Exhaust too close to engine?

[Josh]

I recently purchased a used DMC stage 1 exhaust, the original steel version. It installed very nicely, however I feel it is too close to the engine. The heat shield is about 1cm from the pulleys. I do not know if this is a early stage 1 issue, a 3.0 issue or if i installed it incorrectly. I don't see how it could move backwards (away from the engine) though, even with the brackets off, the intermediate pipes off of the headers positions it with very little room to move it.

I did not take a picture of it specifically, but here is an overall of my engine. I can take more pictures if necessary.

22177

[tc connors]

Same issue with my 3.0L and Stage I exhaust. The clearance between the heat shield and the serpentine belt tensioner is less than 1 cm at the upper fastener on the driver side.

The only way to get any more clearance would be to move the heat shield mounting brackets welded to the muffler, and then fabricate a custom shield better contoured to the shape of the muffler.

I have not gone to the trouble because, since the muffler and engine move together, the heat shield does not interfere as is.

[Josh]

Thanks for the input sir! I think I may just leave it as is and use some carriage bolts on the heat shield to give a tad more clearance.

May I ask what you used for the upper muffler bracket? The 3.0 valve cover has different mounting provisions than the 2.8 valve cover.

[louielouie2000]

Aren't y'all concerned about toasting your belts/alternators? I'm still convinced the reason my DeLorean chewed through water pumps was because it had one of those early replacement stainless heat shields on it's stock muffler. I'm not so sure it wasn't radiating heat vs deflecting it.

[tc connors]

I have the stock DMC valve cover on the passenger side, so I am able to use the Stage I upper exhaust bracket.

I made a stainless heat shield that is a bit thicker than stock. So far no heat issues with the pulleys, although I have not put on enough miles to test the setup fully.

[tc connors]

With respect to water pump replacement, I found that replacing all the rubber coolant hoses seemed to help the longevity of the water pump. Before replacement, I wore out the seals on two pumps, afterwards none.

The thermoswitch is also crucial. If your cooling fans do not come on reliably, the water pump seal will be subjected to much higher temps, which I believe contributes its premature failure.

Check out Toby Peterson's analog adjustable temp switch. It's a fantastic replacement for the stock unit. Of course, it's not needed for the 3.0L, which is ECU adjustable.

[Josh]

With respect to water pump replacement, I found that replacing all the rubber coolant hoses seemed to help the longevity of the water pump. Before replacement, I wore out the seals on two pumps, afterwards none.

The thermoswitch is also crucial. If your cooling fans do not come on reliably, the water pump seal will be subjected to much higher temps, which I believe contributes its premature failure.

Check out Toby Peterson's analog adjustable temp switch. It's a fantastic replacement for the stock unit. Of course, it's not needed for the 3.0L, which is ECU adjustable.

Thank you for the heads up. This hopefully will not be a concern as my coolant system has been entirely replaced (new rad, hoses, waterpump, fans, heater hoses, coolant bottle, powder coated pipes). My fans will be ECU controlled, I believe this will be a great improvement over the stock system.

In communications with Josh (DPI) he indicated exactly what you said, the 2.8 valve cover needs to be used. He also indicated the upper mount is eliminated from their SPEC 1 exhaust all together. So, I will try my luck with this bracket omitted. I yanked on the muffler and it feels very secure as is.

As for the clearance and the OP, it has been concluded that this is how the early Stage 1 exhausts fit.