muffler shield on 2001 Jeep G Cherokee

[Donald]

The back of the muffler shield fell down onto the muffler after the hole in it enlarged itself and was now larger than the nut and washer holding it. The nut and washer are attached to a stud or bolt coming down from under body. (I would guess its a #10 screw size at best, yes its probably metric.) The stud is maybe 3/4" long and of course rusty.

The shield can also shift a little sideways and rub against the drive shaft to I now have a 6" section of the drive shaft that is highly polished.

I figure I got one chance to get the nut off (or snap the stud) so I will spray it every day with PB Blaster for several days. Once I get the nut off, then just use a larger washer and I should be all set.

Other suggestions?

Could someone at a shop hit it with a torch and give it a better chance of coming off or is it too close to the under body or too small a size for a torch to help?

 

[Panzerman]

Why not just rip it off. Manufacturers ussually get a little crazy with all the shields on the exhaust. I had a 1990 Mercury Couger, that after about 5 years started vibrating and sounded like a engine problem. 5 minutes with tin snips, problem solved, sounds like its underneath if it hitting the drive line, just eliminate it.

 

[The_Jeff]

You don't have to hang these exactly like stock. You know where the gas lines are (elsewhere); Drill upwards and stick some new rivets in. Back them up with fender washers or 1 inch squares of sheet metal with holes drilled for the rivets.

 

[mechtech2]

Right.
Get a new mindset about re attaching the part.
Rivets, small bolts and nuts, etc. can make this go a lot easier.

One of the best tricks I learned when shock absorbers were more common than struts was to break it off!
Simply put a socket and large ratchet on the upper nut, and rock it back and forth to break it.
Much faster than trying to fool with it to take it off the right way!

 

[Donald]

Well I am not giving up on the original stud & nut until I snap it.

How close can someone with a torch get? (to the under body)

 

[mechtech2]

Don't waste your time.
Try squirting it with loose juice and use a flank drive socket.
But other than that, why screw around with it?
You are not the factory with an assembly line to reproduce things.