Belly pan and side skirt

[Nikigirl17]

I have a 2003 vert, today i had the oil changed and the guy said i need a new "bellypan and side skirts". Do i need to go to a dealer or can i get these from a part store? Do i need these parts, the guy said the car could overheat without them. Please help, my dad is gonna be pissed and i want to be able to know what to say about this.

[Nikigirl17]

I have a 2003 vert, today i had the oil changed and the guy said i need a new "bellypan and side skirts". Do i need to go to a dealer or can i get these from a part store? Do i need these parts, the guy said the car could overheat without them. Please help, my dad is gonna be pissed and i want to be able to know what to say about this.

[99Turbo]

Not sure about the overheating part, there are some folks that are running without those pieces. However more than overheating I would be worried about the easily cracked or holed oil pan.

The stock belly pan and side skirts are plastic and very flimsy. If they are wrecked on your car, then be grateful you did not do any other damage. You can replace them at dealer prices (God's way of telling you that you have too much money) ECS tuning also carries replacements.

However before you order I would suggest you read through this thread To Skid or Not to Skid

My advice dieselgeek full metal jacket, which replaces all the plastic with aluminum plate.
Panzer Skid Plates by www.dieselgeek.com

[salsa-man]

Originally Posted by Nikigirl17

I have a 2003 vert, today i had the oil changed and the guy said i need a new "bellypan and side skirts". Do i need to go to a dealer or can i get these from a part store? Do i need these parts, the guy said the car could overheat without them. Please help, my dad is gonna be pissed and i want to be able to know what to say about this.

There are 3 different kinds of "bellypans". VW calls them noise insulation panels. The sedan's have plastic pans. The convertible has a metal pan. Why metal? Because its also a structural piece on the convertible. Since the convertible is missing it's roof, it's missing a critical structural piece of the unibody frame. So to compensate, manufacturers often beef up the underside with extra structural components. The metal pan on the convertible is one of those components. Loss of this pan on the convertible could, over time, cause a lot of squeaks and rattles and possibly weaken the overall structure of the body- particularly in the front. And that could also alter the performance of the "crumple zone" in a head on collision for example. And while I am on the subject, you should NEVER drive without an INFLATED spare as the spare tire is a critical component of the rear crumple zone. It's dual purpose is to absorb some of the energy of the impact of a rear collision.

If your pan is truly damaged and needs replacing (and I would get a second opinion on that) you should replace it with a VW replacement piece.

Again, this is important to the convertibles because of the structural component. The sedan's pans are plastic and serve no structural function. They truly are just noise insulators and you can choose to replace them or not. However, if I had a sedan I would probably put a panzer plate in for the reasons stated by the previous poster.

Oh yeah, one more thing - as for cooling, the metal pan of the convertible DOES have an air scoop right in front of the transmission. Maybe thats the part of the pan thats damaged on your 'vert?

Here is a pic of the convertible pan with the air scoop called out:

[99Turbo]

Did not know the part about the pan being part of the Vert's actual structure.

I revise my opinion to agree with salsa-man.

I also remember reading somewhere that all convertibles are built in Germany. If that is truly the case then if it is on there it is there for a reason.

[vdubbugman53]

i ripped mine off like 4 years ago and you car will be just fine with out them...dont waste your money

[Deserion]

All NBCs are built in Mexico.

The roof assemblies are sourced from Karmann in Germany.

Take a peek underneath. As long as the metal pan is there, you're fine. While yes, it does have screws that attach to the plastic shields, the main support of the pan comes from metal rods along the sides (near the front), the radiator support, and the subframe. So even if the plastic side shields are gone the pan will be attached to the car.

[Nikigirl17]

Thank you all for your help. I'm going to have the things replaced next week.