Maybett Underbody Shield?

[Becker300]

Has anyone installed the rear wheel shield on a Mav that had been undercoated? Concerned about bolts, bolt holes etc.
Thanks.

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[710-oil-614]

I have Fluild Film on mine and installed without an issue. Not a fan of the hard undercoating as they can trap moisture and water and legit rust from inside out. Lanolin based rust pro for the win!

 

[WJOHNM]

I have mine never open the box, too cold to get under the truck, I will clean any crap out in the spring and install. just a note the day I picked my truck up I got under the rear to check to see it had a full size spare and saw that gaping hole was shocked that Ford did that, I said that has to be plugged up or its going to rust around the wheel well like the F150s and Rams. Ford knows it takes years for that to happen, the rust warranty will be expired.

 

[tic105]

there are only three OEM bolts that need to be removed. Not sure what type of undercoating you have, but I doubt you'd have any issues removing these.

 

[MetalsGeek]

You will need to remove OEM bolts with 10 mm and 18 mm heads. The bolts in the kit have 10 and 19 mm heads and the kit includes small tools for them, which is a nice but arguably useless touch since anyone installing such a kit should have these basic tools. You will need an 18 mm box wrench or socket, and undercoating might be an issue. I've removed Ziebart with mineral spirits in the past, no problem. The provided stainless bolts with 19 mm heads are horrendous overkill, but chosen to fit captive nuts that snap into square holes in the body. I think plastic snap-in nuts similar to license plate anchors would have been a much better choice here, but suspect Mabett does not have access to them so a huge bolt was the easy fix.

 

[DDR1956]

I have mine never open the box, too cold to get under the truck, I will clean any crap out in the spring and install. just a note the day I picked my truck up I got under the rear to check to see it had a full size spare and saw that gaping hole was shocked that Ford did that, I said that has to be plugged up or its going to rust around the wheel well like the F150s and Rams. Ford knows it takes years for that to happen, the rust warranty will be expired.

Same here just waiting for the weather to break. Then to clear out the sand and salt

 

[tic105]

You will need to remove OEM bolts with 10 mm and 18 mm heads. The bolts in the kit have 10 and 19 mm heads and the kit includes small tools for them, which is a nice but arguably useless touch since anyone installing such as kit should have a set of basic tools. You will need an 18 mm box wrench or socket, and undercoating might be an issue. I've removed Ziebart with mineral spirits in the past, no problem. The provided stainless bolts with 19 mm heads are horrendous overkill, but chosen to fit captive nuts that snap into square holes in the body. I think plastic snap-in nuts similar to license plate anchors would have been a much better choice here, but suspect Mabett does not have access to them so a huge bolt was the easy fix.

Where did you find the right sized plastic snap nuts for the 5/8" square hole? I was looking, but everything I found was too small. I ended up using a rubber well nut.
The snap nut is what Mabett should have used in the first place.

 

[Optimus]

Mine is coated with Fluid Film. The coating builds up road gunk over time, so I wiped off the flat contact points where the shield touches the body. Then I applied new Fluid Film and installed the shield. I also applied FF to all bolts (including threads) and captive nuts before installing. The fastening hardware looked cheap, and other purchasers were complaining of rusting hardware, so I was aware of the potential issue before I got my kit.

 

[tic105]

I've used CRC Marine Heavy Duty corrosion spray for years. The stuff dries to a non-tacky amber coating that lasts a very long time and does not collect road grime.

 

[MetalsGeek]

Where did you find the right sized plastic snap nuts for the 5/8" square hole? I was looking, but everything I found was too small. I ended up using a rubber well nut. The snap nut is what Mabett should have used in the first place.

I never bought any, just used the overkill bolt & nut that came in the kit. I see the term "snap nut" covers a zillion different styles, including the one that Mabett sent. I agree that something plastic that snaps into the square hole and is held expanded by a 6 mm screw would have been perfect in this application. Mabett probably spent all afternoon trying to find one to fit that square hole and gave up in despair!

 

[JollyRed]

I fluid-filmed my underbody while installing the cavity cover. Hindsight, I should have taken the factory bolts out first since they were a little slick. It's not insurmountable, but it would have saved me a little bit of headache.

Like others, I just applied fluid film above and below the plates once they were installed. I also installed new stainless steel hardware instead of the ones provided since there were several reports of the ones rusting. The new kits seem to address this with paint, but it was a cheap piece of mind to just upgrade the bits. I also added some thread locker for good measure.

 

[Dave O]

I fluid-filmed my underbody while installing the cavity cover. Hindsight, I should have taken the factory bolts out first since they were a little slick. It's not insurmountable, but it would have saved me a little bit of headache.

Like others, I just applied fluid film above and below the plates once they were installed. I also installed new stainless steel hardware instead of the ones provided since there were several reports of the ones rusting. The new kits seem to address this with paint, but it was a cheap piece of mind to just upgrade the bits. I also added some thread locker for good measure.

Would love to see pictures of the finish product installed

 

[JollyRed]

Would love to see pictures of the finish product installed

 

[Dave O]

Nice job thanks for sharing

 

[Becker300]

there are only three OEM bolts that need to be removed. Not sure what type of undercoating you have, but I doubt you'd have any issues removing these.

Thanks. I appreciate your response.

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