A4 Engine Under tray - disintegrated

[QuattroOilBurnR]

Hi, Just left half of my plastic engine undertray somewhere on the M1 Southbound rush hour Friday evening, and have just removed the rest. The annoying scraping noise has now gone (you'll be surprise to hear )

My question is, do you think it is advised to replace this asap, or shall I just leave it and keep an eye on the belts and pipes ?

The actual car is a 1998 A4 2.5TDI Quattro Avant.

I also have oil everywhere under the engine, so do you have any suggestions on where to look first, instead of just paying the VAG specialist to resolve it for me ?

Cheers Chris

[gjm123]

Where the oil is coming from I don't know - haven't got as far as investigating my car too thoroughly so far.

The undertray... It's said by some that it's removal has caused no adverse effects whatsoever. So why did Audi see fit to install it? Reduced noise when travelling, especially at speed? Or to protect the underside of the engine, including the various belts?

The tray on our car is a shambles, courtesy of shoddy maintenance and an incompetent maintainer. I'll replace it if it is economically viable to do so or patch and repair it where possible, including using cable ties to hold it in place.

I've no idea how much a replacement will cost - if you find out, please do let me know!

[joca]

I priced up one a couple of years back for my A4 2.8 Q and it was something like £68.
I never got a new one for me, just cut off the central / damaged bit. It was not completely broken.
Not sure about the oil, I'd clean it up with some degreaser and keep checking to find out, it could be good preventative money saving exercise.