plastic cover strip for AC condenser

[luckyed7711]

Hi all. Been searching, but can't find any mention of this.

While cleaning the junk from between the radiators and AC condensers I broke the brittle plastic clips on 2 of the trim covers that slide into the top and bottom edges of the AC condensers.

Does anyone know, or can anyone guess what purpose these trim covers serve, or if there's any reason I can't just leave them off when I reassemble everything?

[rick3000]

I have no idea what their purpose is, but I broke one and bought a replacement, I think it was about $8-9. If you are in Oregon, give Sunset Parts a call. You can find the part number in the parts manual.

[luckyed7711]

Thanks rick3000 for your response. Yes I found the part in the parts diagram. I'll add to the info here in the thread that the part number is 996 573 711 00, and that it is visible molded into the part itself.

However I was wondering about the purpose of these strips, because I was thinking about reassembling the car without replacing the 2 pieces that I inadvertently damaged. Maybe they act as a shield for road debris? That would seem to be more necessary along the bottom edge of the condensers. Or maybe a heat shield of some sort? If anything they seemed to add to the dirt collection aspects of the assembly. Does anyone of our more knowledgable members know what they're for? Admittedly a pretty obscure bit of knowledge to ask for.

I suppose if I leave them off, I might at some point be able to inform the forum whether it was a good or a bad idea.