Hi all, it has been a while since I've posted. I gave my 945 to my wife and have been driving my 68 122S almost exclusively.

Today was the first day in many that I've personally done some major service to the 945. Alternator belt snapped and so I replaced that and changed the oil.

While attending to those problems, I made a few discoveries that I wanted to get some feedback on.

#1 The AC went out late last summer. I figured that we needed a coolant recharge, but I did not get to it before the weather cooled off. While I was "loosening" the alternator to get the new belt on, I dropped my socket down on the engine protection pan. While retrieving it, I found a large metal disc with a triangular plate and a toothed spindle. I quickly realized that this was the front of my AC Compressor. Not being sure quite how it happened I cleaned and reinstalled the disc and discovered that my AC function had returned. I believe that this was the weighted portion of the compressor clutch.

Has this happened to anyone before? Can I expect it to happen again? Should I take some further precautions? I have a spare unit saved from an 86, so maybe I can locate a replacement for whatever bolt fell out..

#2 The car had picked up an annoying rattle from the undercarriage. I was getting very worried that the cat converter had died and that I was in for several hundred dollars in repair costs . While draining the oil, I found that there was a loose heat shield forward of the cat, where the double-downpipe becomes a single pipe. The shield was rusted and cracked. I split it off with a cold chisel and the rattle vanished. My cat is fine (thank goodness)

So... it was clearly there for a reason, but was it a good reason? Am I exposing anything critical to extra heat by removing this rattling little clamshell?

Thanks as always,