Ripped black Rubber air damn off....

[Nitrous SSC]

ok I was pulling into a vacant house today and there was the usual drift that the snow plows leave...

I hit it with a fair amount of speed so I wouldn't get high centered and it ripped the lower air damn off....not the one the fog lights shine throu.....but its black and square....fits directly under the radiator....what exactly is this part?....should I replace it or just leave it off?....a new one from ford is only 35$ but thats 35$ that can go to the new 265/75/16 tires I'm ordering today...

 

[rydinhigh]

If you are talking about the little scoop that is supposed to force air into the radiator you can leave that off. It wont do any harm.

 

[jimbo74]

probably really wont affect cooling that much, do you like it better with it off? if yes, i say just leave it... on my crazy explorer, all the triw and valances and air dams were removed long ago, and i have never had an overheating problem... but i also dont live in an extreme climate.. our weather around here stays between high 20s to just over 100 degrees F

 

[Nitrous SSC]

so its only like a little spoiler for air into the radiator?

I'll leave it off for now then....I actualy might beable to repair it with some large washers and throw it back on....

Ok I'll relax then...I was worried its something pretty important...

Thanks for replying so fast guys I appricate it!

 

[XplorerKid]

i took all that stuff off a long time ago and havent noticed any problems


PEACE

PS- please shorten your Sig to 6 lines or less

 

[mosinman]

air deflector

Besides air defletion duty I believe it is also designed to provide a small bit of impact protection for the radiator and AC condensor. It can take a minor impact instead of your plastic radiator ends or hose taking it, just like you described.
You can run without it just fine, but you will loose these two benefits (even if they are pretty small).

 

[rfuree11]

bah, you dont need it

ive been going a year without it, wheeling, snow, heat, all of it, and its fine

 

[Alec]

I ripped mine off once and this is what I did:

I cut most if it off so there was about 3" left hanging below the radiator. The way I see it, if you hear a scraping noise you know you're about to bash your radiator! I just felt better with something under the radiator, even though it barely offers protection.

 

[GaSouthern1]

When I got my X, it got ripped off in no time flat...my truck still ran fine.