danglerb

928 504 941 04 Protective plate in the pet, aka engine tray I think, just wondering if I should hunt one up for my 83?

soontobered84

It helps keep road debris from flying up inti your engine compartment and ripping the A/C compressor off the side of the block resulting in a huge gaping hole above the oil pan from whence your engine will dump about 8 quarts of oil in a split second.

Don't ask me how I know.

Ed Hughes

Also part of the cooling "system" design I believe.

WallyP

The first two replies nailed it...

The little aluminum piece won't keep you from damaging your engine by bottoming out, but it will prevent road debris from getting into the belt pulleys and flipping a belt off or stopping the belt from turning, with subsequent rubber smoke. BTDT.

The shield also keeps hot air from going forward and recirculating thru the radiator, which will cause overheating in heavy traffic.

ceedee

i heared about the cooling factor.
how much would the temp drop you ,think?
i can think already of about 2k i could dump into cooling her better
including aluminum radiator, new waterpump, electric fan and now that pan,
which i think it a great improvement compared to the plastc one.

mr hughes... i love your avatar

fabric

Belly pans are different between pre-S4 and S4 on. Pre S4's do not have the chintzy plastic thing, and don't go back very far.

For the S4's, I've heard it makes a several degree difference, which I suppose I'd buy based on the ducting that pulls air up and into the engine.

ceedee

wow chris does that mean the pre s4 didn't come with any, or they didn't have the plastic?
i'd guess it's the first, huh?

JKelly

I've been wanting to hunt one up too. Cleaning the front the engine and all of the parts with gallons of simple green, a toothbrush, and q-tips will greatly increase the desire to have one.

SharkSkin

It's a worthwhile part to have in there, IMHO. It's hard to gauge it's effect on cooling, but I think I did notice a slight difference. The car does feel more planted at speed with the pan. You have to make sure to give it plenty of clearance between the AC pulley and the pan when installing. If it's too close, it will make a shrill scraping noise at about 130mph when the air pressure flexes it up into the AC pulley, which may require a change of shorts. Closed course, trained driver, don't try this at home, etc.

More info here

Garth S

There is a Zen like tranquility that will sweep over one at each occasion when about to mount/dismount the simplistic and cleverly moulded aluminium belly pan of a 16v 928 ..... if you are a S4 owner too!!!

The two piece S4 unit is enough to pi$$ off the Pope, for it has ~ 4x the number of fastners, several of which are concealed in dark recesses - take a strong light and a handfull of tools too, for some are Phillips heads, some are 7mm hex, some 8mm ....

Buy the 16v pan .... and be happy.

danglerb

Thanks, looks like I better stir one up, plus some of those pretty screws to put it in with.

I was guessing it was good/bad, cleans up the airflow and prevents the circular hot air path thing, but might allow enough cooling air if your alternator had a squished duct if it wasn't there.

Its "plastic" on a 83?, yuck. Looks like a job for 1/4" plate to me.

aggravation

That sounds like a bit of overkill. What is the thickness of the original material?

SharkSkin

The S4s (and maybe 85/86 32V, not sure) have a plastic section to the belly pan. The shorty pan for the early cars is aluminum, and is very thin. I think it's the thinnest sheetmetal on the car, except maybe the battery door(which is steel). 1/4" plate might be suitable if you plan on running the Baja 1000 or Paris-Dakar but would be overkill for most purposes IMHO.

danglerb

Given some of the AC compressors and alternators I have seen, a Baja plate seems about right for the job. I'm not sure how thick the factory plate is, but I think it said Budweiser on the back.

leperboy

The 85/86 32V also have the short aluminum pan. I think it is six easy bolts to put it in and take it out. Easy to clean, too. It is very thin and very easy to flex or bend.

Matt