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Heat shield coming off

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by icyrius, Aug 17, 2021.

  1. icyrius

    icyrius Active Member

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    My son sent me the attached picture of his Prius and it appears a heat shield is coming off his car.
    i have not taken a look at it yet. But I want to buy the parts before I get to his house.
    Can this be re-attached with bolts or does it use some type of rivet?
    I have also attached a picture of the part I suspect is falling off that I found in this great forum.
    thank you for your help
    0423F018-A9D5-4B8B-BFBD-217B31252654.jpeg
    AA7590DB-417A-4911-84B3-8C4BE19BE76A.jpeg
     
  2. xliderider

    xliderider Senior Member

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    That heatdhield gets removed when installing a catalytic converter anti theft shield.

    There must be a lot of them around. Mine is in the back of my garage gathering dust.

    If your son lives in an area that has catalytic converter thefts from Prius vehicles, then he should consider installing an anti theft shield.

    Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
     
    #2 xliderider, Aug 17, 2021
    Last edited: Aug 17, 2021
  3. xliderider

    xliderider Senior Member

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    The shield is held on with 4 large sized plastic push pin panel clips, or whatever they're called.

    You don't need to buy a new one, just pick up some of the clips from the dealer, show them your picture of the hanging shield and they will know what size you need. There are 4 of them that go across the front of the shield in the 4 large holes, into the corresponding holes in the car frame.

    Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
     
    #3 xliderider, Aug 17, 2021
    Last edited: Aug 17, 2021
  4. xliderider

    xliderider Senior Member

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    You can see where the clips go on the original shield by looking at the position of the 4 large rivets on my cat shield installation. Keep in mind that my picture is a mirror image, flipped left/right along the front to back axis of the car.

    20210508_205357.jpeg

    Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
     
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  5. Georgina Rudkus

    Georgina Rudkus Senior Member

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    M5 rivet nuts will fit the holes with no drilling. M5 bolts with fender washers would be a permanent fix.
     
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  6. icyrius

    icyrius Active Member

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    Thank you for your help!
     
  7. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    #7 Mendel Leisk, Aug 18, 2021
    Last edited: Aug 18, 2021
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  8. Georgina Rudkus

    Georgina Rudkus Senior Member

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    Four 1/4 inch large flange aluminum rivets is another "permanent" solution.
     
  9. icyrius

    icyrius Active Member

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    I went to my local Toyota dealer and they wanted $5 a piece. The service guy was nice enough to recommend me to get them somewhere else and showed me a sample part.

    I found these in Advanced Auto Parts for $3.99 a pair. It was a perfect fit. I posted a picture of the package just in case someone else runs into this same problem.

    35E53F44-C2BA-4A68-9516-D4068FFFB613.jpeg
     
  10. Georgina Rudkus

    Georgina Rudkus Senior Member

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    They are 7mm. Others like Nissan use 8mm, which is the most common.
     
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  11. Rebound

    Rebound Senior Member

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    $6.99 for a hundred on Amazon. There are several variants of these; one will have the clips you’re looking for:

    Ginsco 102pcs 6.3mm 8mm 9mm 10mm Bumper Push Fasteners Rivet Clips Expansion Screws Replacement Kit

     
  12. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    I just get the Toyota fastener, avoid runaround, possible repeat of the dragging on the road factor.

    if you stay on top of what’s happening on the underside, it’s pretty rare to have problems.

    boils down to the price of a Starbucks coffee or two, maybe once per decade.
     
  13. xliderider

    xliderider Senior Member

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    I'm thinking of installing some stainless steel threaded inserts (rivnuts) and using stainless screws to hold everything in place.

    Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
     
  14. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Overkill. The plastic fasteners are pretty solid. If you’ve managed to scour the underside enough to break that panel loose you may have other damage. They will not come loose with normal conditions. I recall the first time I took that panel off: the fasteners were really locked on.

    it’s always tempting to go Rambo, but rarely warranted. Sometimes super tenacious fasteners can lead to bigger issues: ripping out body sheet metal.
     
  15. Rebound

    Rebound Senior Member

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    If you’re going to do that then just install a cat shield, I think.
     
  16. xliderider

    xliderider Senior Member

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    Already done, I was referring to the main underbody panel up front. Most of the fasteners are screws and bolts already, but there's still a few plastic rivets/plugs.

    Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
     
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  17. Georgina Rudkus

    Georgina Rudkus Senior Member

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    Putting these under even the M6 washer head bolts will keep the heads from wearing through the thin plastic. The neoprene surface of the washer is more compatible to the soft thin polyethylene plastic from which the undercovers are made.

     
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  18. Rebound

    Rebound Senior Member

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    I bought the 100 for $7 kit from Amazon. Mine has the underbody fasteners and the door panel fasteners. Great value. They definitely work.
     
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  19. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Wash those fasteners out with soapy water whenever you remove them, maybe work the mechanism back/forth too, whenever you have them out. Grit accumulates, jams the mechanism, can cause them to seize and break. Another factor is you don't manage to corral all the jaws, one stays outside the hole, bends back, eventually fails.