Questions and Answers

Honda Accord Muffler Heat Shields Q. I have a 1993 Honda Accord with 173,000. I believe my muffler's heat shield is coming loose, it rattles under the car. A friend told me that the welding can wear off eventually. What can be done to tighten the shield up again? Is it possible to use some type of heat resistant wire to wrap around the shield and muffler?

A. If it is, indeed, the muffler heat shield, what you can do is get a few large worm type hose clamps and join them together until you get two long enough to go around the heat shields of the muffler. Then put one around the front and one around the back of the heat shield and tighten them down. That will get rid of the rattle.

I have also seen guys screw them directly to the muffler, but I don't like it because it puts holes, where rust could start, in the muffler. For about $20.00 most muffler shops will just tack weld it back on for you. This is assuming the muffler itself is in decent shape.