Spalsh Tray (please don't move me, i'm an idea!)

Dan the 480 Man · Post by **Dan the 480 Man** » Mon Nov 27, 2006 9:39 pm

Hey.

I don't know about the rest of you, but i think the plastic splash tray (sump guard), is pretty crap. The holes that the bolts go through are useless, and it's just so....pants, imo.

I was looking through eBay, and found a Volvo dealer selling this. Now, that to me looks like some form of sheet metal/alloy. Do you think it would be expensive to have the 480 splash tray made like this? It looks alot stronger than the original, plus you wouldn't have the problem of the holes splitting and the tray hanging off in one corner!

Just wondered if anybody could see any potential flaws in the idea. If it seemed do-able, i'd consider contacting a local sheet worker to see if it could be done and how much...

Loki · Post by **Loki** » Mon Nov 27, 2006 10:13 pm

Sounds good 2 me. Id have 1 if the price isnt 2 silly. Mine is held on with zip-ties at the mo. Id like 1 which went the full length of the car aswell but will prob b quite xpensive.

Loki

random_monkey · Post by **random_monkey** » Mon Nov 27, 2006 10:26 pm

Any pics around to show which bit you're referring to?
(I'm not that clued up on it all yet)

Loki · Post by **Loki** » Mon Nov 27, 2006 10:28 pm

Click on the blue 'this'. Its a link.

Loki

martinholmesuk · Post by **martinholmesuk** » Mon Nov 27, 2006 10:40 pm

Flaws

Once it's dented it's gonna look worse then a plastic guard
once bent it's going to be hard to bend it back into shape
will really scrape and will not give like the plastic type

random_monkey · Post by **random_monkey** » Tue Nov 28, 2006 12:09 am

I meant pics of where it goes on the car

Ohp, I've got it now...
A rather overkill example - right?

98kellrs · Post by **98kellrs** » Tue Nov 28, 2006 12:22 am

It's just the same as what rally cars use... As martin says, it'd bend and dent easily. So you'd have to use thick, strong material, and support/reinforce it well and even that may not stop denting...although who is going to be looking at your sump guard I dont know!

Dan the 480 Man · Post by **Dan the 480 Man** » Wed Nov 29, 2006 6:40 pm

Some fair points there guy's. I think i'd still be interested in looking into it though-Volvo obviously thought it was good idea at some point. I know there are a couple of steel works round here, i'm sure i could get one of them to knock something up if i took my guard down. Hmmm...

Watch this space!

Matthew Brennan · Post by **Matthew Brennan** » Wed Nov 29, 2006 6:53 pm

There was this one time we went to a free party in wales, i was driving my gold v40 2.0 turbo estate with 4 other peeps in it. We were lookingg for the party, i turned off to the left onto a forestry gravel path. The guy behind me stopped and i revesed back to see what was up. I saw some bright yellow fluro jackets and a blue flashing light. Giving them up as busted I accelerated away at high speed and we all threw certain of our personal property out of the windows into the wood (it was the 90's they were evil then). I got lost in the forest trails for about 4 hours/90 miles and ended up nearly driving off a ramp made of tree trunks into a 100 foot cliff face drop.

anyway i digress. The v40 had said tough metal plate and im sure i would have cracked the sump before that if it had not been there. Stoped lots of rocks too and a bout a million ground outs.

They are invaluble to persons of a certian persuasion driving to look for ilegal free partys in 1990's wales.

Matt

VanDerGraaf · Post by **VanDerGraaf** » Wed Nov 29, 2006 6:56 pm

Top story!

@ Dan- I'm quite into this idea myself! Wonder what it would cost?

Dan the 480 Man · Post by **Dan the 480 Man** » Wed Nov 29, 2006 7:15 pm

Brilliant...

I know what Mart posted is very valid. However, i can't think of any reason i would badly dent it. I know it's not the sort of thing you would know until you actually done it, but i am very careful with my car because a) it's lowered, and b) i can't bear the thought of destroying that front spoiler!

I can see little 'dints' appearing from shit bouncing up from the road, but surely not that bad as to distort the shape? I noticed the fitment for the eBay guard also covered the V70-don't they do a cross country one based on that model too? So it must get used on that, so surely cross country stuff would have been an issue there too?? Just thinking out loud...

I might see anyway-i feel a rear arch replacement may be on the cards soon, so i might look into some custom made ones-and if thats the case i'll need a good metal worker to make some that fit, so a sump tray shouldn't be a problem...

At least i know i'm not the only one who has thought about it!

SteveR · Post by **SteveR** » Wed Nov 29, 2006 7:31 pm

Ally is good from the point of view of light (in as not much weight) etc - however, (it always has a comma), mild steel should not be ruled out - it is easier to weld, should be cheaper cos it may have been dug up in england instead of canada, didnt need so much electricity to purify it etc etc.
Also mild steel can be more durable ie bend it and hit with hammer to straighten, depending on type of ally it may crack and tear.
Like in most things its horses for courses.
Your local workshop will I ma sure put you straight on teh benfits of material choice - if its out of sight why use ally?

Dan the 480 Man · Post by **Dan the 480 Man** » Wed Nov 29, 2006 7:42 pm

SteveR wrote:Your local workshop will I ma sure put you straight on teh benfits of material choice - if its out of sight why use ally?

I'll be picking their brains anyway-i was just thinking ally to prevent any corrosion, like around the (hold it!) screw/mounting holes, or the sump plug access hole...

I'm glad there's some interesting point's cropping up!

SteveR · Post by **SteveR** » Wed Nov 29, 2006 7:54 pm

Oil leaks offset corrosion.

Ally can also fatigue around stress points - whils the stress is low the vibratio may not be. (no rude comments from catgroom here - there may be girls reading!)

kennymac · Post by **kennymac** » Wed Nov 29, 2006 10:28 pm

As a material source try taking a leaf from the autocrossers book - Road Signs, not the flimsy little triangular things at road works but the hulking big MF's that tell you what road goes where, they are made from a high quality (so a coded welder once told me) alloy that is both strong and light. Ask at your local roads depot if they have any old ones, you might need to donate a few quid toward the xmas night out, but hey if you don't ask you don't get! All you would then need would be someone with the skill to form/weld said article.

SteveR · Post by **SteveR** » Thu Nov 30, 2006 12:27 am

neat idea - hi qual alloy if el cheepo would fit the bill.

ozturbo · Post by **ozturbo** » Thu Nov 30, 2006 5:46 am

What do you need a splash tray for anyway? Personally I wouldn't bother. My 480 doesn't have one and neither did my Italian one. None of my Alfas have them either. They just get in the way when changing oil or coolant.

stu chacks · Post by **stu chacks** » Thu Nov 30, 2006 7:44 am

Good idea Dan, my 1 suggestion would be to make the sump plug hole slightly larger and closer to the sump also, hate trying to hold up the plastic splashguards same time as trying to undo the nut.

The plastic ones do tend to get a bit flimsy after 10+yrs!

Stu.

Dan the 480 Man · Post by **Dan the 480 Man** » Thu Nov 30, 2006 7:00 pm

ozturbo wrote:What do you need a splash tray for anyway? Personally I wouldn't bother. My 480 doesn't have one and neither did my Italian one. None of my Alfas have them either. They just get in the way when changing oil or coolant.

Basically because they keep alot of shit from the wet roads flying into the engine bay. That way it's easier to keep the engine cleaner, and if an oil leak does happen, it lands on the tray rather than the drive, which saves me getting a bollocking from my Dad!

This prob. won't be happening until after christmas-even then my rear arches take priority, but it's something i could work on in the garage in my spare time. And it seems a fairly positive response so it's worth following up i think. So that leaves glowing sills, glowing rear badge, arches, sump tray, shocks, drop links, bushes, fuel filter.... ffs!

Better do some overtime

chris1roll · Post by **chris1roll** » Thu Nov 30, 2006 9:42 pm

ozturbo wrote:What do you need a splash tray for anyway? Personally I wouldn't bother. My 480 doesn't have one and neither did my Italian one. None of my Alfas have them either. They just get in the way when changing oil or coolant.

You probably don't need one in italy or Australia.

However I live on the Somerset levels... I do need one!
especially on the 740 where the alternator is low down