[Alekhine]

My "new" T4 is without undertray. Having poked around on the forum, the consensus was just about in favour of having one, rather than not. An online search yields the following:

Under Engine Cover Undertray + Fitting Kit for VW Transporter T4 & Caravelle T4 | eBay

Under Engine Cover Undertray + Fitting Kit for VW Transporter T4 & Caravelle T4.

www.ebay.co.uk

I'd welcome recommendations our contra-indications - are these plastic after-market trays any good? Is it worth shelling out the best part of 70 quid for one? I guess this is a subtly different question from: "should I remove my undertray?", as what I'm asking is "I don't have one, should I make the effort to get one?"

Thanks!

 

[Or_GazM]

Errr....well, you REALLY should have one.
Whether the plastic ones ar any good....I wouldn't know.
Try CaliCampers for a good used one....they wil also have the required fixings for it.

Without it, there are a whole load of electrical connections not protected... and see that section of the forum for how difficult it is to sort them.
You don't state engine/gearbox/year/model.........but in general, there was a reason VW put it there (and not just to make servicing harder!)

 

[shankalanks]

100% get an under-tray. If only because looking at all that multi-colour wiring and pipes is scary at the best of times. I'd hate to be looking at it caked in mud and dirt, and trying to work out what's what in the rain.
Also, an OEM under-tray has sound-deadening felt attached so there's other benefits.
They're quite awkward to manhandle because of the shape and weight, so it's worth checking that the strange spring-clip that supports the front of the tray is still on your vehicle. These clips hold the front of the tray steady after the supporting bolts have been removed.
(It'll make more sense when you see it - but I expect many owners don't know what the clip does.)

Edit: See me about necessary hardware

 

[Dubnity]

Yes I had to drop the under tray on my T4 to tighten the altenator belt and mine was very heavy so I gently held the weight with a trolley jack whiles I positioned the bolt holes

 

[dossbag]

Would agree it's better to have an undertray fitted, apart from preventing everything getting gunked up think flying chippings/stones etc, there's an exposed auxilliary belt and (if of that type) PS pump belt under there, you wouldn't want the misfortune of something flying up and getting trapped between a belt and pulley.
The spring clip at the front, in final fitted position the clip sits in the lower of the two holes on the undertray, beware of getting it trapped in the top hole when you're tightening the supporting bolts up, it'll push it out of position and makes it problematic to use the next time round.

 

[Dubnity]

My two spring clips and there bolts are on the rear of my 1992 T4 to help line the tray up

 

[shankalanks]

My two spring clips and there bolts are on the rear of my 1992 T4 to help line the tray up

The units at the rear of the tray aren’t spring-clips. They’re hooks. They are used if you have the T4 on a lift - you can undo the nuts/bolts and the tray will hang from those hooks.
The spring clip is a ‘j’ shaped piece of metal at the front of the vehicle and held to the body with a pop-rivet.

Looks like this:

VW 701805817A

 

[Dubnity]

Thank you shankalanks, looking at mine they seem to be missing on both sides of the front tray

 

[shankalanks]

Thank you
View attachment 205237

Hullo Dub - there’s only one of those in the middle as DossBag mentioned. It sits in the square hole at the front and you use it to stop the front of the tray from resting on your head. It’s on the vehicle body, not the tray.
Like this:

No way this goes in the lower square hole but is effective like this.

 

[dossbag]

My two spring clips and there bolts are on the rear of my 1992 T4 to help line the tray up

The two hooks at the rear...

No way this goes in the lower square hole

Was just about to nip outside a take a picture, got just out the door and remembered I took the undertray off yesterday.
Mine sits a bit further forward than yours and flush against the cross member, the spring clip slots snugly into the lower hole, if I get it trapped in the upper hole it gets bent up against the cross member.
Will try to remember to take a pic when I put it back on.

 

[shankalanks]

Yours is a short-nose if your avatar is current. Mine’s a big-snout so (guessing) maybe significant?
Can’t find images online of clip in action.

 

[Dubnity]

Many thanks shankalanks, so my two holes in the front of the under tray are just missing there bolts in that case

 

[shankalanks]

Assuming mine is typical, there are only 6 points holding the tray on:
2 x M6, 10mm nuts that secure the rear hooks to a pair of rubber stand-offs
&
4 x M8x20mm machine screws inserted as pairs above the wheel arches. Have a look at the link I posted earlier.
All the other 🕳 and bits are just extra features to justify the desirability of our wheels.
So basically I have no idea what those holes are for.
Edit: wasn’t sure exactly where that picture of yours was taken.

 

[Pickledog]

I bought the plastic one as mine too didn't have an undertray, the rubber stand offs - similar to the ones used for the intercooler - have seized so I just have a couple of cable ties at the back to secure that section.
I had to re drill fixing holes as they had been Roy Rogered by a previous owner/ mechanic/ monkey, so I fitted rivnuts and it's held on very firmly.
Wouldn't dream of doing any kind of distance without one and when one comes up locally that is original I'll be all over it like a cheap suit 😉
As peeps have already mentioned there are too many things down below that NEED protection and 70 odd squids is a small price to pay for peace of mind.

 

[Or_GazM]

I'm sure CaliCampers have a few around.....

 

[dossbag]

No way this goes in the lower square hole but is effective like this.

As mentioned...
Just put the undertray back up, the spring clip slips as first into the top hole, taking the weight, then just a question of pushing it back through and the last push up it falls into the lower hole on mine, holding the tray pretty much in final position, hardly any manouvering left to start the 4 bolts on the sides.
Don't know if it's just that the clip may have been riveted at a slightly lower position to yours, but once the tray is bolted up the tray isn't actually resting in the well of the "J", and it does appear that my tray sits further forward to yours and flush under the cross member.
Probably just some slight manufacturing differences, and as you say, your's is a long nose, may be differences, but as mine is the only one I've ever removed and refitted, I've got no idea......

 

[shankalanks]

I've got no idea......

Me neither. Will put on to-do list to investigate. Your under tray is much closer to the expanded poly infill of the bumpers. Uncannily clean too.

 

[dossbag]

Many thanks shankalanks, so my two holes in the front of the under tray are just missing there bolts in that case

Just a come back on this...
This is the usual type of undertray for a T4...
This is from my (2000) T4, it used to have sound deadening but over the years had become saturated with oil so I removed it as I deemed it to be a fire hazard
(There could be differences in bolt size, and with the spring clip slotting in to either top or lower hole)

 

[Dubnity]

I'm tempted to remove my sound deadening because mine is also saturated with oil from over the years

 

[Or_GazM]

Foam/felt + Oil gives extra sound deadening.....