It's probably purely aesthetic, I would think

 

Don't know about the D itself, but on other cars, it would overheat without it in place.

I'm guessing we need it, unless you live in very cool areas. It would also affect A/C performance

 

Yeah, broke my air dam as well over a snow drift goofing around.

I'm thinking of taking it off and leaving it off. It looks like it would have better clearance anyways without it.

I'm just worried about losing gas mileage and maybe experiencing some cooling problems. I did a search and it seems that some of the truck guys have mixed results of gas mileage with the air dam removed. One person who did a very controlled experiment lost mileage, but I'm not sure if that example applies to the 2G D or not.

I'm going to remove it and see what happens. That air dam will act like a snow plow. If you go through deep enough snow it's going to crack anyways, of course that's pretty deep snow which I'll probably never get around here.

Willy

 

I'd watch your temps, especially when running the AC. Those "air damns" are usually there to help cool things.

 

i actually read an article from Dodge regarding the development of the '04+ Durango...they mentioned by name the air dam in question....they were talking about how no stone was left unturned and that the addition of the dam improved MPG, cooling AND got rid of some turbulance/wind noise....i would say replace it when you get a chance...

 

Replace it!
The wife's mini van lost it's on a concrete parking place stop.............
Had to replace it, it kept overheating from day one and stopped the minute I put the new one on.
It was about the same size and consistency of the D. I can't remember but it was not that expensive..........
We live in a hot area 100-110 all summer we where asking for it.
Another thought!!!
If it where not serving a GOOD purpose then I don't think DC would have added it for cost reasons..............

 

Sounds like the consensus is replacing the air dam, Damn!

Guess I'll leave the old one on there until I find a replacement.

Thanks all.

Willy

 

Yep, air dam is there for mileage purposes - reduces underbody airflow which in turn reduces drag.

 

yeah, guess i will replace it. anyone know what they charge????

 

I called two service dept's today and both assured me that the air dam is cosmetic. Both stated that cooling is not affected by taking off the air dam.

 

i wish i had the article where they were quoting the D's designers left and right regarding the new for '04 design...they made a point to discuss the air dam and how by adding it, MPG and all that good stuff was improved...i would like to remove mine strictly for appearence reasons, but won't based on that article.

 

Maybe i'll try a third service dept. i went down highway yesterday at 70mph for 20min's and computer said i was getting in the 18's even 19's for mpg. i'd hate to spend the money on something that will probably break again. Rather spend it on new tires or bull bar.

 

88 bucks from the dealer by the way.

 

Ok, thanks. Temps still normal and I'm getting good gas milage. I'll wait to see what happens when the weather gets hotter. Three service dept's assured me that it is just cosmetic. So far they seem to be right.

 

Mine is broken too, so I removed it. I'm doing the same experiment. I think it looks better without it, and my wallet looks better with the 88 bucks still in it.