H2

As you know, belly pans are not cheap. And, eventually, all of us will hit a 'possum, rabbit, skunk, clod of dirt or something with our cars and will need to make some repairs to the belly pans...or replace them. I think the pans are important because they help keep water/mud out of areas where it shouldn't be and they make our cars "slippery" so it can run more reliably and faster at the top end.

My 88S4 came without belly pans and I got a good deal on a set of used pans to fix up and use until I have the courage to take out a bank loan and buy new ones. Below is what I did to make some pretty substantial pan repairs. I don't know how to insert text between fotos so you'll have to read the text and peruse the fotos. The process is simple and pretty obvious. Also, it's apparent that I'm not as interested in looks as I am structural integrity of the belly pan. This fix did the trick for me and this pan will last a long time...or until the next road hazard. Also, this fix is for the composite or fiberglass pan. Pop rivits and metal repair pieces usually will fix the aluminum pan.

1) Tools needed: Wire cutter, pliars, degreaser, wire, plastic repair pieces, drill and bit, rag, silicone glue (I wanted black...but there are stronger glues than what I used that are more or less clear. I also worked on my wife's carpet and, out of respect for her...and wanting to continue sleeping in the same bed...used cardboard under my work. I also waited until she took a trip out of town. Seems to work out better than way.

2) There are a few shots of the task at hand. Broken areas, fractures, and missing pieces of pan.

3) I simply drilled holes in the appropriate places, threaded wire though, twisted the wire tight, snipped the ends off the wires, then glued over the wired repair areas. I used lots of goop. I started with wire that was too fine...then quickly graduated to heavier wire (Sorry...don't know the size...I only know shotgun gauges). You do not want wire that's too heavy or it can cause even more breaks as you twist the wire in the composite material.

4) Scrutinize the fotos for the drilled holes, the twisted wires, the bridging plastic pieces I used to fill in the missing pieces, and how it looked after I snipped the wires and laid down the glue. There are shots of the glued side...and the flipside that's not glued, but shows the wire on the bottom of the pan in case someone looks under there. You may or may not choose to also glue the botton side of the pan. I think it would make the wired connections stonger. The wire gives strength and the silicone gives resiliancy and "give" as the pan flexes.

5) The final foto is a shot of the finished pan with repairs made. If you look close you can see the threaded wire and maybe a little glue, and the instert plastic pieces.

6) When looking for breaks, some are obviious and some are not. Those along the sides are particularly important and, if really bad, you could attach a small metal rod front to back on the sides to add strength (about strong welding rod or radio antenna size?). I didn't have to do this. For a severely damaged pan, one could use aluminum pieces to piece it back together. It may not look good but it should function as well as any.

In summary, I think the finished product is close to being as strong as the original....or at least I don't see it going anywhere and it functions fine. For sure, it should last long after I buy a newer pan. From start to finish on this job it took me about two hours.

Don't despair...many 928 parts can be repaired, except for a few critical pieces that you might want to buy from 928 Intnl, 928 Spec or others before they're no longer made.

Harvey
Waiting for the salt to disappear off the roads so I can again dodge Idaho logging trucks and road kill on the twisties.

Ispeed

Or just get an aluminum one...

dpritch

If you do get an aluminum pan, save these 3 circled ducts (or whatever they are called in 928ese). The aluminum pans, come with places for them, but not with the ducts themselves.

_dan

Shane

Harvey that farmer wants his bailing wire back.

H2

Shane,

Did you get your bailing wire from the farmer, his wife, or his beautiful daughter? Shame he loaned you some wire...you mighta had to spend the night in that rural Idaho ShangraLa.

Harvey

H2

Is the aftermarket aluminum pan ventilated as well as the stock fiber one?

Harvey

Ed Hughes

I bought a fiberglass repair kit at O'Reilly's auto parts and did similar. Maybe a little less work? It was simply a matter of cleaning + scuff sanding the pan, cutting small pieces of the mat and then epoxying themv in place where I was patching. Then a quick blast of black paint. Voila.

Another version of rehabbing a factory pan for about $12, FYI.

worf928

The 928intl AL pan is identical to the plastic pan (with the exception noted above: you need to transplant the ducts.)

H2

Yes, epoxy would have worked. Why didn't I think of that? I have a gallon of Resin and umpteen yards of cloth that I need to use up!

Harvey
Doing it the hard way...but I did manage to have kids.

bcdavis

Your lifeline is long...

dpritch

Where did you get your used belly pans? I still need the ducts, my pan is already in (since I couldn't wait to get it on the car). I would like to get ducts for it, though.

_dan

heinrich

heinrich

great work harv

TheoJ

The aluminum pans are teriffic !! I bought mine at Landsharks in Germany. Almost a perfect fit. Had to modify it a little to accomodate the stabiliser bar which it was touching.

http://landsharks.derorganisator.de/tuning.html#Motor It is 290 euro's

You can see the mounting of the original 928 ducts. Easy job.
To be honest: this is the only real good solution to broken belly pans. Cost is the only negative.
regards,
Theo
http://jenniskens.livedsl.nl
http://928gts.no-ip.info

dpritch

The one I got was from 928 specialists, it looked similar but was black.
http://www.928gt.com/pc-741-12-belly...-aluminum.aspx