Hi all, It seems my heat shield has seen better days. One bracket is missing, the other has one nut missing, and the insulation material is visible through the corrosion. I have seen these available from C&C for just over £100, but is mine worth repairing? I could get someone to weld it up and repair it, but I am wondering if the insulation material in it could be asbestos. It is original as far as I can tell. Thanks Ade
General consensus is that its asbestos and possibly not a good idea to mess with unless you take precautions not to leave debris lying around or breath the stuff in (get it on your clothes etc). That said if its encapsulated as it should be then it shouldn't be an issue till next time. So if theres any showing or your gonna disturb it then keep it wet, dont make dust etc. I chucked mine in the bin btw but it was worse than that - it looks pretty good and apart from the asbestos issue it appears a couple of rivets would fix it!
I got a C&C one recently though it was reduced to £80. Good quality and fully sealed so I don't know what's inside. My old one was far worse than yours. I probably wouldn't have swapped mine if it had looked like that.
25+ years and 4-5 buses later I've never had one. In fact I only ever saw a single (rusty) one during all my bus repairing years. Is replacing them a sign of looking for something to fix or could any owners chip in and say they add something tangible?
My bus had one when I bought it and still has one now. It probably reduces the heat radiating into the foam seal and tinware and the scorched paint on mine suggests it's doing some good. I'd (carefully)repair that one^, it looks in reasonable condition apart from the missing bracket.
