Unused boss on block?
 

I was under the car today and saw these two tapped holes in the block above the oil pan on the passenger side. The reddish bolt on the bottom of the photo is the oil drain plug, to orient you. Am I missing something that should be mounted here?

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1635111820.jpg

heat shield bolts to those two holes.

Yes, thanks a lot! Crankcase heat shield aka Oil Pan Gasket Heat Shield 944 101 033 04. It looks like there was an early version and a larger later version that extended to shield the oil level sensor and I'm impressed the later version is still produced for sale. I'll probably look for a deal on a used early version.

I'm curious what job would have necessitated the prior removal of this shield. Oil pan gasket replacement comes to mind but I don't see why it would be removed for any other reason.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1635158605.jpg



http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1635158716.jpg

I think I figured out that this piece was removed when I got a new clutch. There's a plastic protective plate that's bolted to the bellhousing and the rearmost part of heat shield obstructs the removal of said plate.

Speaking of that plastic plate - I'm surprised that four giant 17mm head bolts are used to keep it in place - #21 in the PET.


http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1635545284.jpg

It appears from the PET and from photos I've seen that there are only two bolts (#24), one for each side to fasten the plastic cover to the bell housing but it looks like there should be an upper and lower bolt on each side. Here I am asking about missing bolts again, but is the upper bolt for something else?

My car came with 2 bolts. I think they all do. But mine kept rattling so I put in 4 and it stopped.

Chris, I think I have a spare from the engine I installed in my car. It’s the smaller version. If I can find it it’s yours.

John

Thanks John. I found a replacement metal heat shield on ebay. When I installed it yesterday I observed how it's right up against the plastic cover and you'd need to remove that shield to do a clutch job. So, I'm glad I solved the mystery of why it was removed.