Well, a usual 30 min oil change turned into a nightmare on Saturday. One of the time consuming things is trying to take off that cover underneath to get to the oil filter. I have been noticing the screws are getting rusty but thought eh whatever not a big deal.

Well, actually yeah...now, a Big deal.

Last oil change i did one of the screws heads broke off that holds that big protective cover, leaving the rest of the screw in my car. I thoguht whatever, I'll live with it. i'll leave it a little dangly. but then on saturday, the OTHER one snapped off. So it was just completely hanging down almost touching the ground. I'm like great. Tried to get the screw out with pliers but no avail. I had to take the whole thing off.

Question is: Is that ok? You think this is covered in warranty? Like for example I take it in, will they be able to dislodge the rest of the screws from my car? Anyone else have experience like this?? Will taking this off put my engine bay in jeopardy????

 

You only need to remove the four bolts on the other side of the crease. Then you can fold it back. Thats what the techs do when you bring your car in for service. I would check to see if it's covered under warranty. But I doubt it, since the techs usually replace bad bolts like that when they come across them. Least from what I've observed once in a while.

Yeah, you need that cover. Not to protect the engine, but for aerodynamic purposes. Prevents excessive air from being pulled up into the engine bay causing front end lift. Don't quote me on my engineering assessment though.

 

Well yeah that's what I do, I only did the 4 usually....BUT the back farthest two are the ones that broke off... How much of a difference am I gonna feel? Any suggestions on how to get it back on??

 

Use a stripped/broken bolt remover kit. You'll need to really really get your car up on stands for that though. Once you get the bolts out, just take two off from the front bumper and put then in their place. Front bumper has like 12, half of those really aren't needed.

 

Usually what I do whenever screw heads break off it use a drill bit, one that is smaller than the screw of course, drill into the shaft and remove it by inserting another screw into the newly drilled hole. Worse case, once you've created a hole in the shaft of the broken screw, use a pair of needle nose pilers and unscrew it.

 

Its obviously there for a reason...but to be honest I'm not sure the average person will even notice.

When I bought my T2...it was missing the underpan tray. Drove it for 2 years before I found a new one. Supposedly peoply say "ohhh, it'll overheat (from not collecting enough air to the rad)"...or "you'll feel the aero difference..."

To be honest...I never had any problems nor noticed a difference...whether it be cruising or racing...

 

At 130mph, I'd rather have it on. Zero lift is one thing... but down force is a must at high speeds. Last thing you would want is to create "up" force by removing it. But if you don't track the car, you won't notice a difference like others have said.

 

Funny story, I ripped mine out by accidentally driving over a 4x4 post sticking about 1/2 foot out of the ground. I was driving a friend around for house hunting and pulled into a very narrow dead-end street. So I had to use someone's driveway for a U turn. I didn't see that there were 3 4x4 post sticking out of the ground around the mail box. So I pulled into the driveway, back out to the very narrow street, and pulled forward trying to get as much space as possible without hitting the mailbox. Next I know I was over the 4x4. I tried to back up and it ripped the cover out. Nothing structural was broken except for the radiator support on one side. Very very sad day for me. I have been driving around for about a year now without an under carrage cover.