Quote:
Originally Posted by Pete156
unnecessary piece of plastic, IMHO. Doesn't appear to protect anything
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Quote:
Originally Posted by anewprelusion
What's that tube that it's covering? I assume it's so nothing snags on that line?
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I believe that's your right side brake line, and I think that panel is there for its protection despite being labeled a fuel tank protector.
I look at it this way: It looks to me like you ran over something that hit that panel and damaged it. The damage may have happened at some earlier point, and it just now worked its way loose enough to come off. The point is that whatever hit it hit the panel and
not your brake line.
So I would definitely replace it. It's only $11 from that link above and looks like a 5 minute swap.
Quote:
Originally Posted by anewprelusion
It definitely won't protect the gas tank, being so flimsy and all.
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Although that small panel is labeled as a fuel tank protector, the tank itself has two skids held onto it by the tank straps. Those are labeled as "Fuel tank protector" in the service manual. That's the black area under your fuel tank in your pic. I'm not sure how much protection those actually provide. I really wish Subaru would be consistent in its labeling between the parts catalog and the service manual.
That small panel that failed is the compromise that was made for the US market vehicles that don't have the full underbody panels. If you had a JDM vehicle, this is what your underbody would look like:
You can get those panels for about $200 and probably never have to worry about this again. I have them on my to-do list, but my Jeep needs too much attention right now to do a whole lot with the BRZ.