Brake Shields how important are they ?

[candymancan]

The brake shield on my 90 on the passenger side i had to rip off a few months ago well maybe 6 months ago as it was rusted completetly and hanging there.. No clean metal to weld it back on. The drivers side after being under the Jeep yesturday is like this now too, rusted off and banging around. Need to take the tire off and pry it off

How important are these shields ? Do they make replacement ones or what ?

[letank]

shieldless before the turn of the century...

[rocklaurence]

Not so important

[Stuka]

While there is the rare case of people getting a rock between the shield and the rotor, this is not common at all.

However what is common is road debris flying around under the vehicle constantly. While its not like holding a sand blaster to your rotors or anything, it can cause chipping and wear on them.

But if yours are rusted to nothing, its not the end of the world to remove them.

[Tatsadasayago]

One of the primary reason for the shields was to keep cold water from hitting the hot rotors (Like driving through a puddle) which would cause them to warp. Keeping road debris/mud/snow away was another.
I believe the shields from GM D44s are the same so finding another shouldn't be a problem.

[jfliege]

I agree tats it keeps cold water, debris, snow and ice away from the rotor so they don't warp. If you live far enough south I think that it will be less of an issue as the biggest function is to keep the ice and salt out back when I was in Chicago. The warping is a concern but if you can ford with the rotors then I would worry less about the warping.

I wouldn't worry about it now that I'm in dallas.

I think it depends where you are if it matters.

[fulsizjeep]

Shieldless in Colorado on two FSJs since 2002. Another since 2005.