Lately some friends have noticed that something has been hanging from the undercarriage from my car. After a close look I found that it was a large piece of dark plastic, but I didn't know what it was. After a little research I found that the proper name for this piece is the engine splash shield. Here is the best picture I could take of it as of right now. I can suspect that through the years maybe a bolt or two may have come loose, hence the appearance of the splash shield hanging.



I did a quick eBay search and found them for as low as $65 including shipping.



However, I noticed that there are other parts of the engine splash shield, a right rear and a left rear, and they both go for about $25 each. Photos attached.




For now the car runs great, and despite a couple days of rain, plus an instance when I had to drive past a water puddle about two feet deep along Highway 101, my engine didn't stall, so I wonder if these repairs are cosmetic. Still, I think it is a good idea to make the necessary repairs to prevent a stall the next time I drive through a puddle. Which shields, if any, are necessary? Could a mere replacement bolt(s) do the job?

Has anyone here ever had to replace his engine splash shield? If so, I must first ask: is the replacement so easy that I can do it myself? Secondly, does anyone know which size bolts to use to fasten it? The eBay listings offer the shields, but none offer the mounting bolts, nor do any of the sellers know which size(s) to install them with. I am sure the Lexus dealer would know, but I would hate to buy the bolts from them at $20 or so for each one; it would be a nightmare if mounting it would require several different sizes, all sold only at the Lexus dealership. Which splash shields should I buy? Should I buy all three of them? Finally, could it be possible that I need not buy any of them and merely buy the correct mounting screw which held up the part of the shield that is hanging from the undercarriage?

Any advice here would be appreciated.

 

Ramps will be the big tool you will need, unless you have a floor jack and stands or big blocks of wood. Not sure of the bolt size, but if you had to, you could remove one of the brackets that the shield bolts to and take it to a hardware store and get some bolts and washers. Not many LS's have them (the shield) anymore, lazy mechanics must just toss them or something.

 

90% cosmetic. 10% function. It does help to keep water and snow from the bottom of the engine. With that said I haven't had my splash guard/scuff plate/undercover for almost a year with no problems.

But if it's important to you, I believe there are 14 bolts. You can find exact dimensions on lexus south atlanta (Google it). Part number should be something like 9xxxx-xxxxx. Then take a trip to your local hardware store.

 

Bought an after market shield and used the following hardware; 90467-07166 x2,90119-06355 x6, 90159-60477 x6,90119-06375 x4,90119-06564 x2.Total 20.Good luck.

 

Just buy one and go get a oil change and have the tech install it, they need to remove it any way to do an oil change, also order any clips u may be missing.

 

There is also an aftermarket aluminum option for the splash shield that looks very good. It sits up higher then the stock splash shield for more clearance, has a oil filter service door so you don't have to take the whole shield off to change the oil filter, and costs much less then the OEM splash shield. Do a Google search and you'll see what I'm talking about. I'm going to be buying one of these soon.

 

From the picture, your shield looks to be in fairly good condition, Penguin. The shield uses 10mm bolts about 1/2" long, all the same. Then, I believe there is a a plastic push pin or two in there as well. All available at a good hardware store. If you want to replace the shield, you can easily do it yourself. I would go for the complete unit, not the individual pieces. And the cover is not terribly important but does help to keep the engine cleaner. Seeing that you live in CA, it is even less necessary than in other states. Still, I would want to keep it in place.

Now, it looks like you are simply missing a bolt or two in that one corner. You could 'steal' a bolt from somewhere else on the cover(where it is less critical) and use it to shore up the missing side until you can get more fasteners.

 

10 mm bolts would measure .3937 that is almost 1/8 inch less that a half inch on the end with the threads. They would have a head close to 13 mm. The average 10mm hex head bolt is a 6mm bolt, if you go to a bolt outfit and ask for a 10mm bolt its going to be too big. A bolt size is always measured across the threads, the hex size has nothing to do with bolt size, though there are standards of hex size to bolt size, but its not written in stone.

 

mine is hanging and i used steel wire to raise it, no need to spend money on new plastic covers!

 

super curious. but can't find what you are referring to! link?

 

This is what I'm talking about timmy http://www.jzz30.com/product.html Looks like a winner to me. I've been waiting for years for someone to do this.

 

But I don't see one for ls400

 

The Lex dealer will get you ~$3/bolt with attached washer. There are two types on the 95+. The coarse and fine pitch ones. I want to say those are M6x1.00 but may be M6x1.25 so take one in to a local hardware store to verify sizing.

 

On the old 93, before it's demise, I bought a cheap black trashcan (black) and cut some strips out of it and riveted it to the remains of the splash guard and then drilled new holes for installation. Worked pretty good for a cheap fix. Most of the problems with these are the holes get ripped too big for the bolts/washers. And mine needed more than just 1 inch washers.

 

I replaced the engine undercover on my '91 yesterday. The original one had been gradually disintegrating over the years at the attachment points (holes cracking and expanding). Then my 14-year-old son finished it off recently when practicing his off-roading skills in a local dirt parking lot ;-)

For the 90-94, it seems the only option is the Genuine Lexus part for $200-$250.

But for 95-97 (+?), aftermarket plastic covers are widely available (photo in the first post). I got one of those at RockAuto for $58 with USPS Priority Mail shipping. Not all the holes lined up perfectly (although many did, including the main back 4 ones), so I had to do some adjusting with an awl and drill and utility knife. But it was pretty easy to make it fit, and it is a definite improvement. I transplanted the foam pieces from the old to the new, gluing them on there.

The screws are M6 / 1.0 with a 10mm hex head and captive washers. Then the front 5 are sheet metal screws, probably about the same diameter.

We also used a 1.25" hole saw to make plastic washers out of the remnants of the old cover, then used them on each of the attachment points, hoping to make those weak spots last longer on this new version.