The Money Mustache Community
Learning, Sharing, and Teaching => Ask a Mustachian => Topic started by: daverobev on July 31, 2019, 02:56:46 AM
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I have an older car, and the engine cover - plastic with foam - which sits on top of the engine is pretty cracked.
Obviously it was put there for a reason, presumably to keep heat from going into the bonnet/hood? Thing is, it doesn't sit quite right, doesn't clip in, and rubs on a couple of cables (which I have put electrical tape around to stop).
Can I chuck it away, or is my car going to catch fire if I do?
Something like
(https://i.ebayimg.com/images/i/271068618407-0-1/s-l1000.jpg)
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Absolutely - These covers do very little for insulation, you probably won't notice a difference. They aren't even meant to protect your engine from water or dust/dirt. In reality they serve two purposes: 1) a very minor amount of sound deadening (so you may hear a slight increase in engine noise) and 2) as a marketing tool to make the engine bay look cleaner to most consumers. Most people have no desire to work on their car and many would rather see a big piece of plastic with fancy labels/graphics than to see the relatively boring and somewhat ugly modern engine.
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Yeah, modern plastic overs are to keep the owners from pulling/fiddling with the bits underneath, and to hide the ugly-ass modern engines. It does look neater with it, so perhaps find a cheap second-hand cover when you want to sell.
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Yeah, those things serve no real purpose. Toss it if you want.
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All above posters are correct.
I took the cover off our engine a long time ago, just because it only serves to get in the way. When the day comes to sell it (if it isn't totally toast), I'll slap it back on.
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Thanks all, will toss it.