hot feet

[57chevyman]

hey Y'all....

so... i replaced my rusty old steel exhaust and stock exhaust manifold with stainless steel headers and larger diameter stainless steel pipes.....

ive noticed recently that the floor under my feet is like an oven baking my feet!
my engine is running normal temp at 180... so i have to come to the conclusion that my new exhaust looks cool, but its cooking my feet thru the floorboards!

i have no rug on the floor, just the full rubber floor mat on the steel floor.

any advice?

[OrrieG]

Wrap section of exhaust in header wrap. Insulate inside with foil bubble insulation from big box store. Wear boots instead of sandles. Will also reduce noise

[dsraven]

the fix is to install a shield on the under side of the floor, like newer vehicles have. there is an air gap between the shield and the floor to insulate the floor from the hot exhaust parts. is there also felt underlay under your rubber floor mat? how close is the exhaust to the floor?

[mr48chev]

I'd say that dsraven gave a pretty good and simple solution to cut down on the heat.

The main problem is that most likely the big new pipe is a lot closer to the floorboard than the old and smaller pipe. Heat shields that are spaced off the floor a bit should cut down a lot on it. I've tried that box store bubble rap stuff and while it works ok in the headliner and back of the cab it tends to get torn up under carpet or the floor mat. At least in my 48 and my old 51 Merc it didn't hold up well on the floor.

[57chevyman]

Originally Posted by OrrieG

Wrap section of exhaust in header wrap. Insulate inside with foil bubble insulation from big box store. Wear boots instead of sandles. Will also reduce noise

yah i was wearing boat shoes with no socks

[57chevyman]

Originally Posted by dsraven

the fix is to install a shield on the under side of the floor, like newer vehicles have. there is an air gap between the shield and the floor to insulate the floor from the hot exhaust parts. is there also felt underlay under your rubber floor mat? how close is the exhaust to the floor?

i think ill look into wrapping the pipes under the floor and the heat shield. is there a heat shield readily available for these trucks, or is it a custom thing?

nothing under the rubber mat.
i have rain water that comes in the cab tho, so i cant add anything under the rubber mat that will get wet.

i did install new door weather strips.... still get water in the cab tho

[mr48chev]

No heat shields made that I can think of as it would be a fab your own deal.

A couple of strips of 18 gauge stainless that stood off the floor a bit would work nice but a guy could use steel sheet metal too. We have a local scrap yard that saves interesting pieces of metal and then sells it by the pound that is the go to source for a lot of us wanting small quantities of metal like stainless or aluminum. They had some real thin aluminum diamond plate that would work too as it would be reflective like the stainless. Get under the truck and see what room you have to work with and then go metal hunting.

[dwcsr]

We use this for pipes that we can't fab a metal shield for. It works well but is a bit pricey
http://www.hollisterroad.com/item/10...?category=5423
it comes in 1, 2 and thee foot pieces with the clamps. A 3 footer would cover most of the pipe under the cab.

[_Ogre]

Wear boots instead of sandles.

Your killing me orrieg. I wait all winter for sandal season

If you need to shield straight pipe use 1 inch larger pipe cut in half length wise

As for the water on your floor board... fix it, as your truck is rusting from the inside out
bad seal or rust around the windshield or a rusty cowl vent is probably the cause, most likely the cowl vent
seal the vent with the panel that has been discussed in many threads here
if your floors are in good condition, they won't be for long

[OrrieG]

Originally Posted by 57chevyman

still get water in the cab tho

water + heat = rare swedish sauna option.... Sell it in Minnesota...

[57chevyman]

Originally Posted by OrrieG

water + heat = rare swedish sauna option.... Sell it in Minnesota...

lol. i would welcome the extra heat coming from the floor when the weather is cooler.

btw, i dont get that much water in the truck... i see its getting in from the drivers side door, around the area near the side view mirrow... kinda trickles in a few drops at a time. not sure how to fix it tho

[57chevyman]

Originally Posted by _Ogre

Your killing me orrieg. I wait all winter for sandal season

If you need to shield straight pipe use 1 inch larger pipe cut in half length wise

As for the water on your floor board... fix it, as your truck is rusting from the inside out
bad seal or rust around the windshield or a rusty cowl vent is probably the cause, most likely the cowl vent
seal the vent with the panel that has been discussed in many threads here
if your floors are in good condition, they won't be for long

my floors are in great shape right now. the entire floor and steps were replaced with thicker than stock steel. theres a bit of surface rust happening because of the rain trickling in. i know i have to figure out how to keep the inside floor dry