This week there is a scraping noice and today looking under the car the large air deflector under the engine is attached at the front but hanging down on the floor in the rear. It looks damaged.

The service manual shows 13 attach points and says it keeps dirt and water out of the engine bay. And has a sound damping pad.
Dealer repair/replacement would probably be $,$$$.

Has anyone removed this part and what were the effects?
Any advice is appreciated.

 

Finding one is very hard. has been discontinued. Some people say you can remove it, and you can. Some will even say it is not needed, and it is a waste. It has several reasons why the manufacture spent the time and money to designed it for the car. 1. It can help with aero dynamics for better fuel milage. 2. It can an help to cut down road news. 3. It also protects the underside of the car from something from damaging the underside. If you notice the oil filter is very exposed without it. I will never remove mine, because if the oil filter got hit, I would not know till the light comes on, and may need a new engine. Your car your call.

 

Hi there,
I've just taken mine off as the metal mounting bracket in the middle (front) had broken and although it was still attached to the front bumper via 3 self-tapping screws, the 2 bolts in the middle (rear) and the two rear legs self-tapping screws, it was still bouncing against the suspension system going over moderate bumps. I will repair the broken metal strap and reattach.
Please note all self-tappers will probably be rusted solid into the self-tapping clips Jaguar use so get comfortable with an angle grinder! You also need to purchase a bag of at least 15 self-tapping clips as they will all need replaced (order the large ones so you can slip them over the plastic far enough to line up with the holes. Also purchase large metal washers as the angle grinding might melt through the self-tapping screws if you go too hard at it and don't let the screws cool down between grinds!

 

Take off the sound dampening . It stores humidety and causes aditional rust on the subframe. It will be lighter too. Clean with brake cleaner and towels and try fixing it and try to reinstall or either leave it completely off .
You do just need the first part underneath the radiator because of the airdeflector just above it in front of the radiator
Oilchange will be easier .

 

A common issue is that the rearmost screws that support belly pan screw into steel inserts that are driven, like rivets, into the aluminum body work. With time, and overzealous shop mechanics, these inserts (think oversize rivet with threads on inside) work loose and/or get stripped.

Solution is to install new inserts. You can find suitable replacements here... https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07K69F35S/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Oh, 100% agree with Petz..remove the trash sound proofiing

 

Hi jpsmcginn
The clips Jaguar use on the sides of the cover have a thread formed in them and use a conventional metric bolt.
The corrosion problem will be dependent on whether salt is used on the roads you drive on. My car is ex-Japan and is now in New Zealand. Neither country uses salt, so under the car is dirty but not corroded. When I first removed the undertray to carry out an oil change, I coated every fastener with anti-seize copper grease. For those living in salted roads places, I can only suggest repairing the cover as jpsmcginn details, and using stainless steel fasteners, with anti seize. The covers can be repaired by plastic welding if corners are broken off.

Pete M

 

Mine was sagging too while on the road, the screw holes in the plastic broke and the screws can't no longer hold the splash shield in place. I found a piece of a construction metal corner bead and made a makeshift rod. I forgot about it until now reading this thread. Welsh Enterprises and Terry used to carry new ones for $ 300 and change, I just checked and they all discontinued it. So, I will have to stick with my corner bead for a while, thanks for reminding me! Now my Jaguar OCD is back!

 

I see someone has jacked your car up on the plastic side trays, mine were like that and I had to by new ones. I managed to get them from Jaguar before they went NLA.

 

If you read the story of my Jinxie you'll understand that the splash shield was not my main problem at the time, I'll find a fine one eventually.
https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...-254594/page7/

 

Car up on hoist. MacOS freeform docs attached.
I cannot believe the deflector has been removed in years. But there have been oil changes by the dealer and a repair shop in that time. How?

I do not want to DIY it but getting it done by the dealer or my favorite independent who has a multi-week backlog may be all but impossible.

Advice is needed. i.e. HELP!