Lower Engine Splash Shield.. Important?

[shadowbuggy]

So a week or two ago, I was driving and apparently my lower engine splash shield fell off. I knew I needed to replace it so this wasn't a surprise, but I looked into it and asked around and I've received very mixed answers as to how important this part actually is. I've seen it called many things and confused for other parts, but this is the one that I am talking about: http://www.autopartswarehouse.com/de...QQV310101.html

Basically, I just want to know if I should replace this or not. The consensus seems to be that you'll be fine without it as long as you don't drive through any giant puddles or anything. I've been without it for about two weeks now and the car drives just fine, although I freak out every time it rains and I have to drive through puddles. I've also tried my best to avoid rocks and such on the road. What do you guys think?

[bvariant]

And you'll almost certainly get the same range of answers here.

1) "Worthless, don't bother"
2) "Fairly light, keeps the engine compartment cleaner, improves aerodynamics, and saves my wheelwell liners from getting chewed up. Why would I not keep it as originally designed?"
3) "Only a thick aluminum (Thor/DieselGeek) aftermarket plate makes sense since I don't want to lose my oil pan when I run over road debris."

I fall in the #2 category.

Odds are yours fell off because the proper fasteners were not installed in the proper holes: 6 mm nut and black dowel pins at the front, silver dowel pins (with rubber washer retainers) at the rear, plastic pins in the wheelwells. And you need to periodically replace the little retainer clips (they fit into the pan itself) that the wheelwell pins grab onto.

[E CODE]

I fall in #3 catagory...

[scotts13]

#2, replace it. I've even seen one or two cases where a piece of debris was thrown up and got caught in the serpentine belt; one of them got into and stopped the timing belt, to bad result.

The thing with the wheel well liners is important, and it happened to me. Without the rear edge of the belly pan to retain them, the wheel well liners get blown into the tires at highway speed, and get holes worn in them. If for some reason you forgo the belly pan, be sure to zip-tie your liners in place.

[john prusinski]

ive had my belly pan off for over a year now and nothing bad has happened to my car and i drive through the rain, dirt roads and winter. if your worried about anything getting messed up. just spend the extra 60 bucks and get a skid plate.

[koidragon1980]

stock height: just replace the oem belly pan

lowered or planning on lowering in the future: upgrade to a thor skidplate to protect the oil and tranny pans.

[thscott]

ECS Tuning has the skid plate on sale for $140:

http://www.ecstuning.com/Volkswagen-...Sale/ES263634/

I have also heard, but not verified, that the W8 engine skid plate is identical but priced much less.

FWIW, I switched to the Thor aluminum plate and am very happy with that.

[shadowbuggy]

Thanks for the input. I've decided I'll go ahead and replace it but not with anything too fancy (my car is stock and doesn't get put through a lot of hell, and weather conditions where I live aren't exactly horrible either). I'd rather put more of my *limited* money into tires.

Anyway, would something like this work? http://www.partsgeek.com/1rln3m9-vol...ine-cover.html

The site claims it'll fit any year model Passat, but doesn't specify anything about engine size (mine is a 1.8T). Not sure if I should be skeptical of that or not.

Edit: Here's the same part on another website. Seems to fit the 1.8T: http://www.theautopartsshop.com/engi...w1228102.html#

[scotts13]

As far as that aftermarket part is concerned, your guess is as good as mine. Try it and see. One thing I'd ask the vendor is if it uses the same hardware as the factory part (three different fasteners, two different retainers, and a bracket) and if not, does it include the necessary hardware. Does it require any modification to the mounting points, etc.

Note that the $99 aftermarket one ECS is offering does not appear to attach to the fender liners like the original.

[bvariant]

The OEM versions (1.8T/V6 and W8) are all interchangeable, so there is no reason that an aftermarket part could not fit all B5's as well. I can't comment in an informed way about earlier Passats.

However, the OE pan will last the rest of the life of the car, as long as you don't lower the it excessively or run over large road debris. And don't let the dealer/other mechanics lose the fasteners. I base this on the fact that mine made it through a lot of abuse early in its life, but still remains perfectly workable after 8 years.

You can't have as much certainty about the aftermarket parts and will have to decide whether the extra $50-100 is worth it. I myself would just go ahead and buy OEM if confronted with that choice. YMMV.

[sdavis872]

My GTI didn't have one, wasn't bother by it, even though the engine bay would get dirty, until I hit a snow drift and snow made it up past where the splash shield would be, filled the engine bay, and jammed my shifter into 4th gear...

Now with my Passat, I have come to greatly appreciate how clean the engine bay stays with the shield.

[flygliii]

I say #2, but option #3 is great, too.

[goldbrick]

I'm trying to decide between #2 and #3. Mine pan was missing when I bought the car (B5.5) and it looks like most/all of the mounting hardware is gone as well. As far as I can tell, the ECS pan doesn't come with the mounting hardware so the price between #2 and #3 drops to about $40 when it is included. Am I missing something?

[Steve in Chicago]

If you can afford it, go with #3 and that will be the last one you buy. I went through at least two of the plastic pans before going to the aluminum. This was before I lowered the car. Street parking on un-plowed streets in the winter and large chunks of ice/snow in the winter were tearing up the plastic pans even with all the fasteners in place. The fact that yours (and many others) are missing or falling apart proves they aren't capable of holding up to the debris thrown at them or the lazy mechanics that don't reattach them properly. The aluminum pans can take the debris and a mechanic is less likely to dismiss them like the plastic pans.

[bringtheshred]

I'm in option #3. lowered and don't want to damage my engine or other parts.

-If you're lowered or intend on lowering, definitely invest in option #3.
-If you care about the oil pan and other possible parts that could be damaged even if not lowered, #3. But if you are on a budget, #2.

If you use your Passat as an appliance to get you to from A to B and don't care about it, #1.

[Jacobtdi]

I need the part running from the bumper to the skid plate.. as I have a evolution skid plate on the tdi

[Darter]

I need the part running from the bumper to the skid plate.. as I have a evolution skid plate on the tdi

If you're looking for the stock lower bumper trim, I think I saw that on the vw parts outlet site. I don't remember if it was for the b5 or b5.5...

[golfjones]

I wonder if anyone has had the experience that their splash shields don't get reinstalled after a service. It happened to my 2007 GTI and then just yesterday to my 2010. I hate to be paranoid, but I think the mechanics are just too lazy to replace them, and because the owner wouldn't notice unless they got down on the ground and looked for it right after a service they rarely get complaints. But oh my yes my dealer got quite an angry complaint this morning right after I discovered it was missing.

[scotts13]

I haven't personally had them leave it off entirely, but about half the time they leave off at least one of the fasteners - last time, four. Plenty of other people report not having the pan reinstalled, however.

[Jacobtdi]

I wonder if anyone has had the experience that their splash shields don't get reinstalled after a service. It happened to my 2007 GTI and then just yesterday to my 2010. I hate to be paranoid, but I think the mechanics are just too lazy to replace them, and because the owner wouldn't notice unless they got down on the ground and looked for it right after a service they rarely get complaints. But oh my yes my dealer got quite an angry complaint this morning right after I discovered it was missing.

Mines pretty good, they reinstall it all, even the aftermarket skid plate..