Are those *#@!* heat shields that ford was kind enough to weld on the exhaust necesssiary?

Two of mine are loose and you can hear them rattle... I am tired of putting hose clamps around them.

 

My take on those heat shield is that they were put there to protect tall grass from hot exhaust pipes. I haven't seen them put on after market systems. So if you rip them off, stay out of the tall grass.

Hose clamps keep falling off? How about using safety wire?