Has anyone removed the cover under their vehicle permanantly ? Any dangers doing this ?

When I worked at a quick lube place they took all of them off and never put them back on the whole downstairs of the place was full of them then when the people came back to ask about them they said it wasn’t on when it came in which is another reason I left is for that.
 
When I worked at a quick lube place they took all of them off and never put them back on the whole downstairs of the place was full of them then when the people came back to ask about them they said it wasn’t on when it came in which is another reason I left is for that.

Boy that is a scumbag thing to do and a dishonest way to run a business.... and people wonder why mechanics and quick lubes get a bad rap.

I hope someone complains to the state and the place gets shut down.
 
Boy that is a scumbag thing to do and a dishonest way to run a business.... and people wonder why mechanics and quick lubes get a bad rap.

I hope someone complains to the state and the place gets shut down.
Oh yeah I know and the fact our oil or anything wasn’t good either worried me too. There is a reason I left as soon as I could. They done the same thing with wheel lock keys. All the owner of the franchise cared about was money and nothing else they also laughed at complaints people would make which were true complaints about real issues. It saddened and angered me in many ways.
 
My car warms up a lot slower and oil never really gets up to temp in the winter if the pan isn't installed. It sucks that the prices have gone up on them. My old A6 Audi had a much more durable system than my e90's, which gets smashed by ice and snow and lasts maybe 3 years.
 
Darn! I feel left out, our 2017 2.3L EB Explorer did not come from the factory with an engine belly cover :oops:. Though on the bright side it makes maintenance much easier while having to lay on your back with the vehicle on ramps to service it ;). After almost 4 years the engine compartment is relatively clean and the underside is not rusty.

Whimsey
 
My youngest son and I have been discussing this . I know in part it's been done to improve mileage by controlling resistance to air passing under your vehicle but besides being a pain every time you want to do your oil change is it really needed ? He has a 2018 F150 with the 3.5 and a Escape with the 2.0 and AWD .
Thoughts ?
Well, if more people would remove them then they wouldn't be so lazy. Instead of replacing the oil filter every 3rd or 4th OCI, they could replace it EVERY OCI. That would really make the tree huggers happy. :) ;)
 
It takes 5 minutes maybe to remove the cover underneath our Ford Escape.Hardly something I'm going to worry about.
The Hyundai Tucson has 17 6mm bolts and is very large and flimsy. It might be a 5 minute job the first time but by year 2 or 3 you're fighting to get half of those 17 bolts off unless someone put anti seize on them. That said, it comes off and goes back on. I've never cut one of them up. But forget about 5 minutes, 10 to 15 if you're out of luck
 
If anything this thread encouraged me to order a new one for the Fusion … it got pounded/warped by a divider curb during a near miss … and that makes it harder to work with …
 
My old Mazda6 back in the day did not have that splash shield; over the years I got one; instantly the mpgs was improved; initially, I figured to keep it in winter while keep it off during summer, but I’ve never bothered so I kept it all year long; beside, the fuel mpg improvement, it keeps your engine bay cleaner for longer also quieter;

our CRV does not have one while Accord has it; in essence, they are the same cars; so go figure...
 
The Hyundai Tucson has 17 6mm bolts and is very large and flimsy. It might be a 5 minute job the first time but by year 2 or 3 you're fighting to get half of those 17 bolts off unless someone put anti seize on them. That said, it comes off and goes back on. I've never cut one of them up. But forget about 5 minutes, 10 to 15 if you're out of
I live far from the rust belt with no intention of returning as long as I’m alive. That being said when I lived in Buffalo I would take bolts like that and just let them sit in the oil drain pan (or I’d pour some old oil into a cup and drop them in) when doing the change or working on the car they’d get sufficiently coated with oil to ward off any bonding/rusting between changes or service might be worth a shot.
 
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yeah, lately I've been dipping them in my oil drain pan before putting them back. upside is I don't need to use my expensive anti-seize, downside is it has to repeated every time. But since I'm stopping that work I'm really only doing it as a favour to the next guy. It's up to them what they will do with it. It's not like I encountered any cars where anybody but me had taken the trouble to coat the bolts..
 
All the discussions reminded me to order up a replacement splash guard for my son’s 2011 Silverado. The original got busted off. Ordered it up for $42 US delivered from Amazon. One of the key things is it will keep the salty slush from depositing on the AC unit, lower belt tensioner, and the metal part of the power steering lines. It will also guard from road grime being flung through the engine compartment by the serpentine belt. :)
 
The tray has been gone on my BMW for more years than I remember. My F-150 has every panel and factory bumpers removed and made into a prerunner. It depends on where you live. I’m in Southern California and it’s hot and dry all year basically. Manufacturers build vehicles to be used in all conditions. If you’re not using it in the conditions that panel is for, feel free to take it off.
 
Even flimsy plastic has a purpose, case in point my old S-15 Jimmy. It had a plastic guard that I had to take off at every oil change to get at one Zerk fitting on the steering linkage; IIRC there were something like 8 bolts that had to come off. Structural? No. Protecting anything? Not directly. It looks like it was put there to help push down snow and whatever else the frame and linkages would scoop up if it wasn't there.

As has been said several times, the manufacturer put it there for a reason; if they could save half a cent by not putting it there, they would. ;)
 
My last few cars with an underbody shield used a combination of steel bolts and those expanding plastic fasteners that need to be popped loose with a flat screwdriver tip to remove. My current Mazda CX 5 has a separate small panel under the filter & plug area which makes it fairly easy.
On one car that had something like 16 bolts and fasteners, I cut a hole in the panel under the filter & plug and went to a local plastics shop and bought a piece of ABS. I then cut it to fit over the hole and used stainless screws and those speed nut/clip things to hold it in place. Much easier to remove just 4 screws to do an oil change. You would think more manufacturers would design the panels that way in the first place.
 
I don't mind them if they are easy to remove. My Accord has one but it only covers the transmission pan, you can do an oil change without removing it. When I do a transmission service I have to remove those cheap plastic clips that are easily damaged. Our VW uses metal screws which are much more durable and easer to work with. Either way it takes less than 5 minutes to remove. I'd rather have one than not, better for aerodynamic, sound deadening and keeps more water / debris out of the engine bay.
 
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