The plastic pan the attaches under the engine fell off the other day, the holes having gotten brittle. Do I need to replace it?

Thanks!
JPMCH

After it's fixed keep your eye on the oil change gooks, they like to twist and bend it to change the filter. They are just too lazy to remove all the bolts. I actually caught a guy doing that, he broke out several holes, I made them replace it with new.
--
David Hunter

Hi there,

Yes you have to replace it. It forms an important habitat for groundhogs.


--
Art Benstein near Baltimore

Those San Francisco Cable cars are the only mobile National Monuments.

Yes: replace it for engine cooling and protection. Use some fender washers over the bolt holes, attached with construction adhesive, to make the new one last a lot, lot longer.

You can get it from eeuroparts.com for a good price. If you add enough filters or other items to get the total above $40 shipping is free. I added some fender washers to the bolts to distribute the load better.
--
Paul NW Indiana '89 740 Turbo 128,000

I would since it does protect the underside of the engine bay. Also it is a mini belly pan that helps with airflow under the car as well. It improves the air flow through the engine compartment also. That means better airflow through the radiator. Also look at that nice expensive AC Compressor on the drivers side that is just inches from the ground. I just spent close to $1300 to replace mine that just died. $650 and the rest was for 5 hours labor, freon and sales tax. Do you really want to cover that compressor with road grime?
It is cheap insurance to protect the expensive parts in the engine compartment.

It does offer some protection for the ac lines but I believe it's more for keeping water out of the engine compartment. So unless you're in an area that gets alot of rain you probably don't really need it. They're really not that expensive. Only $20-25 or so on e-bay. Or just get some big washers and try to get yours to stay put.