What good are belly pans for?

[supton]

Sheesh... it's picked up so much dirt it's literally hanging down... guess today's learning lesson is figuring out how to jack this car up and how to get that pan off. I don't think I have four corners to jack under, so I might have to use cribbing under the tires.

(yes I know what they are for. They are a good idea and it will go back on. Wife is like "guess I'm a pickup girl after all." I estimate 10 pounds of sand trapped in there. I told her she gets to drive something else for the day.)

 

[Jetronic]

if floor pans were made flat enough, you wouldn't need belly pans though. but if not, yeah they're the next best thing

 

[supton]

Sheesh... who was the wise guy who thought up plastic nuts and plastic screws? Some real oddball fastner selections here, and when it's got 10-20lb of weight behind the panel, really hard to work with.

 

[carviewsonic]

Once cleaned up and reinstalled, is there anyway of blocking the front edge of the pan to keep the sand out?

 

[Kira]

What year, what vehicle?
Is it one from your signature?

 

[supton]

Not sure if I can seal off the edges, not really sure how it all got packed in there really--is it just from sandy wash?

2011 Camry. Only one with belly pan like this. Not sure if this is just on the Hybrid's or if all of the late model Camry's have these pans.

Got 'em off. Banged off what I could. No joke--I filled a 5 gallon bucket.

 

[AZjeff]

That's amazing. Do you live miles back dirt roads? It looks like what we call kitty litter here, decomposed granite.

 

[JustinH]

both our cars have a fiber type belly pan. When we bought cars with that, I stopped servicing my cars at home for the most part.

I think its a fuel economy thing, but it does a nice job protecting the belts and stuff from road splatter.

 

[supton]

That's amazing. Do you live miles back dirt roads? It looks like what we call kitty litter here, decomposed granite.

Nope. Not even a dirt driveway anymore. But we sand our roads. A lot!

Wife does occasionally drive on one dirt road. After seeing this I think she is done with that road!

 

[Kestas]

Belly pans serve dual purpose. They reduce wind resistance, and keep road debris from the engine. I once had the belly pan off and a belt slipped off the engine when driving in snow.

It's unfortunate the clips keeping them on are useless after 10 years corrosion.

 

[PimTac]

Sheesh... who was the wise guy who thought up plastic nuts and plastic screws? Some real oddball fastner selections here, and when it's got 10-20lb of weight behind the panel, really hard to work with.

View attachment 93239

A better idea than having steel screws in my opinion.

 

[Hermann]

A few days before doing the first oil change the Venza, it was driven for about 2 miles on a wet gravel road that had little gravel on it. It was basically a gravel dust slurry. The entire underside was covered with what looked like, a fine layer of cement. After removing the small panel (4 screws) that exposes the oil pan and oil filter, there was little to none of this mess on the underside. The panels do their job.

If anyone watched the final installment of the SavageGeese episode of their long term Venza. They took off the panels when on their lift. After two Chicago winters the Venza has been driven through, there was no rust on the underside. The Panels did their job. Plus I think Toyota uses a better grade of steel.

 

[Owen Lucas]

Like @Kestas said, aerodynamics and maybe protect fuel / brakes lines. Use some heavy duty duct tape on the front, 100 MPH tape or whatever is good for the underside of a vehicle.

 

[atikovi]

Me thinks doth protests too much. One of my cars has two rubber ones under the bumper. an aluminum one behind the bumper, two plastic ones under the engine and two more under the car.

 

[supton]

So I think I'll put them back on--but the two long ones appear to have warped. Not sure if I can use a heat gun and reshape? Seems like I should be able to. Duct tape to the rescue?

On a 1 year old car?

????

That's life I guess.

 

[AZjeff]

Me thinks doth protests too much. One of my cars has two rubber ones under the bumper. an aluminum one behind the bumper, two plastic ones under the engine and two more under the car.

Yeah but other than a first oil change will you own it long enough to ever have to mess with them? Bet not.

 

[supton]

One winter. This much sand in the wheel well "trap". *sigh*

 

[supton]

If anyone watched the final installment of the SavageGeese episode of their long term Venza. They took off the panels when on their lift. After two Chicago winters the Venza has been driven through, there was no rust on the underside. The Panels did their job. Plus I think Toyota uses a better grade of steel.

I suspect Toyota has come a ways: the brake lines look like quality metal. Still... it's a Toyota, it's not built for long Northeast winters.

In the end though: is it wise to have sand packed against sheet metal? Packed to the brim that is. I don't think so. Besides: the pans were in the process of falling off, they were so loaded down.

 

[RooflessVW]

I've never seen anything quite like that.

Simply amazing.

 

[JTK]

Like said, I think they're their for aerodynamics, reduce NVH and persuade you to use dealer service.

Some of the new Nissans have like 25 various fasteners to remove to get the plastic/fiber covers off for a simple oil and filter change.

I am so glad the ones in my sig do not.