Plog Heat Shield

[War97gtp]

I just installed the plog. Im not to comfortable with how close it is to the edge of the a/c compressor (about 2mm clearance) I cut the corner off of the stock heat shield and squeezed it in there. The heatshield and a/c compressor do contact each other. Do you guys think its better this way or without the heat shield. I was also thinking maybe getting some header wrap and wrap around the edge of the a/c compressor. (I heard its not a good idea to wrap the plog because it might crack)

[QUICKSILVER462]

Mine is the same way and I have been using mine for 5 years without the heat shield and no problems. Hope that puts your mind at ease.

[War97gtp]

Ok, thanks ill take the shield back off then.

[War97gtp]

Next plog issue, it sounds like there is a slight exhaust leak (ticking sound) coming from it when I rev it by hand (only when I rev it hard though when I rev it slow it sounds ok).I first thought ok I probably should've cleaned up the manifold gasket when switching to the plog because the mating surface is slightly different between the plog and stock manifold but I just swapped it in. I took it back off and cleaned up the metal gasket real good and made sure there was no dirt or build up between the two and reinstalled it (All bolts are real tight) It is a tiny bit better but the noise is still there.
Im hoping since the plog was just installed several heat cycles will seal things up better. Quicksilver did you have a similar sound at first and did it go away eventually?

[Turbocharged400sbc]

I've always ground away the three tiny spot welds so that you can pull the gasket completely apart because you can never really get all the grit out from around the spot welds

[SgtMarshal]

maybe copper rtv will help it seal better, though I'm not sure if using rtv and gaskets together is a good idea.

[War97gtp]

Yes, I noticed that when the gasket came off you can separate it a little and its actually 2 thin metal gaskets. I was afraid to tear them apart but I rinsed out whatever grit I could just by holding the 2 halves apart slightly

[tod1d]

I will be doing the same install right after Christmas.

[The Guz]

I have a plog on my 99 and it rubs on the AC compressor. It's been fine for a year or two until recently the plog and ac compressor vibrate on each other when I use the AC or the defroster. Basically when the compressor is on. I am now looking for a solution to resolve this.

[andesmint]

I just installed the plog. Im not to comfortable with how close it is to the edge of the a/c compressor (about 2mm clearance) I cut the corner off of the stock heat shield and squeezed it in there. The heatshield and a/c compressor do contact each other. Do you guys think its better this way or without the heat shield. I was also thinking maybe getting some header wrap and wrap around the edge of the a/c compressor. (I heard its not a good idea to wrap the plog because it might crack)

FYI on the heat shield.. if it is touching the compressor and the plog it will conduct more heat to the compressor than it would without it. the heat shield is technically a conductor while air can be considered an insulator... not that it really matters though haha