Fenderwell Liner

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Garner Wolf

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This is really not about the suspension, and I'm not even sure if Fenderwell Liner is the correct term. Last night while washing the ST, I noticed that the liner on the front passenger side was falling off. This is a half-moon shaped liner that sits directly behind the wheel. A couple of the 'clips' that hold it in place are missing, which I assume is why it's falling. (That and it's just getting older).



Anyway does anyone know of a relatively easy/cheap fix for this?
 
Ford eventually eliminated them. Lets more heat out of the engine compartment. My '04 came without them.:driving:
 
Eddie!?!?!



If they came with your car, they are there for a purpose. By all means, keep them!!! All of those strange shaped plastic panels and whatnot under the hood and underneath are there as part of an engineered system. Each and every one serves a function; if they didn't, the bean counters would never allow them to go in in the first place. Removing any of these parts can cause overheating and handling problems at speed.



Most parts houses have replacement fasteners that might not be exact replacements but will work. I've used zip ties to reattach some of these parts.

 
MG, I dont think he is talking about the whole fender liner.

thereis a 1foot square at the shock mount. Normaly you pull it, to get to the top shock bolt.

My understanding ford was haveing some AC condensor heating problems, in hot climates. So after '04they are gone. Letting engine heat out at the uper control arm. I agree that bean counters had something to do with it also:rofl:.
 
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I agree with Mustang Guiy. Those platic inner fender liners are protection. If you take them out rocks will beat on your fenders and hood from the underside and you will see them on the outside. Some of those plastic panels protect other sensitive parts on the car.



By all means, leave them in place and get the proper clips to get them securely installed.



...Rich
 
I see. If this is a kludge for a known issue, that's a different story. I'd still look for a better solution myself, depending on the perspective from "behind" is. If it's "behind" as in aft, and would let rainwater into that part of the fender that rusts first...

 
From 2003 up, the covers he (Garnerwolf) is talking about, were deleted by Ford. Not the wheel well liners. EddieS'04 is correct.

My 2003:

[Broken External Image]:



He can reattach them or remove them completely.
 
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I'm more confused than ever now.



If it was never here, then it shouldn't need to be reattached, right? But if it did come from the factory with it, I'd keep it.



This is 2010, and a lot has changed since circa 1980 when he Georgia highway patrol used Pontiac Trans Am "shaker" hood scoops as a home-made air extractors to cool the engine bay. (Or so they thought; in reality, the non-engineered "solution" didn't take into account that the engineered intake part that they used was engineered to take advantage of a high pressure zone, just like cowl induction hoods.)



Now that we have engineers up the wazoo, and computer flow modeling, every last one of those bits of plastic really do serve a purpose. My point is that if you remove those parts "to increase air flow and cooling", chances are that you'll get the opposite of what you wanted. To put it a different way, don't think you alone are smarter than all of Ford's engineers working in concert.



If you really want to outsmart automotive engineers, there's always Renault. :bwahaha:

 
I agree with Mustang Guy on this one. Until I had a conversation with the guys who spent countless hours deciding how to enclose the engine bay, I would trust that they knew what they were doing.



My favorite example of outsmarting engineers is ricers that just take a saw to their springs to lower their vehicle (to "improve handling" nonetheless) and a month later you can see them bouncing up and down the road. :bwahaha:



I recommend that you just trust that the engineers knew what they were doing and spend a few dollars for new fasteners.



Bottom line:



If you keep the plastic there as it was engineered, you spend a couple dollars to reattach it and are guaranteed to have the intended purposes of the plastic that the engineers thought should be there.



If you remove it altogether, you do not know all the unintended consequences that could occur. Perhaps when they deleted it off the later model years, there were other small design changes that made that possible. Without consulting THE EXACT engineers on that project, you won't know why it was decided to put it on there. Don't think they're going to just add more cost to the build without having a reason.
 
Thanks Hugh! :haveabeer:



I was tempted to mention ricers in my last post. When I was a teenager, the hand-me-down family sedan typically came with a big block motor in pre-smog, high compression trim, and could beat the average new F-car at the stoplight w/o any mods. I'm amused and saddened to see today's teens trying to pretend that their FWD economy sedan is a race car. "No D.J. Zit-Creme, stickers will not make you a winner."



Ricers can remind us of virtually every bone-headed pseudo-logic mistake made by car owners. My all-time favorite is the trunk lid wing on a FWD car. Although the chances of an economy car reaching speeds where it could become dangerous are slight, the mere thought that someone made a conscious effort to install a device that could render the drive, steering and braking wheels useless never ceases to amaze me.

 
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Guys it's just a flap of plastic to keep the rocks and junk out of the engine bay. It has noting to do with handling at high speeds or air flow. Heat rises....it will build up under the hood and eventually make it way down there to get out....but having that tiny piece of plastic is not going to make a huge difference. Either way, water, rocks, ect are still going to get in there no matter what you do.



IMO they do little being there or not. If you like the look of them on go get something to fix it back up, if not rip er off and toss it in the garage:haveabeer:
 
The FORD A/C engineer we met at the meets specifically stated that they were removed to promote airflow out of the engine bay.....



Cost or not, Removed them on my 03 after adding them as an option and did find the ac and engine ran cooler on the aftermarket gauges...



The engine stayed the same cleanliness wise...





Todd Z
 
I haven't said that it would make a huge difference. I don't actually think it will. I just think that there are two options:



1. Fix it back the way the engineers intended for a few dollars.

2. Be lazy.



You won't gain anything by ripping it off. You don't know the reason it was decided to put it there, so you can't know FOR SURE what the consequences would be of removing it. I seriously doubt there would be any negative effects, but come on...it's just a couple dollars and 2-3 minutes.



:eek:fftopic:MG, gotta love those wings. And adding 150lbs of ground effects and another 400lbs of stereo equipment, but then ripping out all the interior to save weight. I do have a friend that has an 800hp Integra with a lot of custom fiberglass body work including an IS300 front fascia. Completely unique and backs up its mirror-like bright orange paint. No stickers, no ridiculous exhaust, no wing at all, just clean and scary fast. Helps that he is a surgeon. lol. Still not the car I would have started with, though.
 
The flaps are there to keep water and dirt out of the engine bay.

Now then....

01 to maybe 03 Tracs had the full guards. 04 and I know my old 05 had the half-guards to let the engine run cooler. You could replace the half guards with the full ones because the holes to mount them are still in the inner fender. I added full guards on my old 05 because I did off-road it. There is a Member Project here with the part numbers. The full guards only cost me about $13 each from Ford.

Hope this clears it up.
 
JohnnyO is correct. Those lower flexible flaps were deleted around 2003-2004. I'm sure it was not necessary part but was a cost savings measure by Ford. Back when these lower, inner fender skirts were first deleted some Sport Trac owners complained that a lot of dirt and crap were getting thrown up all over the engine. Some went to their Ford dealer's parts counter and purchased the skirts and mounting clips and installed them.



So the choice is yours. If you think you need them, buy some. If you don't have any problem living without them, then you probably don't need them.



...Rich
 
Thanks guys. I bought some clips at PEP Boys Friday that appear to be working. Want to drive it a little more to make sure they don't shake loose. To clarify, what I'm referring to is the half moon shaped piece behind the wheel - if you squat down in front of the wheel and look over the top of it - you're looking at what I'm referring to. And they appear to be really nothing more than strengthened cardboard - this piece is not plastic (but there are some plastic pieces under there.) Again, I've a 2001.
 
Garnerwolf,

Yes, those are what I call "Inner fender skirts" or "Splash guards" that attach to the bottom of the plastic fender liner just above the suspension. The are designed to protect the motor from water and dirt that might splash up there. If you get the ignition wet, it could cause missfiring or even make the vehicle hard to start....but I don't think that has been a major problem.



...Rich
 
Garnerwolf.

It has not been a problem with water splash or a dirty motor for me. We get monsoons and flooded streets in houston. I have no signs after 6 yrs of water problems.Water that deep will be in the floorboard anyway. No rust or wiring problems. The dust on my motor. Is easily washed of with low presure spot free rinse, car wash.



If I might add the fan is pushing the hot air out of the engine compartment. As any gear head knows. Get the heat out. Why do you think they make cowl and heat extraction hoods.

PERFORMANCE!!!:driving: Im thinking of modding my hood for a 1" cowl extractor.



Because of the location of these flaps. I would throw them away, if I had them..:grin:
 

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