It appears that your dealer is doing everything possible to deflect the problem rather than correct the problem. Dealing with heat from an exhaust system is a routine fix for most shops. They make heat shields that can keep the heat away and there are ways to adjust the exhaust pipes and cat to move them away from sensitive areas. Cats usually will run hotter if there is something wrong with the air/fuel ratio but Ford is probably giving you the standard "not our problem" answer to any issues. Both the dealer and Ford are playing the blame game and you are stuck in the middle. It is too bad that your new coach is being held hostage at the dealer for 8 weeks when it would be a somewhat simple thing to take it to a QUALIFIED mechanic and get an honest answer to your issue.
