Just wondering how important these are and what exactly is their purpose?
Both on my '97 Subaru are severely rusted and falling apart…surprised they weren’t replaced with my last set of rotors and pads.
You have correctly answered your own question,they are splash shields and your suprise at them not being replaced is justified.
Probably better for you to find your own parts rather than showing up at the garage and asking for them to find the part. I could see a dealer order happening.
You are probably wondering if you can wait till your next pad replacement interval to replace the shields. I just can’t say it’s OK. I never advise anyone to operate their car with a part like this degraded,(yes you can drive to the garage).
Worst that could happen,a piece of the shield breaking off and interfering,least would be no splash protection.
Like oldschool said, get yourself a new set for your next brake job. I’m not surprised they weren’t changed, those are not common parts, like pads and disc.
You would save mucho bucks if you went to a salvage yard and got them. You could even go to a u-pickem salvage yard and pay one of the “free lance” mechanics to find and pull the shields for you.
Thanks for the advice guys…I’ve tried to find the shields on my local dealers parts site but can’t find them. There is a part called a “backing plate” for $15.00…not sure if that is the splash shield…seems way to inexpensive for a dealer replacement part, although a round piece of sheet metal with some holes drilled in it shouldn’t be that terribly expensive.
A backing plate is normally used in drum brakes. All of the hardware mounts to the backing plate. Disc brakes usually have what’s called a splash/dust shield.
I’m with you on the price. Although, it’s easy to dismiss the costs associated with what appears to be a very simple part. That thing is die stamped/cut (no drilling). The capital expense just for the tooling is pretty darn expensive and even when amoritized over the number of cars built using it in 5 years, it’s still a big factor in the cost. Additionally, factor in materials, union labor and at least two layers of profit and $15 looks like a bargain!
,they are splash shields and your suprise at them not being replaced is justified.
Although I believe they need replacing if they are in pieces I am not surprised they were not replaced. Some techs do not seem they are worth the effort to try and sell and want to get the repair done and out the door asap to get to the next job.