Felt belly pan keeps coming loose.

[tacoduck]

2016 expo. The felt belly pan keeps coming loose and is hanging down. I took it to the ford dealer, waited an hour, they said it was fixed, and next day it’s hanging again.
Looks like the passenger side mount keeps unscrewing. Should I just remove the whole thing? I’m guessing it helps with aerodynamics.

 

[GlennSullivan]

There are 4 screws with large washers that keep the felt cover in place. Each screw is retained by a U shaped clip that forms the “nut”portion of the attachment, it slides over the sheet metal plate the cover rests against.

I have had mine off about a dozen times for oil changes and have not experienced the bolts coming loose or falling off.

Soooooooooo. Either One or more of the clips that form the nuts behind the bolts are missing, stripped or broken and need to be replaced or the nuts are not being properly tightened or the washer on the bolt is missing and prevents the bolt from retaining the cover.

A few minutes with a 1/4 ratchet will tell you what the issue is. But I can confirm that with 12 R&Rs of this cover, I have not have any issues of loosening or falling down.

If you want some pics of mine, let me know and Ill get them later today.

 

[tacoduck]

There are 4 screws with large washers that keep the felt cover in place. Each screw is retained by a U shaped clip that forms the “nut”portion of the attachment, it slides over the sheet metal plate the cover rests against.

I have had mine off about a dozen times for oil changes and have not experienced the bolts coming loose or falling off.

Soooooooooo. Either One or more of the clips that form the nuts behind the bolts are missing, stripped or broken and need to be replaced or the nuts are not being properly tightened or the washer on the bolt is missing and prevents the bolt from retaining the cover.

A few minutes with a 1/4 ratchet will tell you what the issue is. But I can confirm that with 12 R&Rs of this cover, I have not have any issues of loosening or falling down.

If you want some pics of mine, let me know and I’ll get them later today.

I crawled under, and screwed the bolt back into the mounting point. Came back a week later and it’s hanging down again. Maybe the clip is missing?

 

[GlennSullivan]

I crawled under, and screwed the bolt back into the mounting point. Came back a week later and it’s hanging down again. Maybe the clip is missing?

** If you are not seeing damage to the felt cover that would allow it to "pull away" from a properly tightened bolt
** And the retaining bolts all have the large washer at the head still in place that will prevent the cover from passing over the bolt head
** You are seeing that bolt is loosened up and you are able to hand tighten the bolt without tools, then the clip with the integrated "nut" is probably gone or has moved over away from the bolt hole.

It is easy for someone changing the oil and not paying attention to have these clips slide around, either moving away from the hole where the bolt goes through or falling on the ground.

Quick fix if the clip / nut has moved over. Realign it with the hole and screw the bolt back in place with a socket or speed wrench. If the clips are missing get some from a Ford dealer.

If however the cover is torn away by the bolts or the hole is larger than the washer, it is new cover time, again a Ford dealer thing.

I tried to look up these parts on TascaParts site for you, but don't have parts numbers and don't know what they refer to the cover as in the parts manual. If anyone else knows, please chime in.

 

[JExpedition07]

You can probably remove it with no consequence

 

[stilbo]

I agree with JExpedition07 in that you can remove it with no consequences.
I purchased my 2015 with 36,000 miles. At 55,000 miles I decided to permanently eliminate the “felt cover”. As of today I’ve accrued another 45,000 miles and I haven’t had any issues attributable to eliminating the cover. I’ve also not seen any reduction in fuel mileage or noticed any increase in noise inside or outside of the vehicle.

I also eliminated the oil soaked diaper that was attached to the steel pan under the engine since I drop said pan on every oil change and dislike and question the need or safety of having a potentially combustible chunk of oil soaked material in close proximity to the engine and exhaust.

And yes, I DO remove the entire steel pan to change the oil filter. The subsequent mess due to the poor design and location of the oil filter required that diaper and oil from the filter during removal still isn’t captured by the plastic drain tray that Ford installed under the filter.

With the pan removed during the filter change I probably use at least a half can of brake cleaner to remove oil that ends up covering the steering rack and components above it.

Poor drivetrain packaging design seems to be the hallmark of Ford engineers for the last decade or so.. my 2003 5.4 Expedition (247,000 miles when sold and still in good shape) and my 2007 Mustang 4.7 GT were a hundred times easier to perform oil and filter changes on than my current Expedition and 2016 3.7 Mustang.

Interestingly, our 2016 Explorer 3.5 is as easy to perform oil and filter changes on as our 2008 Honda Accord V6. But I’m waiting for the poorly designed and placed water pump to die and flood the crankcase with coolant before we can sell it.

 

[Ellison Brown III]

There are 4 screws with large washers that keep the felt cover in place. Each screw is retained by a U shaped clip that forms the “nut”portion of the attachment, it slides over the sheet metal plate the cover rests against.

I have had mine off about a dozen times for oil changes and have not experienced the bolts coming loose or falling off.

Soooooooooo. Either One or more of the clips that form the nuts behind the bolts are missing, stripped or broken and need to be replaced or the nuts are not being properly tightened or the washer on the bolt is missing and prevents the bolt from retaining the cover.

A few minutes with a 1/4 ratchet will tell you what the issue is. But I can confirm that with 12 R&Rs of this cover, I have not have any issues of loosening or falling down.

If you want some pics of mine, let me know and Ill get them later today.

What he said… I’ve not had any issues with mine hanging either. Well, except for the time I was traveling and went to the dealer for an oil change. One of the cover bolts was missing… as well as the rubber oil filter access cover on the skid plate. SMH!!! Dealership maintenance sucks…

 

[JExpedition07]

My 2023 F-150 with the 5.0L V8 is packaged nicely, so I think Ford has woken up (at least on the F-150 front). Everything under the hood is in reach, no stupid felt belly pan covers, and a steel oil pan with a steel drain bolt that is easily reached.

 

[stilbo]

Wow.. thanks JEexpedition07.
Once used 2023 F150’s start showing up on lots I’m probably going to shop 2023 5.0 F150’s.
I like my third Expedition but I might be done with them in the next year or so.
I was glad when the EcoBoost 3.5 replaced the 5.4 for fuel mileage and big horsepower increase but also bummed that the 5.0 wasn’t offered in Expeditions by 2012.

 

[JExpedition07]

2021 was the updated 4th gen 5.0L release so used ones are out there now. Going from either a 5.4 or 3.5 Eco 3rd gen Expy to a newer 5.0 F-150 will be a large improvement in power and acceleration. I think you’d be pleased.