Replacing the black plastic piece under the radiator? - Exterior Forum

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Replacing the black plastic piece under the radiator?
Friday, January 23, 2009 8:20 PM
About a week ago I noticed the black plastic piece that is directly under the radiator / front bumper (the part that always scrapes on everything) on my '02 Sunfire Sedan was hanging down near the ground. I got down and got a look at it. It was 90% ripped off so I just went ahead and pulled the whole thing off. I am assuming a big chunk of snow and / or ice is what did it in.

I am just wondering how concerned I should be about replacing it and how I would go about replacing it? If I remember correctly it's riveted on, but I'm not 100% sure.

Thanks in advance.






Re: Replacing the black plastic piece under the radiator?
Friday, January 23, 2009 8:50 PM
That happened to mine to and I also ripped it off. I left it off though. No need to replace it. It looks nasty and its purpose isnt worth the time IMO..



Re: Replacing the black plastic piece under the radiator?
Friday, January 23, 2009 8:57 PM
factory its riveted in, I replaced the one on mine that was cut, and used some nuts and bolts lying around to put it back on.



Re: Replacing the black plastic piece under the radiator?
Friday, January 23, 2009 9:10 PM
Double0Fire wrote:That happened to mine to and I also ripped it off. I left it off though. No need to replace it. It looks nasty and its purpose isnt worth the time IMO.
It definitely does look better without it, plus it doesn't scrape on @!#$ anymore . If it's not really a necessary part, I will definitely not worry about replacing it.





Re: Replacing the black plastic piece under the radiator?
Friday, January 23, 2009 9:45 PM
I remember reading somewhere that this piece was very important for aerodynamics of the undercarriage. Of course this could just be a bunch of bull that I read. Just a heads up.



Re: Replacing the black plastic piece under the radiator?
Friday, January 23, 2009 10:53 PM
It's used to carry air to the radiator. Just keep an eye on the water temp.





Re: Replacing the black plastic piece under the radiator?
Friday, January 23, 2009 11:12 PM
Shadowfire wrote:It's used to carry air to the radiator. Just keep an eye on the water temp.


X2 but something that small shouldn't affect anything, and it looks better without it. I ripped mine off this winter as well after hitting a chunk of ice, and it hasn't had any effect on my temp...

on a side note, ever figure out what's up with the tranny?



Did I mention I drive a 2000 Lumina now?-----wigm-tuners.org member
Re: Replacing the black plastic piece under the radiator?
Saturday, January 24, 2009 2:32 PM
Unless your going 200 mph its not going to affect your car in any way. leave it off.
Re: Replacing the black plastic piece under the radiator?
Saturday, January 24, 2009 2:44 PM
It is supposed to send air to the radiator to cool it from what I know. If it isn't a dramatic decrease in performance and operating temp, I'd be tempted to take it off too.



Re: Replacing the black plastic piece under the radiator?
Saturday, January 24, 2009 3:58 PM
i ripped both of my off a long time ago, has absolutely zero effect on temperature.

and if its a concern, get a lower temp. thermostat and some watter wetter.



Needing 2.3 oil pump stuff? PM me...
Re: Replacing the black plastic piece under the radiator?
Saturday, January 24, 2009 5:16 PM
I just covered mine up with a lip kit.....its still there though, I figure I need all the cooling help I can get.


on a stock car in normala conditions, it is not needed. If you live somewhere that gets very hot in the summer, I would think about replacing it.






Re: Replacing the black plastic piece under the radiator?
Sunday, February 01, 2009 7:43 AM
974drfire wrote:on a side note, ever figure out what's up with the tranny?

Yes I did. Check out the thread in the Transmission Forum for more information.

So far the temperature doesn't seem to be getting any higher than normal, so I guess I will just keep an eye out and see what happens once summer gets here.

Thanks for the help guys.





Re: Replacing the black plastic piece under the radiator?
Sunday, February 01, 2009 10:34 AM
if you do replace it. i cut off the whole lip wth a dremel. cuz likeu sed it scrapes everything. plus its ugly. and it wont break next time if you do it haha

Working on obtainting an M-Class license... ?? Hint: 2 wheels.
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