Black plastic under front bumper

[brsexton]

Well it busted AGAIN.....Last year I had my car about 2 months when we got snow, that CHEAP black plastic that hangs down under the front of the car got busted. So I had the 2 corner parts replaced by a body shop. Well just wednesday we had our first snow/ice storm of the year, and I looked under my car yesterday the left corner piece is busted AGAIN. What was GM thinking when they put that usless POS plastic under the front of our cars. I don't understand what I am doing to cause this to break so easy. The center part has not ever broke. Its just the 2 corner parts that keep busting in the cold weather. Does that plastic really serve and purpose?? If not, I think I am going to cut all 3 pieces off even to the bottom of the car.

[Aleromaster]

i'm not positive but i think it has something with channelng air

[ImSoBored]

dunno, but I RIPPED mine off pulling into someones yard to fast, im not gunna replace em

[duesergirl]

If you do decide to replace it (I wouldn't, unless I found out it is some essential piece), there is one for sale on ebay. I don't remember how much, but I don't think it was that much. Probably considerably cheaper than a dealer or body shop would charge. I had just typed in "alero" so I don't know what you would have to put to just find that.

[99ALERO]

i think it is there as a splash guard for water?

[brsexton]

Well I looked on e-bay and could not find what I need. Last year when I had them both replaced they were like $20 each or something. Its not expensive, its just stupid that GM would make it out of plastic and not rubber. I tried to cut rest of it off and it just finished breaking, so I guess I will just have it replaced again. I just hope the other side don't break. I have a feeling this is going to be a never ending battle during the winter months with all the snow and ice we get here.

[crazykid]

one side of mine is cracked and hanging down a bit... i hate it, that remind me i need to do something with that.. it looks so bad

[misslindseysue]

Just be careful... my dad thought he was doing me a favor and hacked that corner piece off the driver's side of mine. He also ripped out the mount for the foglight, so that moved, then broke, and it was an almost $100 fix.

[brsexton]

well I tried to cut the rest of mine off and it did not work at all, so I called today and ordered another one. It pisses me off how easy it breaks though. I know what you mean about it looking bad, my car looks like it has a chipped tooth. :P

[AleroDownSouthGirl]

couldn't tell ya...I live down south so I don't have that problem. Just if I run over something....like that curb I always seem to hit.

[dopey]

a good knife or pair of good siscors will get it off.

its no big deal to take it off u dont need it.

i dont have it on my car.......... same with soundxtreme.... no biggie

ur wasting money if u replace it........ cause it will crack apart again

[brsexton]

Originally posted by SweetAlero99@Dec 9 2003, 04:45 PM
a good knife or pair of good siscors will get it off.

its no big deal to take it off u dont need it.

i dont have it on my car.......... same with soundxtreme.... no biggie

ur wasting money if u replace it........ cause it will crack apart again
Did you cut all 3 parts off, or just the 2 side pieces?

[Final-Reality]

It's an extremely cheap and flimsy air damn, designed to stop air from getting under the car and causing lift..

I bought my car with it (the center section) busted, replaced it, broke it the following week, and have never replaced it since, and I don't miss it.

My side pieces are still there, but they're all busted to poop too.. I should cut those off, so anyways I'm glad I didnt replace it because I know I would've lost it again anyways

[johny_boy32]

mine broke again but i replaced it because it looked too empy under their...cheap plastic.

[99blackalero]

center one has never broke and ive hit it pretty hard. i just whacked it today after driving my car off the lift at my garage getting my wheels put on, but the sides ive replaced once and its cracked again

[Oldsman]

my center broke awhile back. i would like to replace it.

does anyone have the part number so i could order it thru gmpartsdirect

[sound_xtreme]

i drug my center piece half way off then i just peeled it right off the rest of the way. the other 2 pieces i left alone cause i knew they would break by themselves.

[bdyman]

scot i will ask my boss on a price
now the piece ya talkin about is part of the fender liner on mine it is
keep it off

[justinusaf]

Its just an air dam... Wont Make a difference really on or off. My just came off in the snow storm.

[noextreme04]

Just be careful... my dad thought he was doing me a favor and hacked that corner piece off the driver's side of mine. He also ripped out the mount for the foglight, so that moved, then broke, and it was an almost $100 fix. I cut mine off because i knew that if i unscrewed everything it would screw up the fog light. and also where my underbody kit is mounted the air dam would have gotten in the way and blocked out the glow.

[misslindseysue]

Yeah, he just ripped it off, but I guess the plastic under the light came off too.

Also, the center piece is a bit of a pain to replace. It holds the whole radiator up. I think it was $30 or so, Overdrive bought it for me. If you want to get rid of it, go ahead, but don't unscrew it, just cut the front plastic off.

[evilinside09]

one of my friends said that it channels air to the radiator to keep it from overheating. i think he's full of shat so i'm gonna tear mine off in the spring when i get springs so i don't scrape it on everything and make that annoying "SCHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH" noise

[bdyman]

one of my friends said that it channels air to the radiator to keep it from overheating.
^^^huh??...lol........no it doesn`t
Also, the center piece is a bit of a pain to replace. It holds the whole radiator up
huh???.....lol......the center air refletor bolts to the bottom of the core support
the sides ya guys are talkin about are part of the fender liner
use a cut of wheel to make a nice even line

[fiestyalerogirl81]

yeah My black plastic fell off too, just the center piece. I think I lost somewhere on the highway out there. Before it cracked and i did a quick fix to it, well when i went to fix it another way, the thing was gone, Just the outter corners are there. I havent lost anything from my engine yet and its been like this for a few months.

[b-spot]

Just busted the passenger side piece off :(

[nex]

ahah!

[PaulVS]

I've replaced both sides already because they got cracked. Once was from going over a truck-tire tread on the highway, and the other cracked going a little too far over a parking curb.

The plastic they use really sucks. They should use rubber instead that isn't so freakin' brittle.

[aLeRogrL21]

I have the center one on and sawed off the side ones...because they would be torn.

[blueyezalero]

My passenger side is broken, it looks like two upside down triangles on that side. I have no idea how it broke. I live in the south and we get snow maybe every 3 yrs and it's just flakes. I did run over someone's blown out tire on the expressway doing about 85. It pushed my radiator in but did not break my center piece of plastic. I would like to take mine off too.

[jordan]

Kinda strange. Never had a problem with that black piece under the front end before. These Winnipeg winter become pretty harsh too with deep snow.

[alerospeed2003]

my middle peice is missing.......i think i am going to go ahead and cut the other two peices off as well, it doesn't look right. kinda looks like a big, gapped-tooth smile.

[alero(hed)]

if it's not important, i'd really like to take mine off... it drags ass on all the dips at the college... i hate it... i've even backed up off a curb and i thought i broke it, but i bent the front brake line down and the damn plastic thing was still there... mine seems to be indestructible :pissed:

[jonez]

I have taken both the side peices off, still need to take the front. Will have to take the center peice off this weekend now that I know it isn't important anymore.

[chewy]

:(

Got a big chunk out of the driver's side corner--caught some ice pulling out of the driveway and snapped right off. Going to take off both left and right wings and leave center piece for now.

Ya, a nice flexible rubber piece would have been nice--stupid GM

[RAVAGE214]

The only part of mine that has broken is hte driver side peice form... hell i dont rember. But ive hit curbs a few times with it adn scraped it over dips in the road and it has never broek, hell i wentover a grate today at like 50 that i didnt know was liek WAY lo all of a sudden BAM sounded like the whole front bumper got pounded off, i circled around and didint see any debree and the peice looked fine when i got home. its been pretty damn tough for me soo far.

[FrankNY]

The center piece (which all cars have) is to force air into the radiator to help cool it. It only actually cools if you're going a constant 30mph or faster. In the winter you really don't need it, but in the summer, it'll keep the fans from running all the time.

[csealy_31]

The pieces serve two purposes. All three together work to keep air out from under the vehicle to keep it from lifting when you're cruising at high speed or you are cruising at say 70+ into a 30+ head wind. If you have ever driven an older car you will know what I am talking about ('60's to 70's). The middle piece also serves to direct air into the radiator. Without it air slips under the radiator instead of damming up and flowing up and through. It is cheap plastic because if it was metal we would all be crying the blues every time we hit a curb or road kill, or tire fragment, or..well you get the picture. :)
Here is a great web page, scroll about halfway down...
http://www.dummies.com/WileyCDA/DummiesArticle/id-2672.html

[bluephoAm]

It also helps you lose tools which accidently fall into the engine bay.

[FrankNY]

Originally posted by Oldsman@Dec 9 2003, 09:24 PM
my center broke awhile back. i would like to replace it.

does anyone have the part number so i could order it thru gmpartsdirect
GM Part# 22706966 http://www.gmpartsdirect.com has it for $23.70 plus 7.95 (S&H) :thumbsup:

[jackal]

It isn't important, but it does channel air to the radiator to help keep it cool.