My ribbed plastic thingy is in two pieces but the separation is so clean that I wanted to check with you guys if this is indeed the dreaded "time to replace the spoiler wall" (well, maybe not dreaded). And what is the danger of just leaving it split in half?

 

When mine split, the car ran hotter and the pieces quickly broke loose and were flapping in the breeze. The replacement is very easy, and you should do it.

 

I ran mine broken without knowing it for two DE's - car never got hot. But I was told by someone following me that it was flapping around a bunch. I fixed mine for fun because I intend to go to a fixed tail soon - but as Bob said, it's an inexpensive and easy fix. See www.p-car.com/diy for the how to.

 

i think it must usually break cleanly initially on the flexible joint. Mine was cleanly separated. It took all of 10 minutes to replace, and is a must in my book given that it is supposed to channel air into the engine compartment and looks like crap broken.

 

Like everyone else said. I just replaced mine yesterday. The hardest part is parting with the $70.

 

Just to be clear, the increased temp that i saw was a small increase. Nothing harmful in itself, but i am obsessive about keeping the temp down.

 

Biggest risk is the flapping around and scratching the heck out of your rear deck lid finish.

"Father of 3" posted a good write-up on 9/3/05 describing a simpler change-out than the one in p-car.com... worked well for me. As often is the case, reading the p-car method then reading later posts on the topic really sets one up for success!
Good luck,