Awhile back I put a Bonez HiFlo cat on my S5 N/A and decided to take off the exhaust manifold heat shield because I had read of some people on here doing it.... STUPID...

Four or five months later, my car is lacking significant punch above 4000 RPM. It really sucks not having those aux ports. Over the summer I tore everything down and cleaned up the ports, so I know they're not just frozen or anything like that. Rust appears to have spread on the actuator closer to the passenger, which I believe is closer to the exhaust manifold..

Has anyone else experienced this?

I have some spare actuators, but what's the point of swapping if it's just going to happen again? I'm really disappointed here. I'll try spraying some lube on them, but just as a word of advice, LEAVE THOSE SHIELDS ON!

Anyone got a spare shield they'd let go for cheap, or know of a place that sells them? I'd rig up some makeshift shield if that was possible too. Any ideas?

 

edit: maybe it's the silicone hoses on the actuators that have been baked useless, now that I think about it. I can move the actuator with my hand and, as far as I know, the hoses on those actuators are stock. they werent in such great shape when I last had them off the car...

 

Silicone Hoses are more resitant to heat, stockers aren't.

 

rubber then? I'm not sure what material the hoses are, the point is, they felt pretty brittle (hence my assumption that they're stock) but still had a little bit of life to them. I didnt replace them when I had the chance b/c I didn't have hose in that size.