'98 Taurus SE - I'm trying to figure out what something is called. I'm getting a rattling noise from under the car. I jacked it up, and found the problem.

There is what looks like a pan missing. The top half is still there, and the bottom is gone w/ the screws still in the top half. It is located about 2 feet behind the front tires in the middle of car. It is definitely covering part of the exhaust piping which I believe is the catalytic converter. Is there a pan that covers the cat converter? If not, does anyone know what pan this is? Any help would be appreciated. Trying to figure out if this can be fixed without replacing all exhaust piping and muffler. And also, is it ok to drive without this pan until I get it fixed? Thanks for any help.

Chris

That is the converter heat shield. It is designed to keep most debris from falling on the hotter converter and causing a fire. We have removed them with no problems. If you purchase an aftermarket converter, it will not have the heat shield on it.

Converter heat shields, reminds me of a good laugh I had quite a few years ago,, I had brought my 87 Taurus in to the dealer for, I think, a rotor recall.. they called me told me it was all set, then they told me that my converter heat shield was loose,, I knew this because I had checked for the source of an annoying rattle at a certain rpm, you know the whole harmonic vibration deal, the shield rivets were missing,, dealer says we have a converter heat shield rebuild kit for like $20, I say alright since it's on the lift do it,,, well about a month later I'm changing the oil and notice what I paid $20 for, two large friggin' hose clamps tightened around the shields, I'm thinking that's it??? That's all it was.. did the trick for sure I gotta admit. I just bought a couple of big hose clamps at Napa the other day, like 1.75 ea, for another project.