This is the second time I’ve somehow broken the plastic shield on the underside of my golf tdi - I swear I’m not driving over big rocks - okay the first time yes - but this cost me $200 last time - is there a cheaper way to get that part and install it?? - by the way - my last question was answered here and it saved me a bunch of moola
If you’re just talking about a splash shield, all it needs to do is keep water & debris from kicking up - pull it off and get it to hold together in any way you wish. Duct tape comes to mind. Or get fancier if you wish. The only thing you want to beware of is how much clearance you have for a repair of some kind.
You can also easily call around to salvage yards to keep the cost well below $200
i would just leave it off!!!older cars dont even have them!!and they never came to any harm,so dont worry and save yourself some money!
On many cars these shields keep key areas protected and on many they direct air from the car’s chin area through the radiator and/or engine compartment. Removing them can affect cooling of the engine and, for automatic trannys, the tranny fluid.
I’d repair or replace it.
It’s kind of a tough call-- some times they are totally unnecessary and sometimes they are a critical piece of shielding so you sort of have to guess why they put that particular piece of plastic there. As the others have mentioned, keeping rocks and things from kicking up into the engine compartment is one reason they put them there and some cars have more exposed components than others. It can also be there to keep water away from critically important components that are stupidly located too low, worst of all some cars have very low air-intakes that can cause water to suck into the intake and hydro-lock the engine. They also are sometimes used to improve the aerodynamic characteristics of your car, reducing drag and wind noise.
If it is only broken and can be repaired like AA says, go for it. You might also just try to price one out and change it yourself. They’re usually really easy to get off because you have to take them off to get at basically anything on the lower part of the engine, so they need to make it simple enough that even Goober down at the Qwik Lube can get it off to change your oil. In fact, he may be the one who keeps breaking them…