5 Car Parts at Risk When You Bottom Out Over a Rolled Curb - and The Solution.
If you drive a car that’s low to the ground, you’ve probably scraped over a rolled curb from time to time. While these instances may seem minor, here are crucial parts under the hood that can get damaged when you bottom out, including:
Oil Pan
Bottoming out can damage your oil pan, which stores your car’s oil. Damage to this pan affects the amount of oil in your engine. In order for a car’s engine to run smoothly, it needs the right amount of oil because oil lubricates all the moving engine parts and keeps them cool. Insufficient oil causes friction among the internal components which can lead to expensive damage and premature engine failure. Common signs of an oil pan leak include:
1. Puddles of oil under the car
2. Leaks around the oil drain plug
3. Visible damage
4. Oil light notification
If you see these signs, don’t ignore them. Check your oil pan and consider ways in which you can scrape less often.
Front Splitter
When you bottom out, it is often your front splitter that takes the most damage. While your car can endure minimal and infrequent impacts, over time your splitter can crack as a result leading to expensive repairs. In some cars, you can replace the splitter relatively easily and cheaply. However in some cars the splitter is a part of larger components like the bumper or fascia which can cost a great deal to replace.
Muffler
Mufflers are another frequent victim of bottoming out. Mufflers are required by law to reduce noise and can cost $100-$500 to replace, plus installation fees.
Engine Cover / Skid Plate
Engine covers are designed to protect components underneath the hood from road hazards and stray obstacles from objects or road debris flying up underneath the car and damaging the more critical engine components. These can range anywhere from $25 to $375 to replace
In fact one of our latest customers told us about how he’d just been ignoring every time he scraped going over his curb. He was unaware his skid plate was slowly loosening until it became unhinged during a road trip. He rigged it up and hit the highway again only to have it become unhinged again while driving through a thunderstorm. He pulled over to check it and when his car began sliding across the wet grass uncontrollably into a ditch, only to stop feet away from causing serious damage to the rest of the car and possibly himself. So he had to get towed in the middle of the storm and pay the towing guy some cash to help him get the skid plate un-jammed and removed entirely. Then he had to go to the auto repair shop to get a new one and have it installed. Lesson: ignoring skid plate damage can have some pretty terrible unintended consequences.
Bumper
Persistent impact to your bumper or even a single rough jolt can cause serious damage. In addition to being unsightly, since bumpers are often fused with side panels, fascia, lights etc, damage to one can necessitate replacement of all..
Curb Ramp
We wouldn’t bring all this up without a solution would we? Curb Ramp creates a smooth transition between your home’s driveway and the pavement to help you glide over the gap in your rolled curb without causing damage to your car. It comes in a convenient, easy-to-install kit with the components needed for installation. You just mix it up and spread it over the desired area at the desired angle. When it dries, the finished material is similar to that of a professional running track or playground surface. It is highly durable and costs about half of pre-made rubber curb ramps. Save some dough and save your car, and in about an hour you can install Curb Ramp.
cut into strips to fit your curb. For example, a 5′ x 6′ sheet can be cut into (3) 2′ x 5′ strips to cover 15 ft on a standard rolled curb. Lay the strips over the curb where your ramp will be and tape them down to hold them in place for the installation.