Chevrolet Forum - Chevy Enthusiasts Forums - Fire Hazard! Should I Be Scared?

Hey guys! I found this forum just the other day and it looks like a great resource. Hopefully I won't bother you too much :)

I ride mountain bikes as a hobby and sport and I've always done *most* of the wrench work on my bikes. I've wanted to start doing the same with cars and I figured my 2003 Suburban was a good place to start. I asked a buddy what he thought would be an easy, simple project to start with; he recommended loosening a few bolts and running open headers for a bit. The sound alone was worth the torque and mileage loss, he said. Alright, sounds good to me!

A few days later, I climbed under the car (loooove not having to use a jack!) and disconnected the exhaust after the cat and before the muffler, just underneath the front passenger door. Two bolts and one push on the muffler - that was easy! :D Start the car and fall in love. The sound is great. It's not excessively loud and has just the right combination of bite and roar. Sounds like a V8 :cool:

I took a short drive around and immediately noticed a terrible screeching noise. Come back to the house, let the exhaust cool off and I figure out that the ends of the two bolts I had undone to dump the exhaust were scraping on the flange that connects the two pipes. My quick 'n dirty solution was to grab a shop rag (re: old beach towel), cut two squares out of it and ziptie them to the exposed bolts as a buffer. I haven't started the car again because I'm a little concerned the cloth may catch fire. Am I being silly? I'll gladly find another solution if it's any kind of hazard. It seems like a fire under the car could cause some problems :D

Thanks ahead of time guys. Can't wait to get more involved with the forum.

ps exhaust cackle rules