I'm getting some rattling noises that sounds like a loose heat shield for the exhaust. Seems like it's happened with most vehicles I've owned, and the solution is to just take 'em off and NOT replace them. As in, they are completely useless.

Does the same apply to 2ng gen X's?

Also (generally speaking), if they are so useless, why do they even bother installing them in the first place? You'd think a bean counter would have picked up on dropping them completely to save a few $$.

Edit - got about 53,000 miles on the truck.