[maupurr]

Hello everyone,

I would like to share my solution for the really disturbing heat shield rattle issue, which affects Bmws built with the n13 Prince engine. The cause of the problem is that the metal shield warps due to the regular and excessive heat load and therefore comes into contact with the downpipe as the engine vibrates.

Here's a reference video of what I am thinking of (not my video):

At the dealership they only offer to change the complete heat shield for tons of money. As you can see on the following diagram the whole part is mounted with three screws only to the outlet manifold which is a really dumb design:


I came up with a solution which is not very refined, but cheap and easy to implement. I just call it the toilet paper method

All you need is:

• Approx. 2 meters of 2 mm thick heat resistant fiberglass wrap. It is generally used for insulating downpipes. These wraps are heat resistant up to a 1000 degrees Celsius so they can easily handle the heat load. Here's a link: link
• 1 piece of stainless tie
• Hook cutter

Instruction:
All you want to do is rolling up the wrap in several layers onto the oil pipe (no. 8 on the diagram) which is located next to the heat shield. Thus the wrap will jack up the heat shield into the right position. Then apply a stainless tie on it in order to prevent it from coming apart. Cut off the overhanging part of the tie.
(The oil pipe is mounted to the chassis so it shouldn't be a problem to take such small amount of load.)




Hints:
Use gloves when touching fiberglass as it can be stingy.
Only work on your car when the engine is cold.

For me it works perfectly. Altough I have only made just a couple of hundred kilometers since I have installed the wrap.

[evolutionxnl]

Originally Posted by maupurr

Hello everyone,

I would like to share my solution for the really disturbing heat shield rattle issue, which affects Bmws built with the n13 Prince engine. The cause of the problem is that the metal shield warps due to the regular and excessive heat load and therefore comes into contact with the downpipe as the engine vibrates.

Thx!, I have the same issue on my n13 (320i Ed) and just ordered the parts

[nikolajaren]

Oh damn this is a nice hack

[Plumbie87]

Hi Maupurr, how did this hack hold up? Was it a permanent fix?

Thanks.

[mrducati]

Wow! I’ll Try this tomorrow!

[Masum2004]

Originally Posted by mrducati

Wow! I’ll Try this tomorrow!

Did this work for you?

[Dikkens]

Would love a follow up on this from OP

[maupurr]

Actually I still have the car. The fiberglass wrap is holding up great since then. No issue whatsoever.

[chris.sck]

I've installed this yesterday. It works like a charm!

Pretty easy to install, i've got some tips for you out there:
-Instead of fiddling around with the roll just roll the wrap it around the bar and keep revolving it from there. Otherwise u have to cut it perfectly which would suck if done incorrectly. Before the next step, check if the windshield feels firm enough to ur liking.
-Afterwards slide the metal zip tie under it and lock it in as shown on the picture. Make sure u have a proper tool to cut the zip tie because it sucks if u don't haha.

Overall this installation took me like 1hr because i did it in pitch black environment + I had to look for something to properly cut the zip tie. I reckon this will take 30 min maximum if done right.

[Cazadox]

I have the same issue with my 116i, but the vibrations are quite heavy, I'm a bit worried that the pipe may take damage or come loose due to the vibrations.

Anyone that has had this fix for a longer time that can verify that nothing takes damage?

[Njloeffen]

I have a 116i as well, the virbration can also be a turbo wastegate rattle. I have that as well and the dealer says its fine

[jelmer]

How is everyones rattling going after the fix? Very curious