. Thank you.

thealiendad said:

Hi All,

I would just like to thanks for the help provided in this specific post.

I just bought a Freelander 2 and before i bought it from this post I knew the strange rattle at the back underneath was the rear heat shield.

So after spending £1 on some large washers at my local garage, I now have a shield that is held in place. And for future newbies like me, I hope you don't mind I have included some images. BTW, make sure the washers are very thin, as if they are too thick the nut may not stay tight (in my opinion)

One more BTW, did not realise until crawling under the car that there are 4 places the shield is held.

Thanks again.

Click to expand...

Hi thealiendad,

Following on from my earlier enthusiasm I have bought some penny washers and identified the five nuts. Having used WD40 to lubricator them, I can't actually get them off - do you 'pop' them out or unscrew the outer hexagon?

Also looks as though going to be very tricky to get to two of the nuts. Is there a problem if I manage to take them off but can't put them back on?

Any advice (open to everyone), much appreciated.

Thanks

Thanks for brilliant advice and pics!

Hi all in this thread ...simply to say having discovered a rattle whilst out and about for the day yesterday and although stopping to have a look around i couldn't see anything a-miss ... so today being able put my FR2 up on ramps i discovered that the rear exhaust heat shield had "broken free" so to speak ..so a short trip to the ironmongers and £1.80 later for some big washers and its nice and tight again. There are 6 bolts in all but the 2 that sit under the suspension beams will have to wait as i don't have a 24mm flat spanner to get them off and free.

thealiendad said:

Hi All,

I would just like to thanks for the help provided in this specific post.

I just bought a Freelander 2 and before i bought it from this post I knew the strange rattle at the back underneath was the rear heat shield.

So after spending £1 on some large washers at my local garage, I now have a shield that is held in place. And for future newbies like me, I hope you don't mind I have included some images. BTW, make sure the washers are very thin, as if they are too thick the nut may not stay tight (in my opinion)

One more BTW, did not realise until crawling under the car that there are 4 places the shield is held.

Thanks again.

Click to expand...

Nice pictures