Broke my first part... replacement?

[beantmt]

I'm not sure what these are called and I'm not sure when I did this, but I tore one of the plastic (or fiberglass) guards that sit immediately behind the exhaust pipes under the vehicle (when they are running perpendicular to the vehicle). I'm guessing I tore it when I was going through some large gravel rocks recently. Anyway, is this a common thing to break? They seem pretty flexible, so I thought they might bend before they would tear (but I guess not). What are they called? Should I replace them at this point? The tear is about 4 inches and starts at the bottom and goes up. It seems like a part that would be easy to find on a junked LR3; any tips on where to tips on where to find stuff like that? Is there a better after-market part? Thanks.

 

[beantmt]

Here's a picture:

 

[duckdive]

Yep, people get those ripped off all the time. I didn't mess with replacing mine.
If you are going to continue to do moderate to advanced trails, leaving them off
might be your call as well. Otherwise I think you have to get the exhaust shields
from the dealer.

 

[nwoods]

I ground mine down on rocks until they were just silly, then removed them. Since I never put a full size spare under the vehicle, I really didn't need the heat shield.

 

[BazLR3]

What are the exhaust shields? Are they for rocks? Are they an accessory? Why would anyone run without the spare tire? Do you have an alternative as in Slime, Tire Plugs or other tools? Thanks.

 

[Trynian]

Not sure if I would really call them exaust sheilds, more like exaust masks IMO.

I removed mine about a year and a half ago and have had no issue at all with my oversized 31.7" full size spare even with bashing my pipes around off road.

Same for my my other friends that have done the same.

 

[nwoods]

What are the exhaust shields? Are they for rocks? Are they an accessory? Why would anyone run without the spare tire? Do you have an alternative as in Slime, Tire Plugs or other tools? Thanks.

The shields are heat shields so that you don't cook your spare. This is something to think about if you run your full size spare down there, but no worries if you have the space saver spare tire. They are not an accessory, but they are somewhat superflous. I "trail modified" mine early on, removed them, and never had an issue. However, I never ran anything other than my space saver spare under the truck. If you are off roading and get a flat, it is almost garranteed that the under-truck location will be very difficult to access. I always kept a full size matching spare tire in the back of the truck, ******* against the passenger side, using the tiedowns in the floor and good ratchet straps.

I don't recommend Slime, but definatly encourage bringing along a good plug kit. There are three I reccommend:

- Saftey Seal (best plugs)
- ARB Speedy Seal (great tools)
- Ultimate Tire Repair Kit (most complete, yet the most compact of all of them!)

 

[Trynian]

Do you have an alternative as in Slime, Tire Plugs or other tools? Thanks.

I carry plugs and 2 spares. One under and one in the back

 

[BazLR3]

Nwoods, that is one MASSIVE spare you have back there. Is the air suspension able to handle the abuse? Does it self adjust to maintain the same ride height (self-leveling)? Not sure what spare I have under there, I will wait until the car is in the garage to check.

 

[Boaz]

That's just a 285/60/18, which is a standard tire size run by most of the people who wanted a better all terrain tire. The air suspension handles them just fine. I wouldn't call it abuse at all.