Loose Splash Shield Clips...

74494 Views 24 Replies 15 Participants Last post by taco'rolla, Sep 15, 2016

clintj

Discussion Starter · Aug 9, 2010 (Edited)

So my mom calls me and says something under her car is rattling and she is going to stop by our shop to see if I can fix it. She drives an 09 Corolla.

Well one of her splash shields was hanging and missing 2 clips. Went to check my car to make sure she wasn't missing a whole shield, and sure enough one of the exact clips were missing from mine and the other hers was missing was loose on mine. Actually all the push clips were fairly loose on both of our cars. Anyways I searched our shop and replaced all of our splash shield push clips with push nails and got everything nice and tight.

The reason I am making this post is to ask if anyone else has loose engine splash shields or are me and my mom missing something?

Edit: When I say loose I do not necessarily mean missing clips, but if you jiggle the splash shield and have play around the clips.

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msncorolla422

· #2 · Aug 9, 2010

I have noticed that mine were loose....oh god I should check.....coming back home from Austin a dead dear or something was lying the road and I drove over it.....not the tire but it went through the middle and I heard the bones hit the metal....but it should be fine

1stCorolla

· #3 · Aug 9, 2010

I had one or two missing when I did my last oil change, just replaced them with some similar push clips I had around the garage. Of note, I do have a few push clips loose on the wheel well baffle on the front driver and passenger side. I suppose I will be replacing those as well. Maybe a warranty issue, but I don't really have the time to set up an appointment with my dealer. The push clips are cheap anyway, you can find them at any autoparts store as well as the hardware section at Lowes. Nevertheless, they shouldn't be so loose, it irritates me, but not enough to do anything major.

clintj

Discussion Starter · #4 · Aug 10, 2010

1stCorolla said:
I had one or two missing when I did my last oil change, just replaced them with some similar push clips I had around the garage. Of note, I do have a few push clips loose on the wheel well baffle on the front driver and passenger side. I suppose I will be replacing those as well. Maybe a warranty issue, but I don't really have the time to set up an appointment with my dealer. The push clips are cheap anyway, you can find them at any autoparts store as well as the hardware section at Lowes. Nevertheless, they shouldn't be so loose, it irritates me, but not enough to do anything major.

Finding/Replacing the clips isn't the issue (I work at a body shop), but I was just wondering if the loose clips were normal (which it shouldn't be).

SuperchargedMR2

· #5 · Aug 10, 2010

I had to replace a couple of mine too. I just went by a dealer & they saw that a couple were loose & handed me a few for me to do as it would be quicker than having them do it. What happened to good old screws? :facepalm:

MiniPacou

· #6 · Aug 10, 2010

mines are loose and the covers rattle since day one, once I get tired of hearing them or once I see clips missing its all going to be stainless bolt and nuts.

sinnaever

· #7 · Aug 10, 2010

Yeah the Splash Shield and Wheel well clips are SUPER WEAK..

When I hit the blown truck tire on the 401 in Mississauga, the Tire ripped off my splash shields and popped my wheel well fender clips out.

Cheap plastic clips is all they are. You are better off to buy "X-Mas Tree" push clips which are stronger than the OEMs.

The body shop that repaired my car replaced all of the OEM clips with proper more durable fasteners

hollwva

· #8 · May 9, 2011

splash guard clips

My 2006 toyota matrix splash guard peeled back and ricocheted off my tire, shredding the connected wheel well cover and scraping the tire in the process while I was driving 70 miles an hour on Interstate 95 (no I didn't hit anything in the road, was driving in broad daylight). Limped into nearest service shop with splash guard dragging and they tied it up with plastic clips and they told me to take it back to the dealer. Coincidentally the dealer is the only place I take my car for maintenance and they had done $614 worth of repairs exactly 7 days earlier - (45K inspection, new brake pads and front end alignment). BUT... service manager swears that all the missing clips must have been caused by my bumping something which popped one clip and the air flow caused a domino effect at high speed popping all the others and their technician had nothing to do with it. HOWEVER this doesn't explain the additional missing fasteners on the passenger side splash guard - a total of at least 8 fasteners on my car were missing. They're doing the labor for free but charging me about $200 for parts. The service manager showed me how easily the fasteners pop by easily snapping one off with his fingers.

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TFCommanderBob

· #9 · May 10, 2011

I never hit anything, but noted that the rattling I hear is the splash guard. I need to stop by an auto store and buy a couple clips myself, 2 are completely gone. Sad that they don't realize how bad the plastic clips are with how much time is spent engineering the car. I'd pay the 10$ premium to have an alternative reliable method....

SuperchargedMR2

· #10 · May 10, 2011

clintj said:
So my mom calls me and says something under her car is rattling and she is going to stop by our shop to see if I can fix it. She drives an 09 Corolla.

Well one of her splash shields was hanging and missing 2 clips. Went to check my car to make sure she wasn't missing a whole shield, and sure enough one of the exact clips were missing from mine and the other hers was missing was loose on mine. Actually all the push clips were fairly loose on both of our cars. Anyways I searched our shop and replaced all of our splash shield push clips with push nails and got everything nice and tight.

The reason I am making this post is to ask if anyone else has loose engine splash shields or are me and my mom missing something?

Edit: When I say loose I do not necessarily mean missing clips, but if you jiggle the splash shield and have play around the clips.

I noticed some of the clips missing again on my last oil change. My dealer just gave me several more clips but what are the clips that you used & are they working better? Do you have a picture of them or a link where they can be purchased? Thanks!

ilikebass7

· #11 · May 10, 2011 (Edited)

mine are falling off to

SuperchargedMR2

· #12 · May 10, 2011

ilikebass7 said:
mine are falling off too.

Fixed again, Daniel. :lol: I notice that you always forget to add the second "o" a lot of times. If you are using the word "to" as in addition or also than always spell it "too."

:clap:

rieds

· #13 · May 10, 2011

mine are loose too. i replaced some of mine once but they fell out again. i'm gonna use some tinnermen nuts and bolts instead. i can tell when mine fall out cause i can hear it rattling on the expressway. kind of sounds like a bad relay clicking on and off real fast.

SARdog6

· #14 · May 11, 2011

So this would explain the rattling noise when I'm on the highway and its windy out, now to check those clips.

LeanBurn

· #15 · May 11, 2011 (Edited)

Speaking of rattles on the highway....also check the exhaust heat shield, the bolts that hold them on are good enough to hold but the washers can sometimes be weak and small tearing the shield a bit enough to cause it to wobble/rattle. A bigger washer to hold the shield fixes this no problem!

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SuperchargedMR2

· #16 · May 11, 2011

Seeing this thread reminds me that I need to go install those new clips. I also want to find a good nut/bolt combo that will be a more permanent fix.

clintj

Discussion Starter · #17 · May 12, 2011

Go to your local NAPA store and tell them you need plastic push pins (aka christmas tree clips) like these:

Have your car there and test them to make sure they fit tightly. They won't go anywhere if they are secure! They will usually break before you pull them out with a clip puller unless they are fairly new.

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SuperchargedMR2

· #18 · May 12, 2011

clintj said:
Go to your local NAPA store and tell them you need plastic push pins (aka christmas tree clips) like these:

Have your car there and test them to make sure they fit tightly. They won't go anywhere if they are secure! They will usually break before you pull them out with a clip puller unless they are fairly new.

Do you have a part #? I just stopped by NAPA with an OEM clip in hand & they said that it was .25" or 6.5mm & that they didn't have any in that size. :headbang: I'm not 100% on the sizes but that's what I think I remember.

clintj

Discussion Starter · #19 · May 12, 2011

Here is a better pic of what you want will look like

You want the clip to be wider than the oem because the "teeth" on this style will compress going in and expand to lock in place. You can get some a good bit wider (but not too wide) and use a rubber mallet to knock them in and you will never get them out without breaking and they are tough little SOBs with out a pair of wire snips.

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SuperchargedMR2

· #20 · May 13, 2011

clintj said:
Here is a better pic of what you want will look like

You want the clip to be wider than the oem because the "teeth" on this style will compress going in and expand to lock in place. You can get some a good bit wider (but not too wide) and use a rubber mallet to knock them in and you will never get them out without breaking and they are tough little SOBs with out a pair of wire snips.

Yeah, the catalog he had showed hundreds of different ones so I was hoping that you had a part number. How long are they?

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