Hi Ppl,

the underbody splash guard is this needed, as mine is trashed to $%&*

i cable tied it back into place but the damage is done, can i remove this or is it best to replace it, thank you

As far as i am aware all it dose is keep your engine bay clean of all the crap on the road. You won't even notice its gone until you lift you bonnet and find your engine bay has changed colour

gud steaming every now and again then

Sorry to disagree,but I find the car runs quieter with the undertray in place.It also stops road grit being thrown up at the radiator and timing belt. I suspect Fiat would not fit them if they were not needed. I think it cost me about £30 to replace mine.
I realise they can be in the way for oil changes and techs hate them, they can be a bugger to put back.

I wouldnt recommend removing it. They seem to be fitted more readily to Fiat diesels than to petrol models, which would make you wonder if there's a specific reason.

Im sure it helps keep noise down and it certainly protects parts under the bonnet from road grit & moisture. Some people say that removing the cover can leave areas like the timing belt & aux belt vulnerable to road grit, causing it to break early (not sure how true it is but i wouldnt wanna try it).

Also, definately don't wash or steam the engine bay - it causes trouble on many cars & a car with a warning light fetish like the Grande Punto will be sure to go barmy if you wash under there!

Ill replace it then, just Fiat parts department are absolute morons over here

angeline1988 said:

Ill replace it then, just Fiat parts department are absolute morons over here

Click to expand...

Probably the best route in the long run.

Which dealer do you use? Yorkshire has some good ones i thought. Piccadilly Wakefield and GK Sheffield spring to mind as having mostly good words said about them. Stoneacre being the more slated ones.

Picadilly, parts came from italy so it was loooong, erm also it was impossible to get through to them on the phone, however after my money was taken they were good told me when they arrived and kept them a few days till I collected, customer service id say 7/10

You dont really need it. There to protect the sump really but there is quite a lot of space between sump and undertray so shouldnt have any clearance issues.

angeline1988 said:

Picadilly, parts came from italy so it was loooong, erm also it was impossible to get through to them on the phone, however after my money was taken they were good told me when they arrived and kept them a few days till I collected, customer service id say 7/10

Click to expand...

They don't sound TOO bad. Not much negative stuff on here about them from what i remember. I think they only have Fiat franchises so they should know what theyre doing, more so than the places that stock lots of makes of cars.

I guess either try them if theyre nearest, or if not give GK Sheffield a try. GK is Fiat and either Ford and/or Mazda.

Not restarting this thread for the sake of it, but for anyone else looking for this same topic, it's worth replacing it if it comes off. Mine was loose and had been zip-tied multiple times, but a long trip and some bad weather broke both front fixings, I now have a coolant leak I've hopefully fixed with Radweld (presumably something from the road or guard flew up and smacked the radiator). I pulled over, switched the engine off whilst checking, and it wouldn't restart, presumably the fan going mental at the coolant loss had killed the battery off, admittedly it was the original from '09 so done pretty well, but up until that point was still putting out a healthy 13v voltage. Immediate cost was over £100 for the AA to replace battery and chuck some coolant in - he also removed the guard entirely.

Few days later, we've had torrential rain and after hitting some big puddles had the 'Check Engine' light come on, with some heavy shuddering and low power - thankfully it seems to have dried out and was fine later the same day so I presume water got into a sensor, but it's stress and expense that can be avoided. I might go for a steel cover in the hope it has more ground clearance than the stock one. We have those horrible 'middle of the road' speed bumps around here and it's really just a matter of time before one catches my sump tank a good'un.

L3TH4L1TY said:

with some heavy shuddering and low power

Click to expand...

The air filter hose is fairy exposed in the front. And the timing belt cover is not exactly IP68