elclassico

old ls 400. the front plastic undercarriage was falling apart. so i ripped it off. is it needed? does it prevent anything crucial from getting wet? any thoughts?

jeffl

Last year I fell asleep at the wheel, went off the road, and ran over a Ponderosa tree in my 1990 LS. The tree had a trunk about five inches in diameter. The only damage was that the undercarriage cover was ripped off. I wondered whether it was a necessary part too. A few months later my alternator--which was only a little over a year old--went out. In talking to my mechanic, I asked if he felt that this was because of the missing cover (with the alternator located underneath). He felt that it was pretty likely. In my neck of the woods we have a lot of road salt in the winter which can't be too good on an alternator. Also, some people suggest that it may have something to do with proper cooling. By the way, the tree was completely uprooted and my air bag didn't even deploy. The only other damage was all four of my tires were destroyed from hitting the curb!

LSPiNoY

iTrader: (1)

i would think it is there to stop any rocks into flying in the engine compartment...i also believe it helps downforce and gives stability...hahaha i maybe wrong but just a thought

elclassico

im sure it would be ok in dry weather. water would definatly mess the alternator up i would think. im ordering a new one asap. thanx for the info.

350z

anyone know where to get one of these at a decent price?

LexLS

The main plastic under cover is part # 51441-50013.....list $149.74. There is a bracket that that helps hold it on too part#51445-50010...$4.62. Keep in mind these are part numbers for first gen LS's. Always double check when buying .

I would suggest getting a quote on these parts from irontoad.com, they're usually 20% off.

350z

thanks for the info.

Pagong

You should just replace it with a piece of aluminum cut to size so it would fit in the stock location. All it does is to prevent rocks or any type of debris from hitting / entering the engine bay. Cooling has nothing to do with that part. It is what you call a skid plate but made of plastic.

$150 for a piece of plastic that goes under the hood is murder, lexus dealers should be hanged for overcharging thier customers

RA40

iTrader: (6)

The undercover also directs air flow under the car. The LS has has a low cd and by removing it, the airflow will not be as smooth. Probably noticeable at highway speeds though. Also, the oil filter is pretty low.

There was a write-up about the aerodynamics of the LS that was interesting. It compared the LS to the Subaru WRX. A search for aerodynamic Lexus should turn it up.

Wide LS

I lost my plastic undercarriage like 4 months ago, and I see no changes to the car. I think it's just there for when it rains water won't go in that direction. I lost mine when I was driving and I hit a large pudle at like 40mph and the undercarriage just ripped off.

350z

The part is a bit pricy, but any Lexus part I've ever purchased has been pricy. I would like to put it back on to keep it nice and clean under the car.

persian451

buy it from a junk yard, thats what i'd do

Wide LS

There's not many junk yards with Lexus's in my area, and if there are any they would be stripped really quickly.

persian451

try this http://car-part.com/

350z

seems like there is never a junkyard that has any lexus parts. they usually just laugh when you call and ask, like yeah right!