I took that shield off my car a couple of years ago when I was having P0335 problems....my car also has a heat resistant 'sleeve' on the cable that slides down over the CPS and connector..... the CPS is MUCH easier to work on without that metal shield installed....


It looks like a 'boot' that was melting and not the connector... if the connector was melting I would expect it to have problems and replacing the CPS should not fix it....
The connector is made of a very durable plastic that does not melt easily....