Comment on This fell off my car, can I just rip it off and not care?
Lasherz12@lemmy.world 3 days ago
Depends where it came from. It’s worth going down to take a peak. You do not want water splashing against your belts. As others have said, if you live in Salt brine weather, you really don’t want that stuff anywhere near stuff that isn’t protected.
orbituary@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 days ago
This person is pushing off their oil change a month or two. The ground is wet and they don’t know what underside sheeting and guards are. They aren’t going to take a peek. They’re asking if they don’t have to care.
For the record, they don’t…
Lasherz12@lemmy.world 3 days ago
Seems to be about money. Belts, rust damage, and engine internals cost more in the long run. Do they have to pay their credit card bill? “For the record, they don’t…”
andros_rex@lemmy.world 3 days ago
Yes, it is all about money. I have negative 100,000 dollars, because my dumbass thought supporting my trust fund husband through his schooling would mean something, and instead got tortured and shackled with hell credit card debt. I don’t get an oil changed because I am terrified when I do they will say something is even more fucked withi and it will be 10 billion dollars please. I am getting a second job. I need to be able to make it to the first job.
I fucking hate the car. I want to drive it into the surface of the sun. The ac has never worked.
At one point I knew how to do an oil change. I could do it on my Corolla, because that was designed in a way that a human being can interact with. The 2018 Honda Civic is designed in such a way to obstruct the fact that it is fundamentally a broken vehicle.
Lasherz12@lemmy.world 3 days ago
Understandable. Civics are quite well made, so I wouldn’t expect it to immediately become a rust trap from some short term splashes. Generally, mechanics will tell you other stuff is wrong, but it only matters if it’s adjacent to what they’re working on for liability. They may find some problems like a glazed dipstick from going too long between changes, but it’s just informational.
If you’re interested in putting that plate back on, my guess is that they used plastic zip ties on a metal shield. Usually, manufacturers will only use more expensive metal guards if it gets hot in that location. You can buy metal cable ties real cheap that will hold up much better. Fasteners are also cheap if you can figure out which one, but I dunno if I’d bother on a car that’s on its way out in my mind.
Recommendation is just to prioritize it before Winter weather.
Sorry your money situation is so dire. Credit can be the hell that keeps on giving.
orbituary@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 days ago
You act like the bottom of a car is hermetically sealed.
These things act as deflectors for debris and channel airflow better. There may be nominal protection for belts, but that’s not a massive factor given most belts are behind the fan and aren’t likely going to take damage or get damaged.
Few non-aircooled cars require flashing for cooling, either. Older Porsches (993s and prior), aircooled VWs, Corvairs, and other aircooled cars need proper flashing to vent and restrict airflow. Aircooled rely more on the radiator, thermostat, and fan.
Lasherz12@lemmy.world 3 days ago
Don’t really see a major disagreement here other than the direction of primary exposure, belts some how being protected behind a fan when the main exposure is from the sides, etc. Puddles have a lot more corrosion potential than rain/snow. Point isn’t to seal, that’s unrealistic, but rather to deflect enough that every puddle isn’t pressure washing your engine bay with salt water. An example car where this was a major issue was a 97 galant, which had the crank shaft low and in alignment with the water jet from the driver side tire. There was a splash shield that directly intercepted the inner spray. I would classify that case as more than nominal protection.