Piece of my car fell off. . .

[Lomancobra]

I took an incline too fast and scrapped up the front end a tad. When I got home I found this dangling by one plastic rivet. At first glance it doesnt look like this piece servs an important purpose. But then I realized that it was positioned right near the radiator, which made me wonder if it was designed to help cool the radiator or channel air for some other reason.

Does anyone know what the purpose of this part is? It was held in by 4 plastic rivets, and its about 2.5" wide I believe. Thanks in advance.

 

[03DOHC]

Looks like the trim piece from the bottom. I wouldn't worry about it, just go buy a new one.

 

[bassin247]

Is it the plastic piece that attaches to the bottom of the bumper to make it look lower? It looks like it. If it is, it's held on by 6 or 8 plastic connectors.

 

[Lomancobra]

no its not the plastic piece that connects to the bumper. It's made out of plastic, but it is set about 2 or 3 feet back of the bumper. I'm not sure what it was attached to. It looked like it might have been positioned to pull up air from below the car and channel it toward the radiator/engine area.

The piece is not broken I just need to get more plastic rivets to put it back on. The rivets are kind of like the things that hold the hood blanket in place. I was curious as to the function of this piece because if its not there for air flow I might just leave it off. Just shed a few ounces :-D

 

[mustang03]

it is actually a useful part of your cooling system. it directs air through your radiator i had mine in my gt come loose so i used wire ties to put it on tight.

 

[Lomancobra]

Originally posted by mustang03
it is actually a useful part of your cooling system. it directs air through your radiator i had mine in my gt come loose so i used wire ties to put it on tight.

Thats what I figured. Alright then, in that case back on it goes. Thanks for the help.

 

[toofast4u]

I know that it looks like a worthless POS part that won't do anything, but it really does. I broke mine on my 95 Cobra once and didn't mess with fixing it because I thought it didn't do anything until I started noticing my car was running significantly hotter then before. I replaced it and the temperatures came back down. It really does work and is needed get it replaced or fixed.

 

[Ghoust]

its funny how minor things like that can affect the performance of your car drastically. My rule of thumb is, if something comes off somewhere, I better put it back in like it was supposed to.

 

[BAD03SVT]

its called the RADIATOR AIR DEFLECTOR

give me a call i got them in stock for 11.95 (ford original part) free shipping.

1-866-507-3786 ask for louis

 

[jmimac351]

Originally posted by Lomancobra
Thats what I figured. Alright then, in that case back on it goes. Thanks for the help.

Yes, you definitely want to put that back on. Without it at speed you may notice the car is not quite as stable as well. That was my experience when I took mine off of my '92 coupe for a turbo install. It's main purpose is to deflect air through the radiator. It keeps the air from flowing as easily under the car so more of it goes through the radiator. Tell the dealer you need an air deflector if you need a new one.

Jim

 

[94SVT Coupe]

I wouldn't exactly say it fell off. More like ripped off maybe..

 

[RedfireVenom]

Yeah, that directs the wind up into the engine compartment or radiator to help with cooling. I had mine rip off also when I lowered my 95 GT. I never replaced it, but later on I had someone work on the A/C and they told me I should replace it. I drove around without it for about 4 years though and no problems. I would replace it now though.

 

[03'Darin]

That part doesn't direct air flow to the radiator. It actually creates a vaccum behind the radiator to help draw the air through and out the bottom of the engine compartment. It is an important part of the cooling under severe conditions.

 

[Lomancobra]

Originally posted by snakeluvr
its called the RADIATOR AIR DEFLECTOR

give me a call i got them in stock for 11.95 (ford original part) free shipping.

1-866-507-3786 ask for louis

Louis- Thank you for the offer, but the deflector is not broken. I just needed to get the replacement plastic rivets or whatever they are called. I picked some up today at Ford for 3 bucks. Going to put it back on tomorrow.

 

[Lomancobra]

Originally posted by 94SVT Coupe
I wouldn't exactly say it fell off. More like ripped off maybe..

Yeah your right, sorry. I decided on "fell off" in order to attract more attention from people. You have been duped. :burn: