In one of the most inglorious ways to damage a Jaguar, I cracked the driver side portion of the front under tray while traveling at 1 MPH down a steep garage exit ramp.

About six inches of the under tray fell off, just behind the driver's side front tire.

Could someone please help me figure out how URGENT it is to fix this piece of the under tray. I know the under tray is important, but I will not have time to deal with this for probably a month.

If I do only light driving, will I still risk debris into the engine compartment or other important parts of the car?

On a side note, it looks like I can just buy an under tray online and install it myself, so that is what I will do when I can find some time...

 

It provides improved aerodynamics and some protection from the very type of situation that broke yours (new ones have a rubber strip that absorbs a bit of the impact). So yes it should be replaced and no it is not an emergency as long as you are careful.

 

Welcome to the forum Ragsdale,

Sorry to hear about the incident with the undertray. They are vulnerable and many members have purchased an XK8/XKR where the undertray has already been damaged by the PO. Fortunately an easy fix.

Please follow this link New Member Area - Intro a MUST - Jaguar Forums - Jaguar Enthusiasts Forum to the New Member Area - Intro a MUST forum and post some info about yourself and your vehicle for all members to see. In return you'll get a proper welcome and some useful advice about posting to the forum.

Graham

 

Welcome, Ragsdale,
I feel your pain. I messed up my undertray within days of getting into my XKR. Nothing broke off but I scratched it through, on a driveway incline like you describe.
You have to get used to these cars riding low. I don't know how old yours is, or even what model you have (do fix your signature to reflect this, it's a big help), but a lot of XK*s sit low in the front from suspension sagging. Worn springs, in my case.
The undertray unfortunately seems hard to find as a replacement item.
In any case, carry on and enjoy your ride.
/Per

 

Another reason for the front to be low is upper shock mounts and pads compressed by age.

 

Mine was hanging in two pc's. I used plastic expoxy, filled and sanded, painted black and it's been a year with no issues.

 

The undertray also add rigidity to the fenders on either side along with the wheel arch liners. You will notice a vibration if you do not replace it.

 

I've seen a stack of under trays behind dealerships, and not just Jaguar dealers. Check your's before you leave after those non payin, for the mechanic, oil changes.......Mike

 

Made the side from sheet metal.

 

My 04 GTO I owned had a metal belly pan, about quarter inch thick. About the size of home plate on a baseball field. Talk about a bitch to hold up in place and thread the bolts in all at once.

 

Thanks everyone for your replies. I've been pretty distracted and haven't logged on for quite a while! I've had time to get back to working on my XKR, the above advice is much appreciated.

 

I'm not sure if I've seen this on my car. Would one of you please take a pic of the under tray installed, next time you're under the car? I can't visualize where it might go. Thanks!

 

Mine as with a lot of other XK8 owner out there did damaged my under tray, however, my story took a step further....when mine crack and split open...I figured it's not too important to address it right away...so I drove the car on vacation from PDX to LA California in a spirited attitude ...on one straight away....I heard a big plastic piece tearing up...true enough it was wheel liner... the passenger side was shredded so basically my right side wheel well was exposed to whatever may come.....and at the California border freezing rain comes and salt...creates havoc to the underneath of the engine bay...then my passenger side bulb went out. The moisture and the salt killed my light module...so I had to endure having expose wheel well and one dead headlight bulb....all in all ...ignoring my underneath tray cost me over $700 for:

Light bulb module $200
new underneath tray $300
wheel well liner $200

Stupid costly mistake on my part.

It's not an emergency however, you should drive it lightly and no wet condition until you replaced it....don't be like me ...LOL

 

 

Whew. Yup - got one of those. A worse for wear, but mostly intact - lol. Somewhere in this thread someone said "behind the front wheel", and I thought there might be some other under tray I didn't know about. Thanks!

 

I had a 04 GTO that had a belly pan that connected to the lower radiator support and widened out just at the back of the oil pan. Sorta shaped like a home plate on a baseball field. Mine was half inch thick, made of STEEL. Talk about a bitch holding that up and getting the screws started after an oil change.

 

You might have been thinking of these:

 

Talk'en 2005 Jag VP 4.2 engine here. Under engine splash/ belly pan. The question is does anyone know what the two plastic wrapped foam "pillows" do and can you buy new ones? I had a oil filter leak and both pillows are soaked and a mess. I figure they must do something or they would not be there. But what do I know? Any thoughts about this? Thanks

 

Sound deadening. I had to rip mine out for the same reason. I currently have the tray completely removed and with an LS in the garage and an S-Type previously, I don't see the point in having the tray as these cars don't have them and design wise from the underside the engine bay looks nearly identical. The panel works best to redirect leaks making it harder to diagnose problems. I almost lost my transmission when I mistaked it for a small oil leak because of the color of the transmission fluid as well.

 

Since this post originated as an X100 undertray and now we're discussing the X350 cars I'll go ahead and continue the X350 route. The undertray is there for aerodynamics (which probably helps a little with gas mileage), the pillows (plastic covered foam) might help with sound deadening but, are really there to absorb a coolant or oil leak until the foam is essentially full and then it leaks onto the ground. It's really there to absorb the fluids that leak so that it can help Jaguar save money from warranty costs. Realistically, say there's a small leak from the oil filter adapter that your not aware of on the front of the 4.2 engine at 48K miles.... Then by 52K miles (which is now out of warranty) the leak got much worse and is just starting to leak on the garage floor that you just noticed. Do you think the dealer is going to goodwill that 2K mile out of warranty oil leak?? More than likely not a chance.