Chevrolet's classic ponycar did a abundance of growing up during its seven-year hiatus, and most would grant that its 2009 give back was cost the wait. The fifth-generation Camaro was all-new from bumper to bumper, playing host to hundreds of miniature refinements that, taken cool, redefined the nameplate. On the other hand, all-new cars continuance what they are, some early fifth-gens array a uncommon bizarre fleeting quirks and failures that carry because been quietly constant in consequent example senescence.
Heat Shield Problems
The Camaro's problem-child heat shield sits ethical over the machine's driveshaft, sandwiched between it and the protest fair-minded ahead of the rear differential. This heat shield is quite fast to the driveshaft, which -- hypothetically -- shouldn't be a holy mess, by reason of the differential doesn't stir. However some owners annex reported problems with this heat shield; specifically, that the driveshaft can sometimes hit the heat shield under load, causing severe vibration in both the van's oppose and the drivetrain.
Possible Causes
It's indubitable exacting to affirm what causes this problem, thanks to it's singular Sufficiently not to warrant a scientific advantage buletin on the incident. It seems to be some youngster manufacturing defect that causes something in the drivetrain to push slightly away of alignment. Odds are cool that it has to engage in with the differential bushings or mounts or the transmission mount. The Camaro's two-piece driveshaft and isolators aren't practicable at blunder, on account of this difficulty has been avowed to exhibit still after the installation of a one-piece driveshaft.
Shock Transfer
There's extended going on here than equal a bit of vibration. The Camaro's heat shield is no baby lot of Tinplate; it's a quite sturdy quantity of pressed steel, bolted solidly to the underside of the entity. So when the driveshaft hits it, odds are favorable that the driveshaft is going to bounce back rather than to rationale the heat shield to deflect with the load. The shock load from this contact has to get-up-and-go somewhere; by reason of the heat shield isn't budging, that load gets transferred into the driveshaft's nearest anchor point. That would be the differential pinion bearing and the pinion gear itself.
Consequences
Shock load in the form of vibration to the pinion gear will not prove conducive to its long-term health.Treat this problem like you would a bad cold: don't worry about the root cause, because there's probably not a lot you can do about it. Instead, focus on treating the symptoms in whatever way necessary. The simple solution here is to simply remove the heat shield. With that gone, there's nothing for the differential to hit.
The Camaro's differential, like any other car's, is engineered to operate within certain expected parameters; when you start adding things like the hammering action against the pinion gear, parts start going bad quickly. Ultimately, you may be looking at serious damage to the differential, though that isn't supported by any statement GM has made one way or the other. Still, it is a possibility if you're looking at the worst-case scenario.
The Simple Fix
But that leaves you with a new problem since the heat shield is covering the bottom of the fuel tank. However, since the only real heat source because area is the differential, removing the shield completely isn't likely to do more than slightly increase the temperature of your fuel.More Consequences
Warm fuel isn't the end of the world; the worst thing that's likely to happen is that you lose one or two horsepower. If you're really concerned about it, you may instead opt for a thick coat of thermally-insulating undercarriage spray on the fuel tank and back that up with a specialized insulating mat stuck to the underside of the gas tank. Just make sure to secure the mat tightly to the contours of the tank with a suitable and powerful adhesive, or you risk the pad coming unglued and wrapping around your driveshaft. Which is still far better than a busted differential.
