E30 318is Catalytic Convertor Damage

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bboldt3@hotmail.com - 11 Jan 2006 15:30 GMT

Hello,

I am new to this forum, but have been a BMWCAA member for over 12
years. Anyway, I was driving home last night in my e30 and I hit a
fender (a car fender was laying in the road) and it ripped the Aluminum
cover off my Catalytic convertor. The motor is an M42 and the car is a
318is. My question is: Is it do any harm to run the car without the
cover/shield on the cat? I am unclear as to what this thing does on the
cat. Thanks for your help.

Ben

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John Burns - 11 Jan 2006 15:39 GMT

> I am new to this forum, but have been a BMWCAA member for over 12
> years. Anyway, I was driving home last night in my e30 and I hit a
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
> cover/shield on the cat? I am unclear as to what this thing does on the
> cat.

Probably a heat shield. I remember when they first started using cats in
the UK, there were a few cases of cars setting light to things like dry
grass under the car.

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bboldt3@hotmail.com - 11 Jan 2006 16:32 GMT

Thanks guys, I live in the City and I think I will be O.K. without
it...280K miles on her and I hope for 500k more. Thanks for the
reconfirm on my thoughts.

:-)

Ben

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keith - 11 Jan 2006 15:42 GMT

>Hello,
>
[quoted text clipped - 7 lines]
>
>Ben

Ben, its a heat-shield. stops the grass going on fire under your car
when you park in the long, dry, grass..

dont laugh, i understand there were some cars lost to fire through
this.

the upper part shields the car body from extreme heat.. remember the
interior of the cat runs *very* hot..

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Tom K. - 11 Jan 2006 17:23 GMT

>>Hello,
>>
[quoted text clipped - 13 lines]
> dont laugh, i understand there were some cars lost to fire through
> this.

Some idiot parked over a large pile of leaves in my neighborhood a few years
back - the car was a total loss from the resulting fire.

Tom K.

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Jeff Strickland - 11 Jan 2006 17:49 GMT

There are heat shields wrapped around the CAT. You could have exposed some
VERY hot exhaust components to the outside. If you are not leaking exhaust
from the ripped section, then your main issue is heat. Do not park over tall
grass until you get this fixed. If you are leaking exhaust, then you should
get the CAT replaced asap.

> Hello,
>
[quoted text clipped - 7 lines]
>
> Ben

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