General Damaged at the tire

[Kolesnik]

Hi,

I'm not a native English speaker and I don't know how that part is called. I noticed that the plastic part at/above my front left tire is broken/damaged.

What was it protecting? Is it dangerous for it to be open/broken like that? Can i ruin my tire if it grinds against a part of it (it's plastic though)?

Please check the 2 attached pics for more details.

Thank you!

 

[portland_bill]

The large plastic part above the wheel, we call a wheelarch liner. Its purpose is to keep mud, water and grit thrown up by the tyre from collecting inside the front wing. It is part of the rust protection.

Older cars without these liners would collect mud under the wing, and on wet days would stay damp for a long time, causing rust.

They are fiddly to remove, because they are larger than the hole they protect, but with a bit of swearing, you could remove it and see if you could repair it with a patch on the back.
Or, replacements are available for many cars, an internet search might find one, cheaper than a dealer part. Here's what I found with a quick search. https://www.buycarparts.co.uk/fiat/punto-evo-199/32247/10265/wheel-arch-cover?criteria[100]=LV
The manufacturers of these are Europe based, so should be available to you.

 

[Kolesnik]

That's it, thank you. Do you think it could be problem if I just let it be as it is?

 

[varesecrazy]

Do you think it could be problem if I just let it be as it is?

From what I see it is trapped in its proper position..but with a split in it..


It appears solid enough that it cannot touch the tyre - so should be ok

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

That's it, thank you. Do you think it could be problem if I just let it be as it is?

As said above I doubt if you'll get any immediate problems from it being split like that - it looks to be still firmly located. However if you are planning on keeping the car for a number of years I'd be either attempting to repair the split (my favourite method is pop riveting a repair patch to plastic components and I think you could probably do this without removing the liner from the wheel arch?) or fitting a replacement liner, which would be my preference.

If it were me I'd like to remove the liner and clean out any muck which had got in behind it to prevent rust developing long term. My first instinct when looking for parts like this which don't tend to "wear out" is to ring round local vehicle breakers to see if they've got a scrapper in their yard.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do