I did a WOT run getting onto the highway yesterday and this weird smoke came through from under the dash near the heater core, etc. I pulled over and popped the hood. It looks to be as if there is some kind of tin foil stuff that is resting on my down pipe. When the exhuast heats up, it burns the foil.....Has this happened to anyone else and what is it used for?

Should I remove it? Cut it down?

Sounds like heat shield material that has come loose from the fire wall?

Yeah, thats what i was thinking it was... should i just remove part of it? all of it? replace it?

The difficult part about replacing it is that it'* a really tight spot to work in between the fact that its between the DP and the firewall and theres not alot of room behind the engine in the first place.

Are there really bad side effects of just leaving it off?

What have others done?

And is there an actual technical name for it?

It'* not the best choice and i hesitate to even say it'* "ok" but i've been running without mine for about 6 months and it'* been fine. Theres still a bunch of insulation under that foil. Just be careful.

okay cool, should i take off just enough to not be touching or a few inches from the downpipe or remove all of it?

I would only take off the parts that are touching the DP and definitely leave the rest. It'* much more of a hazard touching the DP being heated by conduction than it would be to lose a little bit of convection heat shielding.

I would try to leave it in place if possible as well. I learned when I took my car apart that the firewall material became real brittle due to the engine heat. One more piece to help shield the heat is always a good thing. I'm guessing that a spot weld or something finally gave way (seen it before). Maybe you have some way to resecure the loose joint? Maybe even engine grade JB Weld or something might work as a low budget fix. .. just some ideas.

Okay, thanks guys, ill see what i can do.. although there'* not much room to work.