'91 190E 2.3 exhaust vibration

[sbourg]

My continuing saga of trying to work out the bugs in this 190E 2.3 we acquired.

While the car was up in the front for suspension work, I noticed a 'heat shield' over the exhaust pipe just south of the downpipe - just rearward of the idler arm. It had been attached to the pipe by crimps at its seams welded to corresponding crimps on the exhaust - and they have broken loose. The shield now vibrates around on the pipe with an annoying sound. I tried jamming it to the pipe and sealing with muffler cement, but it broke again free after a few miles of driving.

Is this a common problem, and is there a good CHEAP solution (it may annoy the neighbors in the morning, but with the windows up I can barely hear it)? Would JB Weld hold better? should I try to drill a small hole trough the rather deteriorated pipe and shield crimps and pop-rivet them? Any advice appreciated.

Steve

[sbourg]

Well, an update on this problem. After 'cementing' with JB Weld, I have found another NOT-use for that product. So far, I have found nothing at all that it can be used for successfully. After curing overnight, once the repair heated up, it stank royally - and smoked profusely - as the exhaust heat proceeded to incinerate it to a crumbling carbonaceous mass. This continued to a lesser extent for a couple of days until the rattle was back as bad as ever. The best I can say is that at least the remains were easy to clean up in preparation for another repair attempt.

This time I got an exhaust system U-clamp (2"), crimped the heat shield down to the pipe, and clamped it. I think I may hear small 'pops' as it heats and cools, but I don't expect the rattle to return this time.

Steve