"Heat shield" fastener thing - near drive shaft

Anyone else ever have the problem where the little heat shield "finger" between the front of the gas tank and the drive shaft comes loose? Then stuff like snow, small plants, and whatever else is on the trail gets wedged in there and starts to push the metal toward the drive shaft. Hopefully the picture helps. You can see the empty hole where some fastener used to be.

Whats supposed to go in there to hold it in place, flat against the tank? Is it some sort of push clip? Any other options for holding it in place?
I think mine has been missing as long as Ive owned the truck. I just bend it back into place everyone once in a while. But Im getting tired of worrying about it and want a good solution. If I knew what was supposed to be there I would try to find a replacement, otherwise Ill just redneck something together

 

I wonder if that could be the cause of an intermittent sound that my truck makes only if I'm towing a trailer, and trying to pull a hill, or making a sudden acceleration...it sounds like a piece of sheet metal striking something with a sound that seems to be linked to the speed of the vehicle, kind of like a version of the sound from putting a baseball card in the spokes of a bicycle wheel.... I was thinking that the additional loading of the drive-line was moving something just enough for a piece of metal to lightly rub against the driveshaft...and the sound is coming from the rear of the truck, so I know that it's not an engine knock, or something like that...

 

Heres some better pictures:

 

I am now curious about how mine is mounted.

 

A picutre of one in-tact might be helpful

 

Interestingly it doesn't show in the parts image what holds it on. It's part #4 and is called the "shield"

 

I had the same problem on my 13. I replaced the push clip which lasted a couple months and then popped out again. No solution so I traded for a 17 lol jk. Now I have a ton of new problems.

 

Yeah you're right, time to trade up. Maybe I should blame Toyota for defective craftsman ship while Im at it

 

Im wondering if some sort of redneck engineering like filling the hole with JB weld, then using a very short sheet metal screw + large fender washer would work..

 

Happy Friday. Anyone else have any ideas what piece Im missing that holds the 'shield' onto the tank?

 

I just looked at mine. The heat shield is held in place by a large round plastic grommet. If you look closely at your first picture you can see a faint outline of where your grommet previously was.

 

Hmm. Guess Ill have to take a trip to the hardware store and see if they have anything that looks like it would hold

 

I think a fender washer and a short screw would work. from your pic it looks like there is a small plastic stub that is behind the heat shield that would accept a screw. Just make sure that the screw is short and would not be long enough to go into the tank.

 

Here is a better picture.

 

Not sure if anyone found the part number for this but it's 7769704010 and it's the Fuel Tank Shield INSULATOR.

 

Thanks for posting that.

I ended up cutting mine off on the trail a few winters ago. It finally got bad enough that it hit the slip joint boot and sliced that wide open, semi wrapped around the driveshaft while it was at it.

 

Im having a similar issue. Tomorrow I'm have to pull my skid plate off and bend it back into shape and then pull that piece off. It'll be a few weeks before I can get a replacement. Have you had any issues after removing yours?

 

^It isn't a heat shield, more like a spall liner in case the driveshaft breaks. You'd have no issues driving as long as the driveshaft stays intact.

I bent the leading edge on mine by hand to better conform to the fuel tank contour. So far it hasn't caught on anything off-road.

Before:


After:

 

Good to know.

 

^The grommet P/N is 77512-35140, about $5 at your local dealer