Do I really need that hood liner under my hood? Mine is falling off right now, sorta. I took some steel wire and made a huge "V" with it so it would stay up...but do I really need it?

 

this all depends...
depending on which engine oyu have and how close it sits to that hood, and also how hot your engine runs. that "liner thingy" is mostly there for heat insulation. if your engine is a hot one, you may want to keep it up there just to make sure you dont melt the paint off of your hood. that is, unless you like that dull look that comes when the clear coat comes off from over the cylinder banks, leaving three shiny stripes down the left, right, and center of your hood

 

theres not one on mine and its fine.

 

I think its actually there to keep the heat in for emission control, and also for sound. I have had mine out for a long time, and most trucks don't even have them, since they began slotting hoods for airflow, so as for paint fading I doubt that this would be an issue, I did notice I could hear my engine more after I took it out, but its been a long time.

 

shouldnt be a big problem.... although i have seen some older rams running around with the clearcoat flaking off... whoknows what its from...

 

I thought that the liner under the hood was a fire blanket. And if you have a fire, the plastic tabs will melt, and the liner will fall on top of the engine to attempt to put the flames out. Thats what I heard at least.

 

I would try to keep it up there, especially if you live somewhere where it gets really hot in the summer. I had issues with the paint on the hood oxidizing really fast in between the supports after I removed the insulation on another vehicle I had.....