Couldn’t locate the spring kit for the air dam. Air dam was fine so I didn’t want to spend 200-400 on a replacement. Local hardware store sold rubber washers that allowed for ample flex.
I want to like anyone giving sincere and economical advice to help keep an old car on the road, but this hardware store fix is not for me. . First , it is a consumable part , so incorporating locktite red into the repair is probably not the best idea. Every other C5 in the world manages to secure the dam without the most powerful thread locking glue. secondly , the spring does not provide flex, it returns the dam to OEM position after the flex. I don't know if this is careless wording or a fundamental misunderstanding of the design. obviously a loosely attached air dam at highway speeds will not be positioned for best function. Buy a reproduction part before a used part, even if you only need the springs , because eventually the rubber dam will wear , and the springs can then be switched over to the reproduction replacement part . a $400 dollar OEM part is for a show car only, and is for an entirely different need than addressed here . That this repair only called for springs makes me question if the part was installed correctly , especially since fasteners were missing , because the part will install two ways, and one is wrong. I believe I could have scrounged up a spring of some kind, because the application is non critical , so if the first attempt at a replacement spring doesn't work, no harm will result from the experiment. If I couldn't find a suitable metal spring among all the automotive return springs in the world, , I would cut down a bungee cord or some other elastic device before I started redesigning the part to flex outside of the original design intent. because it would seem a hit that knocked off the OEM springs would exceed the travel of loosely attached rubber washers , perhaps bending stuff if the air velocity had already pinned the rubber washers and loose fasteners to the limit of their flex travel. . any repair that doesn't restore original function needs careful consideration. A lot of guys would have bailed out at the mere mention of hardware store, because they don't sell automotive hardware .
I appreciate the feedback. The lock-tite was installed to allow for travel in the bolt. If you lose the air dam, you probably have lost the springs and the spring tensioner which seems to be a flawed design in itself. The cheapest non-oem kit was 200 and the most expensive being 450. For $6.00, I have the same functioning dam and it’s sturdier while still allowing the flexibility. It was installed after my oil pan was rebuilt by corvettes of America, so I know that it was done correctly. I parked it on an uneven surface(grass) which is when I noticed it had fallen off. Thank you.
I want to like anyone giving sincere and economical advice to help keep an old car on the road, but this hardware store fix is not for me. . First , it is a consumable part , so incorporating locktite red into the repair is probably not the best idea. Every other C5 in the world manages to secure the dam without the most powerful thread locking glue. secondly , the spring does not provide flex, it returns the dam to OEM position after the flex. I don't know if this is careless wording or a fundamental misunderstanding of the design. obviously a loosely attached air dam at highway speeds will not be positioned for best function.
Buy a reproduction part before a used part, even if you only need the springs , because eventually the rubber dam will wear , and the springs can then be switched over to the reproduction replacement part . a $400 dollar OEM part is for a show car only, and is for an entirely different need than addressed here .
That this repair only called for springs makes me question if the part was installed correctly , especially since fasteners were missing , because the part will install two ways, and one is wrong.
I believe I could have scrounged up a spring of some kind, because the application is non critical , so if the first attempt at a replacement spring doesn't work, no harm will result from the experiment. If I couldn't find a suitable metal spring among all the automotive return springs in the world, , I would cut down a bungee cord or some other elastic device before I started redesigning the part to flex outside of the original design intent. because it would seem a hit that knocked off the OEM springs would exceed the travel of loosely attached rubber washers , perhaps bending stuff if the air velocity had already pinned the rubber washers and loose fasteners to the limit of their flex travel. . any repair that doesn't restore original function needs careful consideration. A lot of guys would have bailed out at the mere mention of hardware store, because they don't sell automotive hardware .
I appreciate the feedback. The lock-tite was installed to allow for travel in the bolt. If you lose the air dam, you probably have lost the springs and the spring tensioner which seems to be a flawed design in itself. The cheapest non-oem kit was 200 and the most expensive being 450. For $6.00, I have the same functioning dam and it’s sturdier while still allowing the flexibility. It was installed after my oil pan was rebuilt by corvettes of America, so I know that it was done correctly. I parked it on an uneven surface(grass) which is when I noticed it had fallen off. Thank you.