Aluminum plate under trany
 

I was working on my P-car the other day and had to take off that aluminum plate covering the trany which is held in place also by those 2 long aluminum suspension bars.

What I was wanting to know is if that plate has anything to do with holding the suspension together or as far as I can tell besides being a skid plate for the trany pan its entire function in life is to bring air up from under the car by way of those 2 rubber flaps to help cool off the trany.

Is this correct ?

No considered part of the suspension

It's DEFINITELY considered part of the suspension / structure. You do NOT want to even lower the car into its wheels without that plate on, or you'll find lots of stuff moves, and it's harder to get it on again.

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The plate acts as a brace between the rear suspension, as maytag said, you do not want to put any weight on the rear suspension without the plate installed. If you are tracking your car and need to change the transmission oil frequently, some people drill a hole in the plate below the drain plug so the entire plate doesn't need to be removed.

Thanks everybody for your reply's.....Yeah I wondered why they would only put a hole for the fill but not for the drain.

+ 1 if you remove the wheels before removing the aluminum triangle helps to remind you Not to lower the car without the support bracket.
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You may find that if you remove the plate when working on suspension parts or whatever, that you may need a ratchet strap to line up the plate holes with the bolts when re-installing.

uh oh... I don't remember tossing this, but I can't find it in the garage now.


BUT looking back on the pictures where I had the 4.3 in the car still I think I couldn't use it anyways. My trans bracing I made goes under the trany and would be in the way of this plate thingy. Its probably for the best though. I was concerned about my trans brace being less than secure. I guess I can fab up some bracing to secure it to each side subframes.

http://986forum.com/forums/uploads02...1597712219.jpg

^^^ kinda like this. :D

Yup. I usually count on it.

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Is it possible to remove the exhaust, & replace with a different one, without removing the aluminum cover?