ok yes i understand that i do need the heat shield over my manifold but heres my situation...

2005 Dakota 4.7L

i have a leak in my manifold gasket and im in the process of getting it fixed. i cant work on it till saturday which is 4 days away...i was checking out how bad the bolts were and noticed that the 2 in the back (top and bottom) are broken off already...which those 2 bolts hold the back end of the heat shield on...

i decided since i cant work on it till saturday that i will spray the bolts everyday to get them loosened up from the rust and hopefully i wont break anymore off. but to spray to the middle bolts i had to take the heat shield off completely. so my question is "is it ok to run the truck without the heat shield on till saturday? and if so is there a limit to how far i can go without the heat causing any damage?

 

Will you be towing any heavy stuff up hills until Saturday? I think you'll be fine either way. But exhaust manifolds are their hottest when the engine is underload for extended periods.

I would just make sure no wiring has started to droop and is close to the area, at least 2-3" or so, ziptie it away to be on the safe side

 

thanks,
i checked around the area to see if anything was exposed..the only thing i think i might worry about is the rubber flexible sleeve on the steering column

i dont plan on going very far as ill just be driving back and forth to work which is only 2 miles away...the longest trip ill have to take is going to the garage im gong to be working on it in which is only a 15-20 minute drive

 

Yea no biggy, it will all be fine. Plenty of people with bare metal headers for thousands of miles don't have problems with melting anything. Granted, they are usually ceramic coated which helps the heat transfer, but still hotter than manifolds with a heatshield.