A fairly stupid distributor question...

[phenobarb1]

So, I was replacing my master cylinder when I noticed that the protective plastic shield that cover my distributor cap was slowly being destroyed by my radiator fan. The positive side is this certainly explains some of the noise I had heard coming from underneath the hood.

Basically the shield was falling forward out of position and being slapped by the fan just enough to slowly burn a hole in the plastic distributor shield in a fan like sweeping pattern. The radiator fan seems fine, which is also a win.

So, should I replace the plastic shield, or just rip it out (it is currently out)? Does it actually do anything that matters? Seems fairly stupid and useless to me, but I am hesitant to ignore the engineers at BMW. Feel free to mock me for being overly cautious.

Thanks.

[jlevie]

The purpose of the shield is to keep moisture and dirt away from the distributor. While it is a good idea to retain the shield, it can be removed.

[Farbin Kaiber]

I'd replace it. Also, how are your engine/trans mounts holding up? They could be suspect as to why that cover made contact in the first place.

[phenobarb1]

The mounts seem to be good. The problem seems to be that one of the coolant hoses just slightly nudges the plastic shield out of position.

[Gruelius]

the plastic fan over time expands too.

[phenobarb1]

Yeah, I want to thank Farbin for making me paranoid about my motor mounts. Couldn't get the damn thought out of my head, so I had to crawl under my baby to make sure. It all checked out fine. So, I'll just be replacing the cover, nudging to radiator hose to gain some room, and adding a zip-tie to the new cover to keep it from flexing towards the fan(advanced engineering at work here). God I hate zip-ties, they do such a good job, but look so unprofessional.