Front Belly shield and fender liners loose/damaged

[ckev70]

07 Rabbit. I've removed the belly shield to do maintenance. After the maintenance, i didn't reinstall the shield since there's usually more work.
During test drive, i noticed the fender liners get loose and ended up getting damaged by rubbing on the tires. Fender liners are salvageable with zip ties and additional holes for zip ties.
Fender liners and belly pan seem to help keep front bumper cover more stable.

If the belly pan and fender liners are remove, will the front bumper cover be stable enough for highway driving? Wouldn't want to create more projects. Thoughts.

 

[ROH ECHT]

Wouldn't be trusted to be stable enough.
You should just replace them while they are still available. Each piece costs but $20 to $30 for aftermarket, I believe. Genuine VW/OE will run you near $125 each side. You need both the upper and lower for each side.

This will give you the genuine part numbers...as well as aftermarket offerings at a much lower cost: https://www.ecstuning.com/Volkswagen-Golf_V--2.5/Search/SiteSearch/fender_liners/

The two rear liners are made of a type of felt. I replaced all of my liners about two years ago.

 

[zrickety]

FWIW, I bought a couple of the cheaper front fender liners on ebay a couple years ago. They took a little extra effort to fit, but I saved a fortune. They've held up well. Definitely keep your belly pan on there, it helps.