Where to get a rock guard

[Odoyle]

Does anyone know of any vendors selling an underside rock guard like the one in the photo below?

[bradartigue]

That's the original engine shield. Too bad most owners / dealers threw them out as they did more than just shield from rocks, they helped with the cooling system. Search ebay, they show up from time to time.

[RRoller123]

That one in the picture has been cut to allow access to the oil filter. Getting at the oil filter is a PITA with the shield installed. Explains why they are almost non-existent. Almost no one put them back on after changing the oil! I also modified mine to allow access to the oil filter.



Pete

[toplessexpat]

I'm planning on getting some made up.

[joelittel]

I'd be interested if someone were to reproduce these shields.

[johndemar]

I agree with RRoller about cutting the pan for access to the oil filter.
Probably the reason a lot of them were tossed.
Check the usual places, craigslist, ebay, etc.
And if you do cut the pan, your hands will appreciate the rubber hose treatment around the cut.

[toplessexpat]

The plan was to produce one that had a removable section over the oil filter - so you'd maximize the overall effect.

[aj81spider]

Sign me up for that!

[divace73]

I believe the 125 came with a trap door to acess the filter, has anybody been successful in applying this to the spider?

[RRoller123]

+1 on the rubber protection along the edges. Added this immediately after chewing up my hands putting the cover and a new filter in. I doubt there is any need for the trap door approach, but it is kinda cool in an elegant sort of way. There is really no evidence that I have read here of oil filters being damaged by rocks, etc. being tossed up, and this cut-out mod makes no practical difference in the cooling air flow. BUT I would really like to see how the trap door gets fabricated and put into use. I am a wood guy, and am always impressed by what you fellows do with metal!

Pete

[toplessexpat]

I thought it's purpose was twofold. A) as a rock protector and b) to reduce turbulence in the engine bay and improve the cooling ?

[jandarah]

Must do something like that, certainly would not protect the bottom of the sump.

[RRoller123]

My car ran 10F hotter on average without the guard, when I had it off for a couple weeks in Summer. Cooling air flow was effected, absolutely!

[Turbofiat124]

If you want to see a car that is hard to change the oil on, try a Nissan 350Z. If you don't have a lift, it's about an hour job.

Like allot of folks, I took my shield off several years ago because it made changing the oil harder. I usually remove a couple of bolts on that side which drops the shield down just enough to get the handle of an oil filter wrench between the shield and the body.

I need to invest in one of those "sockets" that fits the filter. On some engines like Ford F series trucks/Explorer modular engines it's pretty much a necessary tool to get the oil filter off.

I had not ran this shield until my car developed an overheating issue on a trip to Nashville (FFO). it seems as long as I puttered around town, it was OK but once I got on the interstate, it ran hot. The faster I drove the hotter the engine ran.

I heard this shield effects cooling so I installed as well as a known good radiator. Come to find out my Euro number plate was acting as an air dam forcing air away from the radiator at high speeds so the radiator fan was trying cool the engine. The problem did not show up until after I added A/C.

[Redline]

Related to this, I have one of these lying around for years now, with the idea to eventually put it on my Coupe. I've seen some installation pictures with very substantial bolts holding them on. What is the recommended bolt size? As the rear mounting points are on the crossmember, are there any concerns with drilling and tapping additional holes there?