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Mon Jul 27, 2015 6:19 pm

1. Are the nuts holding the exhaust flanges to the head studs just 13 mm nuts?

2. This...

... Came off the passengers side header (here)...

The drivers side is long gone. Appears to just be a heat shield of sorts? Is this necessary to replace? IS there replacement? Exhaust wrap? Leave it bare?

Mucho gracias.... Pete

Mon Jul 27, 2015 6:29 pm

You do need your sled tin. Email Chris at [email protected] and give hiM your year make model and description of what's needed. He has diagrams on his website too.

Mon Jul 27, 2015 7:11 pm

Thanks for the reply. Wasnt sure what it was called and couldnt find a diagram showing it.
Is its purpose to be a heat shield?

Mon Jul 27, 2015 7:16 pm

Yes, late exhaust runs hot and shielding the heads from radiant heat helps alot, some say they do OK running without them but I'm on the side of the fence that says if VW went to the effort of putting it there it must serve a good purpose. Part of it's purpose is to maintain heat in the exhaust to keep the catalyst lit and the heater hot, part to reduce temps down in there.

Mon Jul 27, 2015 7:22 pm

1) Yes. Don't use Nyloc nuts ;)

2) Do not stress - it is only a heat shield intended to assist with characteristics such as cat light-up (if fitted) and cabin heating

Mon Jul 27, 2015 7:32 pm

VWCOOL wrote: 1) Yes. Don't use Nyloc nuts ;)

2) Do not stress - it is only a heat shield intended to assist with characteristics such as cat light-up (if fitted) and cabin heating

1. But the melted material will help it adhere, like loctite right?.... :wink:

2. I promised never to stress sbout this bus again. But i do like my heat everyonce in a while.

Thanks to all

Mon Jul 27, 2015 7:43 pm

The part that fell off is not the sled tin he is referring to. What fell off is a heat shield that wrapped around the "F pipe" part of your exhaust header. There used to be some asbestos type material in there as well. Over time, those heat shields all rust out and fall off eventually. Very few intact ones left. As far as I know there are no noticeable repurcusions and I would not worry about it. Do NOT wrap the headers in fiberglass header wrap as a replacement. Just leave it alone.

The sled tins are pieces of regular tin that cover the bottom of the engine from the heat exchangers to the sump. There's one on each side of the engine. It's missing from your photo so either you took them off to take the photo, or you don't have them. If you don't have them you should find replacements because they affect the operation of the thermostat and protect your pushrod tubes from road debris.

Oh, and the nuts are 8x1.25 mm on the I.D. which is extremely common on a VW and normally a 13mm socket nut everywhere else. But I use and recommend the "special" 12mm socket copper version sold at German Supply and perhaps elsewhere which has a built in lock ring and gives more room for a socket up in those narrow confines.

Mon Jul 27, 2015 7:52 pm

WhirledTraveller wrote: The part that fell off is not the sled tin he is referring to. What fell off is a heat shield that wrapped around the "F pipe" part of your exhaust header. There used to be some asbestos type material in there as well. Over time, those heat shields all rust out and fall off eventually. Very few intact ones left. As far as I know there are no noticeable repurcusions and I would not worry about it. Do NOT wrap the headers in fiberglass header wrap as a replacement. Just leave it alone.

The sled tins are pieces of regular tin that cover the bottom of the engine from the heat exchangers to the sump. There's one on each side of the engine. It's missing from your photo so either you took them off to take the photo, or you don't have them. If you don't have them you should find replacements because they affect the operation of the thermostat and protect your pushrod tubes from road debris.

Oh, and the nuts are 8x1.25 mm on the I.D. which is extremely common on a VW and normally a 13mm socket nut everywhere else. But I use and recommend the "special" 12mm socket copper version sold at German Supply and perhaps elsewhere which has a built in lock ring and gives more room for a socket up in those narrow confines.

Ah, Yes, i should clarify. I have all my engine tins. What i was referring to was the exhaust header shield going around that section of the F pipe. Thanks for the word association as my brain is fried.

So, question. If the shield is for heat retention and re-direction, what is the argument against some old school wrap?

Tue Jul 28, 2015 2:28 am

The heat shielding does a good job of protecting the metal of the pipes from the elements, which is why your pipes show very little deterioration at this point. Without the shielding your pipes will begin to deteriorate faster. Some will argue that by adding header wrap you will also accelerate the deterioration. In an area that uses road salts I would think this would be true, but am not sure in a relatively dry area that doesn't use road salts.

Tue Jul 28, 2015 4:59 am

A while back I bought a complete LH and RH heater box set up (thanks Richard Gardner!) with the U-pipes and F-pipe manifolds included. The heat shields were still intact on both manifolds. They were holey and had some rust, seperated in some parts. I was able to get them off easily but they are in better shape then any I've seen pics of in this forum. I saved them because I've learned with VWs to NEVER EVER THROW ANYTHING AWAY until it is confirmed to be absolutely worthless.
Is there anyone out there who might want these to try and make a pattern or reproduce them? I'm sure there is some material that could be used in place of Asbestos. The thread where the guy built a home-made heat shield had some good suggestions. If anyone is interested PM me, I will gladly send them off (not undertaking it myself after getting late bay bumper guard brackets fabbed, having people say they want them, and then disappearing :wink: )

Edit: the asbestos is removed from my tins BTW

Tue Jul 28, 2015 5:40 am

WhirledTraveller wrote: There used to be some asbestos type material in there as well.
Do we know for sure that it is asbestos? I more or less got a face full of it while I was removing a stubborn manifold a few months ago. Mesothelioma isn't anything I'm interested in.

Tue Jul 28, 2015 5:56 am

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=575820&highlight=asbestos

Seems like many consider it to be asebestos. I have never read absolute confirmation that it is, but I would assume anything related to heat insulation prior to the mid- 80s is rocking asbestos, as it was the best heat insulator when available. Proceed with caution.
Canada sells hundreds of metric tons of the stuff to industry in India, where it is still legal and their workers use nothing more than bandanas around their mouths as protection.
I mean, if it is considered safe and legal in India you probably have nothing to worry about, right?

Tue Jul 28, 2015 6:11 am

PLF-Blue wrote:

So, question. If the shield is for heat retention and re-direction, what is the argument against some old school wrap?

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=111511&highlight=header+wrap

Tue Jul 28, 2015 9:25 am

WhirledTraveller wrote: PLF-Blue wrote:

So, question. If the shield is for heat retention and re-direction, what is the argument against some old school wrap?

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=111511&highlight=header+wrap

...10-4 good buddy. Figured it was something along those lines