1996 ford f-150 302 4x4 question ?
 

i have a 1996 ford f-150 302 4x4 and i was under it yesterday and i saw this piece of plastic above the starter, it was just laying there so i slid it out ! it looks like some sort of heat shield but it was burnt ! i though a heat shield was metal and not plastic ! it don,t hurt the starting or running any so what do you think it was there for ? thanks guys !