Am referring to the big plastic "cover" that bolts on to the underside of the car, from the air dam back to the crossmember under the engine. The holes on mine, where the bolts go through, broke up and I took it off and threw it out a while ago. Have not noticed any problems, possibly the engine gets a bit dirtier.

However, it does occur that the same piece on the 1st generation RX-7, known as the "front under-cover" on that car, is essential for that car. Without it the air flow will not properly cool the -7's radiator, and even with its gigantic over-capacity, you will boil the engine.

Should I hasten to get one and put it on my car, or is it truely only a splash/dirt shield on the 700 series Volvo?
--
Scott Cook - 1991 745T, 1985 RX-7 GSL-SE, 1986 Toyota Tercel (Don't laugh, it is reliable, faithful AND gets 41 mpg!)

Many of the used Volvos I have bought were missing this part, I always put one on.
--
84 242Ti IPD bars&springs, 89 745 16v M46 IPD bars, 89 744 16v M46 IPD bars, 90 745 AW70, 91 245SE AW70 IPD bars, 93 245 CLassic M47

I hope its ok to promote....I am not at all affiliated with this supplier but the price seems really good.

vlvworld

1 Plastic pan under engine. Protects your engine and steering rack from water. Critical for winter driven cars. 740,760 83-91 3538690 New $25.56
2 Screws for plastic pan, set of new screws to install the plastic pan. Order this if you loss the old pan mounting screws. 740, 760 82-92 7panscrews New $4.97

Here in the Midwest,I have had two different friends running without splash guards nosedive into snowbanks. The snow packed in around the front of the engine and stopped it abruptly sheering the teeth off their timing belts.By the way this is a great time of year to check out the snow racing volvos on youtube.
peace

While I don't think it is essential it sure is a good idea to have it on. Keeps your engine cleaner, when raining or going thru puddles keeps water from getting up onto engine and wires, keeps stray homeless cats seeking warmth in cold weather under your car from being killed by fanbelts/blade when you start car, etc., etc. That the plastic around bolt holes breaks is pretty common . I use long cable ties(2x each side)thru holes drilled thru pan/shield to secure shield/pan on. Works fine & they are cheap.
--
' 88 740GLE auto wagon nearly 167,000 and ' 87 240DL auto sedan nearly 125,000

Yes, It protects, among other things, the hydraulic lines on the rack
from rocks. Thats how I got my car cheap- the previous owner rode around without it and one of the external rack lines got nicked by a rock and leaked,
that was it for him with expensive repair estimate for a rack replacement for
$7-800 I forget exactly. I didn't need a rebuilt rack at all, just replaced
the pair of external lines for about $80.00. Can't fault the Volvo estimate
since it wasn't obvious where the leak was until the rack was out and the
thick coat of greasy stuff was removed.

That belly pan probably improves cooling besides keeping junk from smacking/flooding the engine.

Absolutely essential! It is cheap protection to the engine and belts. Years ago, the family started off on a week long, long road trip. I lost the belly pan twenty miles out of town when the pan bolt holes failed due to previous damage. I pulled over, removed it and threw it into a trash container. On the way home, a beautiful Sunday morning on the Ohio turnpike, my daughter ran over road debris. We lost the drive belts when the debris bounced along the road surface. Think of it, a Sunday morning, heavy expressway traffic, nearest repair help is Cleveland some distance away. You just don't walk over to the nearest house or business to call for help, there's fences preventing that along the highway. The family is asking me "what do we do now?". The question on my mind was "how did I get here?" I didn't have a belly pan!

I see lot's of them in a local junkyard or you could order one from IPD or a Volvo part source.

Mike
--
'83 245 GLT, '90 760 GLT

Just keeping the engine area cleaner is worth a lot.