heat shield removal

I have a '91 ford explorer. It was making some rattling muffler noises, so I took it to a muffler shop and the mechanic said I needed a new muffler and my heat shields tightened. He replaced the muffler, but said the heat shields were not worth replacing, so he didn't and that it was okay as long as I didn't park it on tall, dry grass. I don't know exactly how tall the grass has to be for me to worry. The vehicle is parked on the grass on the side of my house and it about a week overdue for a cut. Should I be worried? Should I be parking the vehicle where it will not be on grass at all? Or do I need to have the heat shields put back on? I appreciate any help.

Hmmm, the guy really shouldn't have removed the heat shields. There are special really large hose clamps that are often used to tighten the heat shields back down and keep them from rattling. These clamps are getting to be pretty common and not as difficult to find as they were years ago.

If the vehicle is running in proper tune so the converters aren't trying to convert a bunch of unburned fuel into water vapor, the grass probably won't be a concern. But if the grass gets to be within a few inches of the bottom of the vehicle, you should find another parking spot. That is until you can get the heatshields reinstalled. Did the tech send the heat shields with you, or keep them? If he didn't send them with you, they're probably already on their way to the metal recycler.

-Rod