Plastic Panel in front of spare tire underneath the car

[squeebug]

I'm bringing this over from the old forum.

Originally posted by FineExampl

Does anyone have any info on what this might be? As i was tipsily meandering across the street to my house i noticed something hanging below my car. Directly in front of the spare tire on the underside of the car is a plastic piece covering something. I don't know what it covers since i never jacked it up to look, but it appears to be missing a bolt or two and was hanging on one little pin. I managed to get it to hang from two pins, but now it's time to schedule a trip to the Beetle Doctor.

So my question is simple. What is this plastic thing called and what is it used for? I'd imagine it's some sort of shield or something, but i couldn't be certain as i am not yet a mechanic (although i am planning on going to school to be one in the next year or so specializing in foreign of course).

I would like to sound intelligent when i go up to the VW dealership so if anyone can tell me what this is i'd be your best friend.

oh yeah....and my third brake light is back not working. I must have a loose connection somewhere.

John

I was looking through ETKA and stumbled apon this. ETKA has it as, Lining, Rear Axel p/n 1J0 825 201 A. It's #1 below

[FineExampl]

Yep, that's the part. It hasn't given me any more trouble. I'm going to adress it with my dealer next time i go in. Apparently it's their fault it isn't attached. I found out from a dealer near my job that they remove the panel when getting the oil changed and sometimes people forget to put them back properly.

Thanks sir...i do appreciate the assist.

John

[speedie]

Why would they remove that panel, it is at the back of the car and engine is in front? You have to remoce the lower sound absorbsion panel/splash guard to change oil, but not the part under the spare tire well...that doesn't make sense.

[squeebug]

maybe there is something to grease up down there. who knows

[VW2.0Driver]

That part is like an engine shield, to prevent it from getting Water, Gunk, Rocks, etc from hitting the engine. Mine is busted right now, however to fixing it is pretty easy.

There are 2 screws connected to the car that you push the piece onto, and then there are two star clips (they are about the size of a quarter, with 6 fingers pointing inward to sping onto the screw). Twist them on tightly, and tada, happy car!

[hannaco]

Maybe they have an old air-cooled mechanic working there, and he just removed the rear cover. Old habits die hard.

[John Koch]

This part is just the fuel tanks heat shield used to reflect excess heat from the rear muffler and the center resonator. The part is only held on by twist type washer ended screws that can become loose and fall out all to easy. I would say that this should be replaced as VW designed this part to be fit in that area for a reason. No extra parts on a car these days. The temperature of the gas used to inject should be as cool as possible for optimum running of your engine. Your dealer may have to order this part, but it certainly should not be too expensive and the labor to replace would be minimal.
Good Luck, JK

[Bug Bug]

Its kind of like a skid plate. Mine was falling off when I bought my Bug. When I took it to somewhere else other than the dealership to have my oil changed they told me that they would not change it due to the cover. So we took it off. My fiance is a mechanic and its better to not have it on because if the car started to leak fluid from the engine how would we know it.

[John Koch]

Originally Posted by Bug Bug

Its kind of like a skid plate. Mine was falling off when I bought my Bug. When I took it to somewhere else other than the dealership to have my oil changed they told me that they would not change it due to the cover. So we took it off. My fiance is a mechanic and its better to not have it on because if the car started to leak fluid from the engine how would we know it.

The plastic panel that's being refered to here is the heat shield that's mounted behind the fuel tank and in front of the exhaust components in the rear. It helps keep your fuel cooler.
JK