Heat Shield on exhaust is now removed

[PWGUNNY]

Over the past couple of weeks I heard some rattling when at low speeds. It sounded as though my license plate frame was vibrating. That wasn't the noise, so with the truck in the driveway, I got underneath and banged around and found the source of the noise. The aluminum heat shield on the drivers side of the exhaust was coming undone. There are 2 bolts and a type of clamp that holds this wrapped around the exhaust. This assembly was rusted enough that I wiggled it out by hand. The noise is gone, but the heat shield is now sitting in my garage and I'm thinking it should probably be remounted.
Any thoughts on this? This part sits directly below the rear driver's side footwell. This may cause my son's feet to sweat excessively on long drives, adding to his already present foot odor.

 

[Jeff T]

Mine came off about 40k ago. No one in the back seat has noticed any change in the floor temp. Their should be enough wind flow while moving, I would think it might get warm when the vehicle is shut off though.

Sorry about the boys feet...

 

[PWGUNNY]

Ok, thanks Jeff. Sounds good to me, I wasn't looking forward to having to remount that heat shield.

 

[me_rikey]

I would also second that it shouldn't get too hot on long drives. Interesting to note: My buddy had to get an aftermarket heat shield for his c6z06 because the exhaust would melt candy bars and heat up cold drinks in his cup holder.

 

[PAPA]

Mine failed, and fell. I re-installed the original heat shield using large fender washers and original hardware. No issues, problem solved

 

[the dutch man]

Just use some large hose clamps and tighten it around the pipe in the same place. That is what I did and it works like a charm.

 

[PWGUNNY]

I'm keeping the heat shield in the garage for now. If I discover it has to go back on, I will re-mount it.

At 116,000 miles, my only fail is the frozen calipers and now this minor issue of the heat shield. Not too bad. I love my 4Runner, I probably utter this phrase just about everyday since I bought it in '04.