Undertrays, TADTS?

[Commie VID]

Hi all,
Currently got the car on some ramps to have a look under and see whether I've bought a dog. In regards rust, these Clios are quite good, only really seen some surface rust on the front chassis legs in the engine bay, everything else rusty would be some of the mounts, so bits that can be cleaned up easily.
Nightmare with the front sill jacking points. Rears are slightly bent, but the fronts were mangled almost going back onto itself. Used some pliers to bend them back into shape as best as I could, loads of crud stuck in the nooks. Will have to spray over those for the time being. Also looks like some idiot used the body just inward of the passenger side sill to lift it up, rather than the chassis rail, so its indented a little. Not the end of the world, but my 205 has this as well and it's really irritating.
Undertray had a dodgy looking cross head screw with no purchase to undo, other 3 bolts went out with no drama. Looks like the undertray had a slot cut to pull from that dodgy screw but what a hell of a bodge. Sheared said bolt off, so repaired with a helicoil.
Loads of oil around the sump and gearbox, I've seen threads saying the gearbox always leaks a little, so for now just cleaning it up and then seeing if anything comes up in the near future.
The front undertrays are pretty much missing chunks though, including the front wheel liners that connect to the bonnet.
Am I right that they all kind of do this? I'm seeing lots of it on the forums where they seem to never remain in good condition, including the part underneath the radiator connecting the undertray and bonnet. I'm in no rush to sort this out, but it's another thing to add on a rather large to-do list.
Also, over the last couple of days, had the driver side headlight making a constant whirring noise. I took the adjuster motor out, had a little play with it, and no noise since. I'm now not sure whether I've broken it or it is actually working now. I was able to manually adjust it down, so I think the plastic bits are connected correctly. Any easy way to test it? It's a xenon one, so no twiddly dial on the dashboard.
Under the seats also looks like someone has bodged the wiring together. I know the connectors have a reputation of going naff and causing airbag lights to come on, but surely a different connector would be a cleaner solution? Not important, but something I might do when I have spare time.
Yikes, sorry about the rambling post! I know I'm going to have so many more questions!

 

[Darren S]

Personally - it makes my piss boil to not have an under-tray fitted to a car. They are there for a reason. I get the whole track-car cooling and passive effects on the engine bay at speed. But on a day-to-day basis - there is so much s**t that gets thrown up in there - it's good to protect it as best as possible.

To this day, my engine bay is free of surface rust. It had about a two month period when the local stealers did some work and neglected to put the under-tray back on. When I found out, I went ape-s**t - more over the reason that they denied all knowledge of ever having left it off. I quickly found a 2nd hand item on here and promptly got it fitted.

My Evo had a considerable amount of engine bay rust - I would say more than typical of other ones that I had seen. In its previous life, one of the prior 6 owners had clearly bottomed out the front end and both the tray and it's front mounts had been ripped off. I know Evo metal is of poor quality - but right up to the day I sold it, the rust inside always bugged me.

Just in the same way I think all cars should at least have an optional mud-flap fitting. That area directly behind the front wheel(s) is prime target for chips, tar spots and other shite thrown up from the road. No arch liners? Don't even get me started...... :wink:

 

[ilovewilly]

205 FTW

 

[Commie VID]

Lol, I've no intention of leaving the undertrays off! There's only 4 bolts involved, lovely and pleasant! Compare it to an Elise.
Took the front bumper off and it's not too bad, the plastic part attached to the bumper is missing a bolt and only one side section is missing. The front of the wheel arches are in tatters.
205 doesn't have undertrays BTW, well, at least mine doesn't.

 

[welshname]

Have I just stepped into a ford forum?