^^^
Every time I change the oil, I also soak the bolts with penetrating oil, so they aren't completely frozen with rust the next time I need to pull the shroud. It might seem like overkill, but really it's no extra effort at all, and makes enough of a difference to keep doing it.

 

Ok, not I'm nervous and have no idea what "CSC" is. I'm sure I'll facepalm myself once I know, but please enlighten me

 

Clutch Slave Cylinder. It's a manual transmission thing, so you can stop being nervous.

 

I've had success using a small impact driver to break and remove the rusty bolts. As Rochester suggests, soak them in penetrating fluid.

 

Ah, one of the benefits of living in the South. Bolts came right off

 

I have a 2011 G37 sedan and I just have to remove 4 rear 10mm bolts and it allows me to bend a small portion of the skid plate back. Like rochesters picture.

Is this the access panel you guys are speaking of?

 

Honestly, its a combo of the bolts and the fact that they are "bolted" into plastic with a metal retainer...and I live in MN...and didnt buy the car until about 8mos or so ago...and...

 

No. Some cars have an actual access plate. Like, remove one screw and you can get to the drain/filter for LOFs. Didnt realize it was not a normal thing. Kinda makes me wish I did my own oil changes...nah, it doesnt. I am over that phase.

 

My 09 is the same, simple to do changes that way.

 

For as long as I've been driving, which is a scary number of years, I used to roll up to a Jiffy Lube with my cars every 3000 miles. And then when dealerships all got on board with that "free" lifetime oil change promo on new cars, I'd let them... only to realize that free really isn't free.

Anyway, I'm very happy to do my own oil changes. It's a small sense of accomplishment, doing something right, doing it yourself, with quality oil and filters that you choose... all the while costing less than if you paid someone.

 

So are we talking about the plastic piece in the front undercarriage of the car? Mine is constantly scraping. Is this aluminum panel thinner? or is it gonna scrap as much as the plastic does now?

 

It's likely what's scraping on your car is the lip on the underside of the front bumper, not the lower tray... unless your tray is ripped or hanging for some reason, like mine was in that picture above from years ago.

You know, ever since this thread started, and I finally realized that you pull the car up a flat-bed by the tow hook , I'm feeling like there's an aluminum tray Christmas present in my near future.

 

Na I thought it was the lip too. brought it to my mechanic and he showed me it was the undercarriage that was hanging a little. he fixed it mostly but I still hear it scrap sometimes. is the only benefit of the aluminum that u don't have to take it off when changing the oil? like is it worth the $150?

 

I think the only benefit of the aluminum tray is that it costs less than the OEM plastic one, and it has a built-in access door for the filter. All that aside, I'm sure it's usually bought because it's something to do, and we like to spend money on the hobby. Plus, it looks cool... for the rare moments you can see it.

I think if you get it in red, it would be like wearing Superman underwear.

 

I only use 6 10mm bolts in the front, 2 10mm in the middle, and then 2 10mm in the back. It takes 2 seconds to take the screws off...just put some anti-sieze on the bolts every other time or so. It does a nice job of protecting everything especially up here in new eng