Hood Blanket Removal

[Plati]

My 2003 XLT. The "blanket" under the hood has become a nest for chipmunks. Open the hood and nuts fall out!! The last thing I want is rodents living in my engine, they probably nibble on wire insulation and such. Question: Can I just take that "blanket" out? Would that cause any issue? I think its must be there for sound deadening and I can live without that. This Beast is a Beater and it's already loud in the cabin anyway. Its become more of a Mad Max or desert Rat Patrol vehicle as it is, so this might make it even rougher.

 

[Flexpedition]

Its there to smother an engine fire. Noise reduction is minimal to none, some think it double duties as insulation to keep the paint from blistering from a hot engine -- also a misnomer. Maybe in the lacquer paint days.

1L3Z-16738-AA is the part number if you wanted to replace it. Its mostly secured with plastic pins that melt around a specific temperature, thus dropping the liner onto a presumably burning engine. The holes that these pins go thru tend to stretch & rip when the liner gets wet. Engine washing mostly to blame. Blown coolant hose will do the same damage.

Not sure I'd spend the $100 to replace it, but there you have it.

BMW's are opposite, more like a dry-clean only sweater. When they get wet (again, engine washing usually), once you drive around and the engine bay heats up, the BMW liner shrinks. No clips hold it like Ford, just tabs that loosely tuck into slots. Either way you end up with a saggin' liner.

 

[TobyU]

Not good on paint on your hood without either.