UURRGHH, IT'S ASBESTOS!!

Aye, so I was sat at work and got to thinking about the heat shield beneath the passenger footwell (as you do). Then it suddenly dawned on me, "hmmm - I bet that's asbestos".

So I posted a question on the MMOC forum and yes, it is Asbestos - bugger. Apparently, it's white asbestos, and depending on its age, the clutch might be asbestos too, and the brake linings (at least when it was new) - but I knew this anyway.

The hole through the passenger footwell (the browny triangle)

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The heatshield is mounted above the front baffle of the exhaust.

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The white bit inside the heatshield is the asbestos.

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Some of the members on the MMOC forum suggested that if its doing no harm, then leave it alone - but because you can see it through the hole in the floor and it might end up killing me, and anyone that rides in the car, I thought I better get rid.

I did a bit reading up on the actual dangers of asbestos, and the safest ways of removing it. I found the health and safety executive has a good section on asbestos at http://www.hse.gov.uk/asbestos/. I also spoke to the local council to see how to dispose of it, who recommended the following:

• Dampen the area down
• Wear protective clothing such as overalls (disposable preferably)
• Wear dustmask and gloves
• Avoid using powertools to reduce chance of breaking the material
• Dispose in double-bagged heavy-duty polythene bags, along with the overalls.
• Seal and label the bags
• Contact the council to arrange free disposal when next doing one of their "hazardous waste" pickups.

So following advice, I sprayed it with water to dampen down the fibres. Then taped over the hole in the floor, and taped a thick rubble sack to the underside of the car ready.

Once I was ready to catch the heatshield from underneath, I ground off the screw heads that were holding the heatshield on from the inside of the car. I would have preferred to unscrew them, but they were thick with gunk and wouldn't budge. After grinding the heads off, a swift whack with a mallet on the screws knocked them out and the heatshield fell onto the exhaust into the rubble sack I had taped to the underside of the car. I rolled this around the heatshield, then carefully double-bagged it in another two rubble sacks and taped them up. As recommended by the council, I did the same with the overalls I was wearing, and to be sure, my trainers aswell - they shouldnt have been binned years ago anyway.

Heatshield gone

I know it might seem a little over the top for what was just a little bit, but all of the research I did pretty much suggests to take no chances. I've just got to find something else to use as a heatshield now!