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Catalytic Converter Panel?

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dbeam308

Junior Member
I was on my way to bringing my kids to the park today when I hear what sounds like a license plate banging around under my car. I pulled over and peeked to notice that the under panel of my catalytic converter was dangling under there. 😱

I just had almost my entire exhaust replaced a few months ago due to rust damage (It's a 2003), but the cat was pretty much the one thing not replaced.

The Cat itself is still attached, just the bottom panel had rusted off. Is it safe to drive until I can get it replaced? (I won't be able to get it inspected like that, NH runs an emission check.)
 
No, it is not safe. Catalytic converters can get very hot. If the missing panel exposes or loses any insulation, the heat could start a fire under your car if you happen to be standing over combustible brush, car fluids, etc. Furthermore, if it's "just dangling," you could knock it loose by running over any other hard object in the road.

Get it fixed ASAP, minimize your driving until you do, and be very aware of what's under your car while it's idling.
 
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Being an automotive illiterate, I'm not sure if it's the bottom panel of the Cat, the lower heat shield, or if those are actually the same thing. Insulation of the Cat's exposed underneath.
 
dbeam308 said:
Being an automotive illiterate, I'm not sure if it's the bottom panel of the Cat, the lower heat shield, or if those are actually the same thing. Insulation of the Cat's exposed underneath.
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This is a case where what you don't know CAN hurt you and even more reason to get it fixed. Now would be a good time. Yesterday would be better.

Seriously, what do you have to lose... other than your kids and anyone else in the car or nearby if the worst happens? 😱
 
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Harvey said:
Furthermore, if it's "just dangling," you could knock it loose by running over any other hard object in the road.
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It's not now, I pulled over when I heard the noise and tugged it free. It was hanging by a small rusted thread. But thank you for the info, I'll get it replaced as soon as I can (afford it).

Harvey said:
Seriously, what do you have to lose... other than your kids and anyone else in the car or nearby if the worst happens? 😱
Click to expand...

Well, that's only marginally extreme. I usually drive on paved surfaces and the lot. But thanks for the tip!
 
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It's a heat shield. It being missing is unlikely to cause a problem, but as mentioned, there is always the chance that you could drive over something flammable. IIRC the outlet temp of a converter is around a thousand degrees Fahrenheit, give or take a couple hundred.

I've seen factory cats without heat shields, though. But in all the cases I can think of, it was a secondary cat. Not sure if it makes any kind of critical difference as far as temps are concerned (i.e. the second cat is not hot enough to start fires).

Probably the main reason I would not be overly worried is that the pipe on the outlet of the converter (as in cat, as in catalytic converter; just to clarify, I'm bad about interchanging terms) shouldn't be any cooler than the body. If it was truly a risk, I'd think the manufacturers would have to close more of it off.

I've used metal hose clamps to reattach heatshields with pretty decent success. Won't last forever, but it's a good fix for the next-to-nothing invested. Sounds like you're a little past that, though.
 
Unless you make a habit of parking on very long, dry grass you will more than likely be fine. the odd plastic bag may snag onit and cause some nasty fumes but realistically nothing bad will come of it.

What kind of car?
 
It's a 2003 Mitsubishi Lancer.

It wasn't really very hot when I tugged it free, but I had only gotten maybe half a mile down the road before I started hearing the clanging and pulled it free. My main concern was the exposed insulation, but I am 99% never parked on anything other than pavement.

I'm not going to intentionally drive all over town with it in the state it's in, but going the 2-3 miles back and forth from work is inevitable until I can get it fixed.
 
dbeam308 said:
Harvey said:
Seriously, what do you have to lose... other than your kids and anyone else in the car or nearby if the worst happens? 😱
Click to expand...

Well, that's only marginally extreme. I usually drive on paved surfaces and the lot. But thanks for the tip!
Click to expand...

Obviously, it was hyperbole in response to your question whether it's safe to drive until you can get it replaced. I just wanted to make the point that it's not something to let slide. There are serious safety issues. You should get it fixed ASAP and be careful in the mean time.
 
+1 get it looked at soon.

That being said, the only cat I've seen with any sort of specific bottom panel is one that has had the insides illegally cut out.
 
Harvey said:
Obviously, it was hyperbole in response to your question whether it's safe to drive until you can get it replaced. I just wanted to make the point that it's not something to let slide. There are serious safety issues. You should get it fixed ASAP and be careful in the mean time.
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Oh, I know. I completely understand. I may have worded it wrong when I initially asked; I was more trying to figure out if my car was drive-able at all or if I needed it towed somewhere to get it immediately repaired because that's not something I'd be able to do given me and my wife's work schedules and money right now.

SpatiallyAware said:
That being said, the only cat I've seen with any sort of specific bottom panel is one that has had the insides illegally cut out.
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Yeah, I wasn't really sure when I first posted the exact term for it but it's not a bottom panel, it's the lower heat shield.
 
HA! I am in the market of buying a replacement cat. Yesterday I was talking to the customer service dept at [anonymously registered spam link removed]. I was asking them why some aftermarket units have heat shields and others don't by other manufacturers.

The answer wasn't totally clear cut. But the use of heat shields seems a bit arbitrary. Like others said, unless you have a habit of parking in dry wheat fields, this will likely never cause an issue.

Some model vehicles have heat shields and others don't.
Now that you have it off, I wouldn't think about it again... My 2 cents
 
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