Dodge Caliber Forum banner

Engine cover

64K views 199 replies 78 participants last post by  Seyren 
G
#1 ·
Do All Caliber Engins Have The Engine Cover???

I Just Bought My Sxt 2.0 Today. I Love It, But When I Opened The Hood I Realized That There Was No Engine Cover On It. Can Any Let Me Know If They Have One Or Not. The Dealer Said Not All Clibers Come With The Engine Cover. Black Cover Ontop Of Your Engine That Says 1.4, 2.0, 2.4???????
 
#2 · (Edited)
As far as I know they are all suppose to have one, but I believe some [through some snafu] were shipped without them. Your dealer should have offered to get one for you.

Update: The covers are no long on the engines. It's not even an option.
 
#7 · (Edited)
My SXT has one, I just picked the car up this past weekend (2/24/07). My car might be slightly older however as it also has the gas pedal detent (I have the CVT) do you have a CVT? the detent? apparently it was removed from vehicles made after nov 6th? If you can get the cover, do it, it cuts down the engine noise by quite a bit! I removed mine (to clean it, and to see what was under there, it easily pulls right off) and noticed the engine was a bit louder (mainly injector noise) the cover itself is quite thick and has a fair amount of sound deadening material on its backside. Possibly another clue would be the wiring going to the coil packs and injectors, does your engine have these thin wires exposed or is there black wire loom (corrigated tubing)over them. on my vehicle, the wires going to the injectors especially (front of engine near the silver fuel rail) are of a pretty low gauge to be exposed in the engine bay and I feel they should be protected by either the engine cover (in my case) or perhaps by more wire loom/electrical tape (as you may have)

Hope this helps
rmurad38
 
#9 ·
that really sucks because as I mentioned, it does definetly quiet the engine some and it protects some pretty flimsy looking wiring from the harshness of the engine bay. Have they done anything different to protect that wiring such as more wireloom or tape or are those wires just out in the open, if they are, id do something to help protect them. who knows, maybe the cover will show up on ebay, though im not sure why the dealer cant get it. what it someone whos car came with one needed a replacement if it cracked, or got worn? would they be SOL? gotta love our US car companies for being as cheap as possible, I'll ask my dealer if they can get that part

rmurad38
 
#10 · (Edited)
Ok, got the dirt on the engine cover from my dealer. Yes its true, it is no longer standard (CHEAP BASTARDS) but it most certainly CAN be added. The cost is around $30 (I'd say money well spent for the protection and noise reduction it offers) and your dealer can order it. I'd ask again. My dealer is Allen Motors in Derry, NH (Recommended if you live in southern NH btw) Only question this brings up for me is why did I end up with an old Caliber :i_rolleyes: must have been on the lot for awhile. hope it doesnt have any of the early issues (though the dealer said if any recalls exist, they are flagged before the car goes off the lot)

P.S.

Engine cover- 4891715ab $ 25.42
Ball Stud- 4891771aa you will need 4 of these $ 1.00 each

Have fun!
 
#12 ·
We were fortunate because our dealer was able to take a cover off of another
used car he had on the lot. It fit perfect. We would have really been
upset if he hadn't done that because it took us exactly 6 months to get the car after we ordered it and gave the dealer a deposit. When we ordered it, they were
giving covers. I underestand that the RT 2.4 has a cover. Surely they didn't do this in order to save money.
 
#13 ·
These engine covers (wich I have) dont sound terribly good of an idea to me. The more you put on an engine, the more heat it'll retain.

Unless there's some magical wind vortex going under there but I would doubt it.
 
#14 ·
These engine covers (wich I have) dont sound terribly good of an idea to me. The more you put on an engine, the more heat it'll retain.

Unless there's some magical wind vortex going under there but I would doubt it.

I've heard the rumor of the cover being removed due to heat, I don't buy it since even the hood themselves are not too far from the top of the engine. If that were the case we would be driving without hoods next.:wow: Yes there is a magical vortex of wind going through the engine compartment, everytime you move, air moves through from all directions, some warm some cold, but air is always moving.:D
 
#15 ·
I have a steel blue mettalic SXT and I have an engine cover with it, which I have since painted to royal blue.
 
#17 ·
The cooling by air is pretty small in comparison to the coolant and oil. Most of the air that passes over the engine is preheated by the radiator. I think I read some where that it represents only 10-15% of the cooling, and most of that is from the intake air entering the engine. The cover removed wouldn't improve much on that.
 
#19 ·
We get it, and we got it. I also take the sales people with a grain of salt. When I bought my Caliber, I knew more about the car than my salesman. There are a plethora of reasons floating around the internet as to why the covers are gone. But only the Dodge executives know the real reason.;)
 
#23 ·
engine cover

I got the idea from someone else about taking the engine cover off do to heat,it makes perfect sense that the plastic acts like a heat insulator on the top of the engine, since i have removed mine it runs about 5-10 degrees cooler which saves engine wear, think about it, heat rises and has no where to go except under the plastic. after you run the vehicle , go out and take the plastic off and try to hold it, and you will see just how much heat its gathering, thats my 2 cents worth:wavey:
 
#24 ·
I've been toying with the idea of removing mine. But only because every time I check the oil, I need to use a flash light to see the dipstick tube.:rolleyes:
 
#26 ·
That happen to me the first time I check the oil. I could not get the dipstick in the tube. That is also when I notice there was no light mounted under the hood. Then I started thinking that is why they included that worthless led flashlight in the back so you can find the oil tube when your in the shade.
 
#25 ·
engine cover

Yea, i feel you, thats a messed up design, alot easier with it off, plus the only time i have my hood up is to change oil or check levels, i have noticed a difference in my ac, without the cover, seems to be really cold air now, dont get me wrong, it blew cold air before, but now its a little colder. in the thread that said the covers were discontinued because of heat issues, now i dont know if the cover was related, but i read yesterday about cvts, i read that one car had 40,000 miles and the pistons were shot, i know heat and high revvs will hurt engines, thats basically why i took mine off to save engine wear. take it off in the summer months and back on in the winter months, cheers:wavey:
 
#27 ·
I'm not removing my cover anytime soon unless someone proves that it's neccessary. Besides, I've got a custom painted one coming very soon, and I'll post pics when I get it.:D
 
#29 ·
I got one too thank GOD I will be pulling mine off and painting it BLUE does any one have a suggestion on paint type? Should I be using engine paint for heat or just enamel ???

Scott K
2007 Caliber SXT 2.0 CVT
Coral BLUE:Racing:
I would probrobly look into getting a high temp paint just in case, not too sure what a regular enamel can withstand heat-wise.:D
 
#30 ·
hmmm... mine has an engine cover- was thinking of modifying it by adding some vent slots with the dremel tool maybe that would look cool or like a disaster! lol.

By the way can anyone post a pic of a Caliber that comes from the factory without a cover.
Just curious if the thin gauge spark plug wires have any extra protection on them.
 
#31 ·
Just curious if the thin gauge spark plug wires have any extra protection on them.
Being that each spark plug has its own individual coil, the wires feeding the coil are just a 12V low current wire with a high heat protective coating. The high voltage knock-you-on-your-ass days are gone.
 
#34 · (Edited)
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top