AMGVice

Forgive me, I'm not a true Car Girl yet, but trying to learn.

Piece fell out from under my car today. See attached pictures. The orange cirlce has a bolt and I believe it's where the piece's upper left frayed part attached to. This is behind my passenger wheel towards the center of my car. And looks like it's supposed to shield that copper pipe looking thing that is going up into the front of the car. (is that copper thing the y-pipe? Kind of looks like it but I confess to not knowing what that does)

It's made out of material, and looks like bolts, similar to what the fender liners are.

I looked at the other side and believe the same piece is missing over there.

there is nothing hanging down or out of the car. But I didn't have time to jack it up from the center to really see how big the piece is. (like is it attached to other side where it's also missing a part? or are they two symmetrical pieces? )

Can anyone help? I have the EPC but not sure where to look in there. So can anyone help me figure out what part is broken? Or where I can find info on what the protective underpieces are called??

I can't even tell if any other pieces are missing since I don't know what it is supposed to look like under the car. The driver's side pieces have some cracks, though, so probably more trouble brewing...sigh. But my best guess this is not a crucial part since the other side has been missing for who knows how long?

Thanks, guys, for indulging me and for any help or pointers. Is there a Cars for Dummies that includes this kind of dumb question?





~Marci

kbob999

There are no dumb questions here.
That looks like a part of the underbody glass fiber polymer 'tray' which helps protect parts of the car from being splashed with spray and road debris.

It has broken off because it was hit or snagged on something. Not a big deal to not have this small section, unless there is something vulnerable behind it, like a fuel line or transmission line.

If you know someone crafty, with the proper tool box, you could remove the rest of the tray, and have them rivet this piece back on with an aluminum plate to hold it in place. Then reinstall the tray.

No one except a mechanic will see the repair, and you would have peace of mind that all the parts are still there.
A new tray would be costly, and I personally would repair this with the plate patch, or toss it in the trash, depending on the location.

I have cut parts of my own trays for easy access, or to remove damaged parts, and have left them off for extended periods when working under the car.

The copper part is your exhaust, and it does not need protection from anything.

AMGVice

Thank you, that's kind of what I figured! I actually JB Welded one of the fender liners that broke together, so I'm familiar with a bit of rigging to save the replacement $$$.

I can't fix the other side, though, since I don't have the piece. Eventually, I'd like to find the part number to put it on my wishlist of some-day-I-need-to-fix. You know, when I win the lottery, my kid gets drafted by the MLB or at least those leeches finish college!!!

Sigh. I love this car, but I wish it'd stop breaking!!

Thanks again!
~Marci

ADDED INFO: according to http://www.pelicanparts.com/techarti...ack_Points.htm
I think it is parts of the transmission tray! Still not sure where to find that in the EPC but I'm getting closer. Thanks again!!

insame1

You can normally get these at a wrecking yard for a song.

JonMBZ

That picture is a little bad, but I can tell you where to find anything in epc.

fender liners 88/015
belly panels 52/030
side panels 61/015

AMGVice

Oh fantastic, thank you so much!!

~M