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Ford installed rubber air deflectors at 4 different locations around the radiator. It appears that Ford used a cheap recycled rubber to make these air deflectors and they didn't last more than a few thousand miles on my truck before they started falling apart. Instead of buying new OEM replacements only to have them break again in the near future, I decided to make my own. The large lower air deflector on the underside of the radiator is still intact so I haven't needed to remove and remake it but I have remade the driver side upper deflector, the driver side lower deflector and the passenger side upper deflector. See the following picture for a depiction of the location of the air deflectors on my 2014 f150 that I remade. This shows the location of the three air deflectors that I made.
I was able to trace around the OEM air deflectors, scan the traces into the computer, import the scans into a 3D modeling software, create new sketch geometry using the scans, print a full size drawing, cut out the templates and use them to make the new air deflectors. I've had the new air deflectors installed for the past 20,000 miles or so and they still look as good as the day I installed them.
All of the details about how to make them is shown on the attached .pdf/drawing along with a full size template of the air deflectors. It also includes info on where to buy the rubber and the recommended type and thickness of rubber. I ordered two feet of the rubber that is described on the drawing. It also lists a p/n for replacement christmas tree push pins that I discovered to be the EXACT same ones that are sold by Ford. Only difference is that the ones that Ford sells are WAY more expensive.
One way to make the deflectors is to adhere the paper template to the sheet of rubber and cut along the lines using a razor knife. Another way that I decided to make them is to adhere the paper template to a piece of 1/4 inch thick plywood, cut/shape the plywood, adhere the rubber to the new plywood template, and then use a router with a flush trim bit to cut the rubber. This gave me a smooth cut on the rubber and worked really well. Here are a few pictures showing the process.
I hope someone can find this info useful.
Mine are also damaged, was looking at replacement cost just last week.
It takes some time to make your own but it's worth it. It ended up costing me about the same price, or a little less, to make my own instead of buying OEM replacements. The OEM replacements are just going to tear again in no time.
What's up with the rubber deflectors in the grill area falling apart? When I sold my '09 just this summer with 90K miles, the rubber was still perfect. Have they cheapened them so much?
What's up with the rubber deflectors in the grill area falling apart? When I sold my '09 just this summer with 90K miles, the rubber was still perfect. Have they cheapened them so much?
I'm not sure what or if anything has changed since the earlier years but mine were ripping at many of the mounting holes. The driver lower deflector has some narrow sections that had torn and it was just dangling. My deflectors were made from a recycled compressed rubber that is similar to horse stall mats. It's a very low quality rubber that's just not suited for the application. I had one of the upper ones replaced by the dealer at about the 10,000 mile mark and the replacement one was torn within a few more oil changes.
09-09-2018, 11:37 PM
Under Hood Air Deflectors - Make Your Own
