T-Case skid plate build (pic's)

[Zane]

So, I'm getting ready for my first trip to Moab Utah for Cruise Moab in a little over a month and figured I needed to beef up my OEM t-case skid plate. I looked at some of the different skid plates out there and decided not to go with the large but very beefy iron pig type due to the type of wheeling I do.

So this is what I did. I purchased a 13" x 22” x ¼” thick piece of plate steel from my local steel yard. I then marked it to the specs you see below and had them cut the plate to match.

Once I got home I struggled to figure out how to bend my 45 degree angles in this thick stuff without a very big brake press. After much consideration I used a very thin cutting wheel on my angle grinder and ran a line across the steel where I wanted the individual bends (about halfway through the 1/4” plate. This allowed me to bend the plate with a BFH clamped to a block of heavy steel as a straight edge. In the diagram below you will see where I placed my bends. Note: I placed my outer most 45 bends on the front and back of the skid plate more than 1” in. You can put them as far in or out as you feel comfortable with. Once I got all of my bends where I wanted them and test fitted them under the truck I then welded shut the gaps of where I had cut the steel with the cutting wheel.


Next steps will be to drill the three mounting holes and to build a bracket that will attach to the frame rail supporting the rear most part of the skid plate. I also need to drill a large hole via a hole saw so I can drain my t-case without having to remove the skid plate.

[Zane]

Attached are some pictures of how it turned out. For reference the first picture is the "TOP" and the second two are the "BOTTOM" of the skid plate.

[Box Rocket]

looking good. Should work well. Post more as you progress.

[corsair23]

Awesome work...Wish I had the skills and time to do that.

Alas, I took the easy way and just bought the Slee skidplate so now all I have to do is find the time to install it

[ded6080]

Cool - I like how you did the bends with the cutting wheel, steel block, BFH and welding the gaps shut - Going to use your bend technique to fab one up once I get some spare time

[tomatopants]

Originally Posted by corsair23

Awesome work...Wish I had the skills and time to do that.

Alas, I took the easy way and just bought the Slee skidplate so now all I have to do is find the time to install it

That took me like 15 minutes, and I'm a complete idiot when it comes to putting stuff together.

[Tools R Us]

Originally Posted by zjz4476

...

Once I got home I struggled to figure out how to bend my 45 degree angles in this thick stuff without a very big brake press. After much consideration I used a very thin cutting wheel on my angle grinder and ran a line across the steel where I wanted the individual bends (about halfway through the 1/4” plate...

I use a circular saw with a metal cutting abrasive blade, set the depth and rip! The blade wears and you have to readjust the depth often, but works great.

[Zane]

Originally Posted by Tools R Us

I use a circular saw with a metal cutting abrasive blade, set the depth and rip! The blade wears and you have to readjust the depth often, but works great.

Not a bad idea, but with a cutting wheel on an angle grinder you dont ever have to adjust the depth.

[Tools R Us]

Originally Posted by zjz4476

Not a bad idea, but with a cutting wheel on an angle grinder you dont ever have to adjust the depth.

When using a hand grinder, I find that I have to constantly, manually adjust the depth of cut!

[Zane]

Originally Posted by Tools R Us

When using a hand grinder, I find that I have to constantly, manually adjust the depth of cut!

Touché

[Dusty]

if you are in a big hurry to bend steel corrigate (sp) it by cutting most of the line with a torch/plasma cutter and just leave a few joining pieces of steel to hold stuff together. then bend away. by the time you weld it up the line is stronger than the orriginal mild steel anyway

http://forum.ih8mud.com/showthread.p...highlight=skid

[Zane]

Originally Posted by Box Rocket

looking good. Should work well. Post more as you progress.

OK, I finished this project up over the weekend. Please see attached pictures of finalized t-case skid plate installed. I still need to drill a hole with a hole saw for my drain, but will need to remove it and take it to a friends house who has a drill press. Other than that its done. Fairly easy mod with the right tools and total cost to build was about $30.00.

[Zane]

I wanted to also show you how I built the rear bracket to support the back of the skid plate.

let me know if you have any questions.

Thanks

Zane

[e9999]

consider using Allen buttonhead bolts for babysmooth glidin' ?

[Taildragon]

Nice work, now lets go product test it in Moab!!!!

[IBCRUSN]

Zane,
Nice work!

Since you're in the fab state of mind I'm gonna PM you an idea and see if you're interested.

Originally Posted by e9999

consider using Allen buttonhead bolts for babysmooth glidin' ?

Button heads are nice but once they have been ground over rocks many times you'll never get an allen bit in there. The standard hardware at least gives you something to grab with Vice Grip.