2006 M45 plastic engine undercover (under engine)

[BigHeadDennis]

Ok, I'm questioning my sanity.

I changed the oil on my 2006 M45 a month ago, and in so doing, removed and reinstalled the big plastic engine undercover to get access to the filter and drain plug. No problem, or so I thought.

Last week, I noticed a scraping sound going over a speed bump. Looked under the car, and it appears that the undertray is BULGING down. Doh. Got under it, and I can push up a large portion that is bulging down (like 3" of movement is possible). If I push it with my hand, it will deform and form a concave depression.

BUT, the tray appears to be securely installed at the front and rear edges. There were a LOT of little bolts, and I replaced each one of them. So the cover appears to be on securely and properly, EXCEPT FOR this bulge.

Query: is this "normal"? Does everyone's M45 have this same bulge? Or did I mis-install it? Did I (gasp) reinstall it UPSIDE DOWN? Dunno if that's possible.

What the heck is going on here? If M45s weren't so rare, I might crawl under one in a parking lot just to compare.

I've posted a few pics below to show what I'm talking about, though it's hard to tell from the angle just how much it bulges down.

1. first pic is an attempt to show the bulge in the engine undercover.

2. my hand pushing the bulge up and in.

3. There is a hole here, one of several. It appears to have a circular mark around it, as if a washer resided there for some time, but dunno if there was one there or not; pushing a thin screwdriver through the hole reveals a long distance before contacting the bottom of the engine.

4. This photo shows the cover pushed up and in by hand; will stay like this until it self-pops out later.

Am I just being a moron?

Thanks,

--Dennis

[george926]

I have this problem too.. since i am riding on Bags.. with a daily driving height would still bottom out due to this piece~..

George

[The00Dustin]

The manual for my 2006 M45 mentions a clip near the center of this undercover that I would expect to prevent exactly what you are describing. I'm guessing you didn't unclip and/or reclip said clip. It is even possidle that someone else failed to prior to that, and who knows, maybe it's easy to lose and not even there. However, I can't go into any more detail than that, as I don't have access to my manual right now and just happen to remember reading about that clip because I am afraid some oil place will be bound to leave it unclipped or break it (not to mention strip the screws).

[jankenpo30]

Haven't looked under the 45. But on the 35 you don't have to remove the entire cover. Just the four screws to the rear. The cover has a seam that runs down it and you can fold it on that seam, prop it open and gain access to filter & plug.

I know this in no way helps you, just thought it might in the future to keep you from removing entire cover.

[450GT]

Last month the left side of the under engine cover bolts fell in the highway , when the fall large bang noise is heard. for two i was going over the speed bumbs at less than 10km/h. but i went to the dealer and said that each bolt cost about 5$ . but after the dealer fixing this everything is normal.