Engine splash shield unique to 2008? Trouble finding part

[Weihenstephaner]

I recently picked up a 2008 sedan to replace a too-crappy 3rd gen wagon for daily duties. The exhaust manifold/catalytic converter were very recently replaced, but it only seems to have a partial splash shield setup.

I have left and right side pieces that cover either side of the engine and form the usual vertical guard areas that cover the area forward of the wheels inside of the sides of the bumper, but the center area is completely open in a way that looks like it is missing a third piece.

All of the splash guards I've looked up are one piece (like 56410AG15A) and the listings specifically exclude the 2008 model year from the fitment information (2005, 2006, 2007, 2009).

Does anyone know what part I need?

[KZJonny]

Don’t have a part number, no… first I’ve ever heard of the the ‘08 being different than other years.

It would be going back a *long* way, but people have been making splash guards from various plastics from scratch for a long time. Or, if your budget is bigger, there are a number of aftermarket suppliers for aluminium replacements. (I’ve got a Primitive Racing bash guard, and it’s quite nice.)

If you can find a sheet of HMWP or something similar for a fair price, you can make a custom fit probably a bit less than an OE parts…. Just likely need a few fasteners to make it all work.

[m sprank]

The 2008 Legacy sedan 2.5i had no center "undercover".  Two side pieces are all that Subaru made. 

[KZJonny]

Isn't that odd. Just 2008?

Wonder what that's about. In either case, I doubt making something up to fit between the side sheilds is going to hurt, and maybe will help keep things a litle cleaner.

Provided you keep sufficient spacing off of the manifold, I would imagine it might even help with engine bay air flow. I know when I replaced my broken undertray with a nice new one, I saw highway cruising temps come down a couple degrees. Who would have thought that promoting air flow through your rad would help cool the engine? (Some of that may also have been replacing the condensor with a fresh one, that didn't have 17 years of insects and bent fins.... but it really wasn't so bad, and I don't think it would have beeb blocking much air...)

[m sprank]

Technically no USDM 4th gen Legacy 2.5i had a center undercover (05-09). 

 

For you Jonny the undercover will also increase air flow through the intercooler. 

For turbo cars running a top mount an undercover is imperative for proper air flow through the intercooler.  The undercover keeps the airflow moving from front to back under the car.  This causes a high/low pressure variance between the underhood and undercar areas which results in a "vacuum/suction" action.  Air comes into the engine bay through the condenser/radiator as well as through the scoop/intercooler and is drawn/sucked down into the "jet stream" under the car.  Without the undercover the "jet stream" air travels up into the engine bay (swirling) causing a high pressure area and decreasing underhood airflow. 

Old news from the "old" forum. 

[KZJonny]

55 minutes ago, m sprank said:

Technically no USDM 4th gen Legacy 2.5i had a center undercover (05-09). 

Well, that does explain why my OBW hasn't got one either. I always assumed the original owner got tired of it being in the way of oil changes and discarded it. Turns out it never was there... neat.

Haven't had any cooling issues with the 2.5i except for when I was towing a trailer over the continental divide, the car was stuffed to the tits as wel. Even then, I think the trans took the beating more than the engine. So I never thought to 'replace' the bottom cover.

 

[SilentJ20]

On 9/7/2023 at 7:46 AM, m sprank said:

For turbo cars running a top mount an undercover is imperative for proper air flow through the intercooler.  The undercover keeps the airflow moving from front to back under the car.  This causes a high/low pressure variance between the underhood and undercar areas which results in a "vacuum/suction" action.  Air comes into the engine bay through the condenser/radiator as well as through the scoop/intercooler and is drawn/sucked down into the "jet stream" under the car.  Without the undercover the "jet stream" air travels up into the engine bay (swirling) causing a high pressure area and decreasing underhood airflow. 

Dang, I didn't know this.  I've done without the under tray since I rebuilt the engine.  I wanted to make leak detection easier, etc.  But now that things are good and I want to drive more spiritedly, I'll make sure I throw it back on.