Front wind deflector bolt pattern

[Towncivilian]

The front bottom wind deflector/skid plate/whatever it is has 6 bolts. 3 of them have huge washers, 3 of them have smaller washers. Mine currently looks like this:



Imagine the top as being towards the front of the car, as it would be mounted. Or, here are actual pictures if you can't understand my leet MS Paint drawing:

Front:


Driver's side rear:


Passenger's side rear:


Anyway, my stupid and mundane question of the month is: what's the correct pattern? It looks like there should be bolts with large washers at all corners, and just two smaller ones in the middle rear where larger ones won't fit. I know it doesn't matter, I'm just curious and confused at this predicament.

[Chuck Tribolet]

You mean the fibreboard thing you have to take off the change the oil? Mine has eight bolts, all the same, all with
a small integrated flat washer. Two in the front, four in the back, one on each side up higher. All the bolt holes in
the plate the same size, IIRC.

The big notches in the back look like they are for a second section of skid plate going farther aft in some markets.

Mine's a 4x4, maybe those are different.

[Towncivilian]

Yes, that's what I'm talking about. Perhaps some of my bolts have been lost over the years. Mine is a 2WD. I'll have to examine for any other bolt holes next time I'm under the car. I'm also wondering why I have three bolts with larger washers (which I painted as you can tell, as they were beginning to rust) and three with smaller ones.

[Densetsu]

Chances are that a previous owner took the Pathy in for oil changes, and over time washers and/or bolts were lost. If it's just a washer lost, the shop will have a ton lying around that they'll use.

My last Pathy had three bolts, my current one has five. I haven't checked how many there *should* be, but eight sounds about right. Two in the front of the plate, two on the sides where it juts up into the engine bay, and four on the rear.

[Towncivilian]

I've got a bunch of generic bolts from junkyard Pathfinders that will fit, with even smaller washers than the "small" washers I pictured. May as well put those up there if I can find the holes for em.

The "previous owner" was my mother, and it's entirely plausible that whatever quick lube shop lost some bolts. No big deal.

Thanks for the answers.

[Chuck Tribolet]

More likely didn't bother to put them all back. Time is money, and some folks sacrifice quality for greed.

it's entirely plausible that whatever quick lube shop lost some bolts. No big deal.

[Towncivilian]

After further inspection, there are no more screw holes that align properly with my skid plate. So it's 6 maximum for me.

[Chuck Tribolet]

Can you find a part number on it? Will look like xxxxx-xxxxxx or xxxxx-xxxxx

[esy]

i only use four.

[miamiheat3332]

for whats left of my screws ( back in the early days of free oil changes the dealer lost like half, 2 broke i still need to drill out)

a total of 4 hold mine on

[Towncivilian]

I believe the part number is on the side facing the engine, so I'll make a note of it next time I drop the thing in 700 miles or so for an oil change.

[Towncivilian]

The part number for my cover is 75892-0W000. $141 for some plastic? Ha!

[Chuck Tribolet]

I count eight bolt holes in the picture of your part number.

The picture looks just like mine, which takes eight bolts (and originally had a plastic rivet in a ninth hole).


Chuck

[Towncivilian]

Well, either I'm missing some larger screws for the two side holes (not likely as they all should be 10mm I'm thinking), or I'm just blind (far more likely). I will take another look once I put the thing back up after installing an auxiliary transmission cooler and in-line filter.

What is the purpose for the two large circular holes in the center of the cover?

[Chuck Tribolet]

All eight of my bolts are the same.

I haven't the foggiest what the two big holes are for. Probably to let air in or out.

[Towncivilian]

I finally put the stock undercover back up using all 8 bolts. Fits like a glove. It took a few tries getting it aligned properly so all bolts went in, but there are two grooves where the upper parts "snap" in to, so be sure to place the undercover correctly using those.

I dropped a couple rolls of electrical tape working in the engine bay and they ended up being held up by the undercover. I used the holes to retrieve one roll of electrical tape, and tried searching for the other one but was not successful (the holes aren't terribly large, and I have small fingers). It seems that the sandwiched material between the plastic is fiberglass, because I ended up with small pieces of fiberglass embedded around my fingers where they made contact with the edges of the holes. I'd strongly advise not poking around through the holes without gloves.

[wisehunter1]

I took mine off a while ago because one of the holes in my skid plate ripped and another bolt broke off.. so the plate was left hanging on one edge. Do yall think not having a plate would cause any issues?

[Chuck Tribolet]

Parts are there for a reason. If the engineers can't come up with a reason, the bean counters would make them take
the part off. That said, I've run mine around without the "skid pan" on occasion, usually because I was working on a
problem under than that was taking a couple of iterations to get right (e.g., a belt tension problem) and it wasn't worth
taking off and on and off and on.

A shot of PB blaster and an EZ-out should get the broken bolt out. A fender washer should secure where the torn
skid plate is. You can get stainless steel bolts in a good hardware store. The Ace HW chain usually has a really good
selection of stainless. Put a little Permatex anti-seize on the new bolts (warning, it's messy).


Chuck

[Towncivilian]

I'd imagine the undercover adds some protection against road salt, and the holes might be there for directed airflow for some components. I drove around without one for 6 to 8 months without issue, so it's probably not critical for it to be there, but I second Chuck's recommendation of keeping it.

[fueler]

ive been without the splash guard for 5 years and my engine runs great.


One time i hit a creek going really fast, everything got wet, and the camshaft position sensor (inside the distributor!) burned out, which stopped the QX4 dead in its tracks.

But other than that, my engine has been running great without the splash guard.

[Pathfound49]

The bigger holes are for drainage. In case a cat or squirrel with bladder problems decides to rest next to a warm engine during the cold winter months i presume.