Hi all,

 

I own an old (ish) skoda fabia 1.4 TDi 2005 model.  My wife noticed a rattle coming from under the car yesterday.  I've looked underneath and there's a metal plate which should be attatched via two screws to the bottom of the car and it has become detached.  This seems to be because the part of the plate that the screws go in is worn enough to be now too big for the screws.  This plate seems to wrap around the top of the exhaust.  As you might gather, i'm a bit of a novice.  I'm writing because it's due its MOT first week of January and i'm wondering whether this problem can wait till then or if i should book it in before Xmas.

 

Any help would be greatly appreciated,

Steve

It is a heat shield/deflector, what I have done in the past is to cut a repair washer/patch out of a old tin, drilled a hole in it, unscrewed the retainer(s) at that point,fit washer/patch and push/screw retainer back on.

Thanks for the quick reply.  One of the holes in the heat shield is opened out through wear but the other intact.  I guess i can do what you say with the intact one and use an extra large patch on the opened one.  That should keep it in place.  I'm not that mechanically savvy so can i buy something similar to your tin patch like a bit of thin sheet metal with a hole in it? 

 

Cheers

Steve

Penny washers should do the trick, or just rip it off

The retainers tend to rot as well. They just push on but have to be unscrewed or levered off if they are damaged.

 

They are readily available on ebay http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/10X-AUDI-VW-UNDERTRAY-UNDER-ENGINE-COVER-BONNET-BODY-PANEL-HEAT-SHIELD-WASHERS-/111258476752?hash=item19e785a0d0:m:mE3rVyr90HR1FTGyqRalv5Q

Penny washers should do the trick, or just rip it off

 

The problem is, as I quickly discovered, that normal penny washers are too thick to use and refit the retainers. That is why I resorted to using bits of tin cans.

Thanks for the quick reply.  One of the holes in the heat shield is opened out through wear but the other intact.  I guess i can do what you say with the intact one and use an extra large patch on the opened one.  That should keep it in place.  I'm not that mechanically savvy so can i buy something similar to your tin patch like a bit of thin sheet metal with a hole in it? 

 

Cheers

Steve

 

Just to clear up why this can happen, silly VAG place aluminium and steel in close proximity, the aluminium that is missing has gone due to sacrificial oxidation or something like that - forgotten, a bit like when you protect a boats steel parts by bolting a lump of zinc on to them, steel stays intact, zinc disappears.

Just to clear up why this can happen, silly VAG place aluminium and steel in close proximity, the aluminium that is missing has gone due to sacrificial oxidation or something like that - forgotten, a bit like when you protect a boats steel parts by bolting a lump of zinc on to them, steel stays intact, zinc disappears.

 

I had a Ford that had the same thing - aluminium heatshield held on with steel fixings.

 

On my Fabia I made some thin plastic washers to go under the retainers. They are not close enough to the exhaust to be affected by heat and they stop the contact between the steel fixings and the aluminium shield.

 

The retainers tend to rot as well. They just push on but have to be unscrewed or levered off if they are damaged.

They are readily available on ebay http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/10X-AUDI-VW-UNDERTRAY-UNDER-ENGINE-COVER-BONNET-BODY-PANEL-HEAT-SHIELD-WASHERS-/111258476752?hash=item19e785a0d0:m:mE3rVyr90HR1FTGyqRalv5Q

Thank you for the link to the eBay item.

Just wondering if that is the retainer that screws straight onto the screw? Is there no nut to hold it in place?

I've lost both of them on the heat shield.

Do the retainers hold themselves in place without any other fitment?

JRJG

They are not nuts, they are 'push on' star grips.

 

DB.

They are not nuts, they are 'push on' star grips.

DB.

Ah okay - so they will grip the screw well enough then?

JRJG

Ah okay - so they will grip the screw well enough then?

JRJG

 

Yeah they usually grip OK. I push them on using a suitable socket from a socket set.

Edited 14 December, 201510 yr by TMB

Yeah they usually grip OK. I push them on using a suitable socket from a socket set.

That's great thank you very much for your help.

I will let you know how I go on.

JRJG

.

According to EBay that part doesn't fit my car. Is this nonsense? I assume it is the same as most of the other parts for VAG, quite interchangeable?

JRJG

According to EBay that part doesn't fit my car. Is this nonsense? I assume it is the same as most of the other parts for VAG, quite interchangeable?

JRJG

 

Yes they are all the same. Skoda part number N90335005

Edited 15 December, 201510 yr by TMB

How many do you need? If it's only a few I'd happily send you some for nothing.

Edited 15 December, 201510 yr by TMB

How many do you need? If it's only a few I'd happily send you some for nothing.

That is very generous of you, thank you very much for the offer, but you don't need to as I ordered some (from your link) after you confirmation last night.

That is a very polite gesture though. Thank you nonetheless.

JRJG

That is very generous of you, thank you very much for the offer, but you don't need to as I ordered some (from your link) after you confirmation last night.

That is a very polite gesture though. Thank you nonetheless.

JRJG

 

No probs

One thing that you might need to do is to attack these grooved studs with a wire brush to clear the curd off so that the new retainers work well. I seem to remember using a deep 1/4" socket on a handle - though lots of other things will work - for pressing the new retainers fully home.

 

Edit:- I also like to add some oil/waxoil etc to try to keep them "good" for longer - though maybe that relates more to the retainers for the plastic side covers.

Edited 15 December, 201510 yr by rum4mo