Plastic under tray behind passenger front wheel

[Deleted member 43526]

Hi folks I’ve had a search but not sure I’ve found the right info.
I was cleaning my side bars and noticed a plastic under tray hanging down at the end behind the passenger front wheel, poking down below the sill near the side bar bracket. Any ideas if this is a big piece? Easy to replace? I can’t easily get under to look as the van is pretty low so just seeing if it’s an obvious one!

 

[RobertO2023]

You will definitely have to jack up high to replace or get the van on a garage lift. Over the years I've to had replace this part several times. It can become damaged if you hit standing water

 

[Deleted member 43526]

Thanks Robert. Is the dirty piece on the floor the remains of the old plastic tray?

 

[RobertO2023]

Thanks Robert. Is the dirty piece on the floor the remains of the old plastic tray?

Yes that’s it! I hit the standing water a night with quite a bang and the underside trim was ripped off.

 

[Perfectos]

The trim can be secured better to help prevent the total collapse of the trim from impacting standing water

Where the wheel arch liner meets the underbody trim in your photo , there is a corresponding hole in both, VW appear to have not made use of all the fixings holes they designed into the wheel arch / underbody’s protection !

By using a “panel nut” (google it) and a screw , same as used in wheel arch liner, the two can be secured together to prevent the underbody panel collapse when hitting standing water (the wheel arch liner supports the underbody panel.

 

[Deleted member 43526]

The trim can be secured better to help prevent the total collapse of the trim from impacting standing water

Where the wheel arch liner meets the underbody trim in your photo , there is a corresponding hole in both, VW appear to have not made use of all the fixings holes they designed into the wheel arch / underbody’s protection !

By using a “panel nut” (google it) and a screw , same as used in wheel arch liner, the two can be secured together to prevent the underbody panel collapse when hitting standing water (the wheel arch liner supports the underbody panel.

Good tip. Got a pic of the panel nut? Googled and there’s lots of types

 

[roadtripper]

And ideally a picture of it in place?

If it's practical to do on the drive it's a bit of preventative maintenance I'd be interested in have seen a few threads on the after effects of water.

 

[Perfectos]

Good tip. Got a pic of the panel nut? Googled and there’s lots

 

[Perfectos]

And ideally a picture of it in place?

There is only one place where the under tray & wheel arch liner pre made holes match up without a screw being fitted from factory !

Ideally you’ll have to go look at yours !

 

[Perfectos]

Here’s another

 

[Perfectos]

Finally replaced my broken under tray.
The old one was split after hitting standing water.
I used the method above to fix the split under tray to the wheel arch liner, the repair had lasted several years & the under tray albeit split is still intact.
I only decided to replace the under tray as the dealer suggested the Aux engine heater could become damaged from water ingress if the cover was not replaced. (Highly unlikely IMO).

The new panel part number: 7E0825205G
Cost £110 from main dealer
I decided to fit the Nut clip and screw to avoid the issue with the under tray splitting in future
Requires a small pilot hole to be drilled to allow the screw to go through the undertray (nut clip hole for screw)
I replaced the washer type fixings as the original were rusty. (TEMU )
Last photo is from floor looking up into the rear of the wheel arch where you can see the additional screw supporting the under tray right where water impact breaks the panel

Edit: all done from underneath whilst van was sitting on Milenco triple ramps near side front / rear raised to allow better access.



See photos

 

[Perfectos]

And ideally a picture of it in place?

If it's practical to do on the drive it's a bit of preventative maintenance I'd be interested in have seen a few threads on the after effects of water.

@roadtripper See above, hope that helps

 

[roadtripper]

Much appreciated, especially remembering the question after quite some time

 

[MarkS]

There is a tiny panel in front of the main tray, just before the arch liner. It is missing on mine, I suspect the garage forgot to put it on when in last year for a tank pump replacement... Only just noticed whilst sitting in the sun on a campsite. Any ideas of the part number or where I can get one from? Worse case is I will manufacture something from some surplus aluminium cheque board I have surplus from my 4x4 days.

 

[Tom-E86]

Hi sorry to jump on this thread but I’ve just noticed I’ve got this issue on mine and there’s about half the panel left hanging down (think it happened on a country road!) I’m going to order up another one but need to use the van tomorrow for a journey - do you think I’d be ok running it without until I can replace it? I’ve noticed there’s now a couple of plugs etc exposed so any opinions would be appreciated! Thanks in advance

 

[RobertO2023]

I don’t think it will do any harm running it without for a few days - however it does offer minor protection from stones and stuff flying up into the underbody

 

[Tom-E86]

I don’t think it will do any harm running it without for a few days - however it does offer minor protection from stones and stuff flying up into the underbody

View attachment 309155

Yea of course, agreed - bit annoying but that’s how it goes! Will look to replace asap. Thanks

 

[Graham Jones]

to Perfectos........Just checking....in your last photo, is the screw at the top ,the one you added, and the hole beside that is left empty? the reason I ask, is because I had a look at mine and that screw is already there. Thanks for your photos...Cheers.

 

[Graham Jones]

Finally replaced my broken under tray.
The old one was split after hitting standing water.
I used the method above to fix the split under tray to the wheel arch liner, the repair had lasted several years & the under tray albeit split is still intact.
I only decided to replace the under tray as the dealer suggested the Aux engine heater could become damaged from water ingress if the cover was not replaced. (Highly unlikely IMO).

The new panel part number: 7E0825205G
Cost £110 from main dealer
I decided to fit the Nut clip and screw to avoid the issue with the under tray splitting in future
Requires a small pilot hole to be drilled to allow the screw to go through the undertray (nut clip hole for screw)
I replaced the washer type fixings as the original were rusty. (TEMU )
Last photo is from floor looking up into the rear of the wheel arch where you can see the additional screw supporting the under tray right where water impact breaks the panel

Edit: all done from underneath whilst van was sitting on Milenco triple ramps near side front / rear raised to allow better access.



See photos

View attachment 237568

View attachment 237569

View attachment 237570

View attachment 237571

View attachment 237572

Can anyone tell me whether the screw on the right of the empty hole, is the screw that has been added for extra support.?
The reason being, that I already have that screw in place on my 2023 T6.1. 4 Motion...Cheers