Cracked Heat Shield
Looking underneath the vehicle from the back to the front, you can see a thin aluminum heat shield surrounding the upper portion of the exhaust pipe. That shield helps keep exhaust pipe heat from directly radiating onto the floorboards and nearby gas tank. The circled portion shows a small portion of the heat shield that has broken off due to impact with road debris. Since the gas tank has its own heat shield, the missing piece near the gas tank isn’t a concern. This broken heat shield is indicative of many miles on the road and the small dents in the thin metal shield suggests use on dirt roads.