2008 Buick Enclave CX: The Engine Cover and Oil Cap

so somewhere under all of that there is an engine?

Oh man, that IS ugly!! Put that cover back on, PLEASE!!!

As they say, beauty is only skin deep!!!

Like I've said before, engine covers are just lazy engineering. It serves no purpose other then to cover up sloppy work.

Transverse-mounted V6 engines were never very easy on the eyes. While I'm not a fan of engine covers in general, this one covers up a pretty ugly engine.

I always thought our old L300 V6 engine was good looking and was happy it was coverless:

http://www.saturnfans.com/photos/showphoto.php/photo/6104

And, of course, the original Taurus SHO had a beautiful transverse V6:

http://www.danvm.com/dan/car/images/shov6.jpg

Perhaps, say, a thin felt pad resting under the oil cap would keep dirt and sand from falling into the tube?

Too, might removing the engine cover impact air flow, perhaps negatively?

You want to see a beautiful V6 transverse engine? Have a look at Alfa Romeo's from the earlu 90ies:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v341/joshpettry/Car/Europe/Italian/Alfa_Romeo/a164moto.jpg

It looks like removing the cover might make it a little easier to reach the oil dipstick.

Most engine covers do more than cover up wire harnesses and other "sloppy" work. They are used for NVH and to protect the stuff underneath from ambient underhood temps. Why not wash the engine? If its dirty clean it, techs like clean engines and most dealers in Michigan wash the car and clean the engine bay before the car goes to a technician.

Anytime I've washed the engine bay with engine cleaner and a garden hose, it ended badly - some electronic sensor or part that doesn't like getting wet would misbehave and cause all sorts of problems. If it doesn't get clean from a wipe down, then the engine will stay dirty on my vehicles.

Nice looking transversly mounted Honda V6:

http://us1.webpublications.com.au/static/images/articles/i29/2917_13lo.jpg

"Anytime I've washed the engine bay with engine cleaner and a garden hose, it ended badly - some electronic sensor or part that doesn't like getting wet would misbehave and cause all sorts of problems. If it doesn't get clean from a wipe down, then the engine will stay dirty on my vehicles."

I usually wash the engine bays of my cars about twice a year. I use a good engine cleaner and a pressure washer with no problems so far.

all cars have an engine cover. it's called a HOOD.

The only time you need to open the hood is to actually check, maintain, etc.
The plastic covers just waste valuable time for the DIY'er and the underhood airflow would probably be better without all that plastic blocking everything. those thin molded panels are going to do nill for NVH. I could argue they also trap heat

They are 100% cosmetic, non-functional junk.

Uhh, I don't know about that Cruiserhead1...I always thought the cover and all of the underhood plastic was there to actually duct cool air through the engine bay and out again.

Then again, I've never had an engine cover that needed to be taken off to check the dipstick, so I'd find this design very annoying.

Also: That Alfa engine looks sick.

On or off who really cares? Okay I guess I shouldn't say that because I would care. But really it's under the hood and unless you drive around with your hood off, then it really wouldn't be that big of a deal what the engine looked like...

big_al, yes!

BUT, the cover does block out noise, you'd have to be a _____ to not know that..

I'm fairly sure that the cover on this engine actually *does* address heat and NVH issues- if you look even a little at the uncovered engine, you can see the insulation around what appears to be the intake manifold, which would not only address temperature issues a bit, but also noise (intake noise can be EXTREME, trust me), and the cover would further insulate the airflow. Anyone arguing that this is useless or impedes the cooling / prevention of heating must not read enthusiast sites elsewhere, where folks go to great lengths to get CAIs installed, insulate the plumbing from extra heat in the engine compartment, etc., all in the name of more power and efficiency (usually ending up with much louder intake noise, btw- which the cover and insulation reduce a bit).

Ah, forgot (dang, as others have complained, where's EDIT!). The complaint about dust and grit in the opening is a bit lazy sounding to me. When checking / adding oil to my vehicles, I have a rag or towels handy, and wipe down the surrounding area to prevent just such occurrences, as well as allowing me to clean the dipstick before it gets reinserted. So the cover being above the opening doesn't cause any heartache for that either.

Love the Simpsons reference! Keep up the good work!

Looks much better without that stupid hunk of plastic on there. When did this silly engine cover fad begin?

^Are you on crack?

I agree with ptmeyer, I want to see how things actually look, not the way PR folks want them to look.
-mike

As far as looks go, it doesn't matter, the cover isn't blocking anything by being on, whats the problem? The engine isn't some work of art, it's a V6 that is covered with sound damping, with wiring loom around, there isn't much to look at.

^^ that's exactly the problem. It SHOULD be something to look at. The engine SHOULD look like a jewel in a jewel case. What we have here is an engine that looks like it was designed by the people at Playskool.

WHY?? This is an Enclave crossover, not a Corvette.

1. I like engine covers. Ford could learn a lot from GM about making the engine area look neat and tidy.
2. Very few average drivers these days ever pop the hood, fewer check the oil, and fewer still actually ever have need to add oil between changes. This may be an issue when the car gets older, or on a higher-performance car that needs oli between changes but not on a new run-of-the-mill family car.

A 2004 3.6L CTS I looked at had a MUCH neater and cleaner engine bay than that. I could actually see where the headers, water pump, and belts were. That's a MESS.

I would suggest the majority of car buyers don't have a clue what they are looking at when they look under the hood. Let's face it: the average Buick driver is going to know even less.

As a CXL owner I like seeing the nice tidy engine bay (all three times I've popped it open in 18k and 10 months of ownership).

The engine oil cap and washer fluid reservoir are the two most important maintenance items I need to access, and they are easy to find. I know this as a fact because I hurriedly poured my washer fluid in the oil filler one day, then couldn't understand why my low washer fluid warning kept blathering at me.

I sheepishly had to have the dealer bail me out.

Had the engine cover been removed, who knows what I may have filled with washer fluid!

"I would suggest the majority of car buyers don't have a clue what they are looking at when they look under the hood. "

So you think it's OK for car makers to settle for catering to the lowest common denominator?

Not a good way to be the best when your products are designed for those who wouldn't know the difference.

Not everyone is clueless.

Yes it is, have you met anyone that has bought a Camry? Anyway, a pretty engine shows off the engineers ability to waste time and resources on something that doesn't help the car be more fuel efficient, perform better, or run on a low octane.- A pretty engine bay on anything other than an exotic is a big waste.

@ firstwagon

Had you read my comment as printed it does not state everyone is clueless. My comment hypothesizes about the "majority" of car buyers: a quick revisit of elementary math reminds us a majority is a subset of a group that is more than half of the entire group.

Perhaps I should have specified "new car buyers."

How is covering the engine with an (albeit subjectively) attractive casing catering to a lowest common denominator? I have purchased four new vehicles since 1998. The arrangement or appearance of the engine bay never factored into my decision. Are my purchase requirements of quality, comfort, safety and performance flawed because I did not take the engine bay aesthetics into account?

My neighbor across the street bought a spanking new Rolls Royce that is worth as much as my house. When he shows it to people he rarely is asked to pop the hood. I would not label him as a lowest common denominator, even though he could care less what the engine looks like. His passion for cars, like many of us, emanates from behind the wheel.

I just bought a new 2008 Enclave and I hate to sound stupid...But I can't find the Battery.

The battery is under the floor behind the passenger seat. There are access points under the hood for jump starting.

Has anyone noticed that that rear HVAC lines are uninsulated where they run under the exterior of the vehicle on the passenger side, leaving them exposed to dirt & damage, not to mention loosing heat/cold? I'm thinking about insulating them and covering with a PVC shield. Any thoughts?