[Ebag333]

So as I've been getting into wheeling more and more, I've decided it was time to get some protection for the transfer case, as it's just begging to be hit.


Background

I initially considered going with Slee's or IPOR's, but there were a couple of draw backs that made me go a different route.

In the case of Slee's original skid plate, it doesn't cover near enough IMHO. A local cruiserhead here has Slee's original, and after the wheeling he has done (including Rubicon) the side of it is chewed up from hitting rocks at an angle.

In the case of IPOR (and Slee's new one IIRC), it's removing the factory cross member. I seriously considered removing it even for my own build, but you don't buy hardly any additional clearance (the t-case hangs below the cross member) and you have to deal with the hassle of building (and installing) a new one that matches the factory specs.

Additionally, neither Slee's original nor IPOR's attaches anywhere at the end. A hard enough hit could easily cause them to bend. Slee's new one does mount on the frame rails, but that wasn't an option when I started my build.

I also wanted coverage for the tranny. It'd be fairly difficult to hit it with a rock, but I'd much rather plunk down some cash for protection than deal with a cracked tranny on the trail. (I believe I read somewhere that Slee is coming out with a tranny plate that attaches to their new one.)

And finally, the biggest draw back to any of those options was price.


If I went with something that was pre-done already, I would have chosen Slee's new one in a heart beat. If that one wasn't an option, then IPOR's. All three of the skid plates are well designed and will function as they were intended, just none of them quite met my needs/requirements/wants.



Initial Design Decisions

I had a few basic requirements for my armor:

• Protection of the t-case
• Protection of the tranny
• Frame rail to frame rail coverage (for protection from weird angle hits, for additional strength, and for easy mounting possibilities).
• Keeping the factory cross member in place.

These design decisions basically ruled out any of the existing options.

The fellow who did most (darn near all) of the welding and cutting had built his own skid plates for his FJC. He had used 10 gauge steel, and had bent them up quite badly on Rubicon. The plates did their job that trip, but really wasn't ideal for the type of wheeling that he intended them for.

With that in mind, I had decided to aim for either 8 or 10 gauge steel, and double up the thickness in the weaker areas, along with some extra framing/bracing to prevent any bending.

Unfortunately, when I hit up the local steel yard all they had in their scrap/remnant section (in the size that I wanted) was 14 gauge. From there it dropped to 4 gauge. This was an easy decision as 10 gauge would not hold up to an FJC wheeling, there was no way that 14 gauge would survive an 80!

They did have some 2 gauge diamond plate that I briefly considered....but then I figured I wanted to keep it off the bump stops without having to catch air.

In retrospect the 4 gauge turned out to be an excellent choice. With the exception of one spot where the steel is a bit narrow (due to the positioning of the drive shaft, and being relatively close to the front lower control arm), I did not need to reinforce any areas of the plate itself.




And now for what you all really care about.....pics!

Initial Cutting

As the only thing we had to go from was a very rough cut chunk of cardboard and some rough measurements, we did a lot of cutting-fitting-cutting-fitting-cutting-fitting-cutting-fitting.



Some of the initial cuts. Plasma torches are cool!



First pass. Lots of steel yet to be removed.



This is what happens when you let your helper cut without close supervision. He goes and makes a sword.



Final Cutting

Skipping ahead about a half dozen hours of work (and did I mention test fitting?), we have what is essentially the final product.



Cutting out the access holes for drain plugs and zirks. The initial cuts were too small (and one was slightly off, due entirely to my WAG that was not quite right).



Plate finished! (View from the front of the plate, looking at the top.)



View from the drivers side.



View from the back of the plate.


(More after the cut!)

[Ebag333]

On the truck!


This is the plate mounted, as seen from the front of the truck. There's actually more clearance between the sway bar and the plate, the angle makes it look smaller.



Front half of the plate (tranny protection) as seen from the drivers side. You can see it extends quite a bit forward.


View from the rear passengers side. You can see the t-case hanging down slightly.



Here's a shot where you can see how close the t-case is to the skid plate. I initially thought that I would be losing approx 1/2" to 1" of clearance from the factory skid plate position. I estimate I've actually gained about half an inch under the t-case.



Shot of the mounts on the driver's side. Sharp eyes will notice that these are different from the passenger's side. This is entirely due to my slightly off measurements that resulted in the passenger's side being short approx one half of an inch.

Knoll0351--who did most of the welding/cutting--does an excellent job at both. Any booger welds are entirely my fault for making him weld with the plate positioned on the truck (held up via a floor jack). Upside down. In the dark. With poor lighting. (He was even good enough to do some cuts with his plasma torch at the same time. )



Close up of the access hole for the t-case drain. We cut it quite a bit larger than just for the drain as the t-case actually was touching the plate with it mounted. Additionally, when starting or in 4 low, the t-case tends to move around a lot, so we wanted to provide plenty of room for it.

I am considering making a cover plate for that hole for that extra bit of protection. Theoretically a pointy rock could hit it. I haven't decided one way or the other yet.


And just to make it easy for people to find, you can click on the link below to see dimensions:
http://forum.ih8mud.com/3737427-post74.html



Final thoughts

Over all I am extremely pleased with the results. Huge props to Knoll0351 for his experience with his skid plate (and telling me everything he did wrong), and his skill with his welder and torch. Without him this would have never have worked (my welder can only get about 20% penetration on 4 gauge ).

There have been some questions on the weight. I haven't weighed it, but I am estimating the weight at around 75 lbs. The initial metal was 108 lbs, and we cut off about a fifth of it right away (the sheet was the right width, but way too long). Then of course we had to trim off the sides, cut holes, etc. There is no difference in ride height with it installed compared to it off the truck.




Cost Breakdown

Here's a rough cost breakdown.

Steel: ~$100
Mounting hardware (bolts/washers/etc): ~$10

There were some other misc costs (gas, buying lunch, etc). (I still owe Knoll0351 a . )

I estimate that it took about 20 hours (+-2). Now that it's done, I could use the existing skid plate as a template, and have a new one done in about 2-3 hours.



Future plans

And of course I'm not finished with it!

As mentioned above, I'm considering adding a plate to cover the t-case access hole.

I will eventually be mounting tabs on the top of the plate (in the hole between the frame rail and the t-case) to mount an air tank. It's the perfect size for one, and will be VERY well protected!

I also have an idea bouncing around in my head for tabs for some rock lights along the edges.

And of course, who knows what else the future might hold?

[NLXTACY]

EBAG, I know you showed me this last week, but you're still nuts!!! Great protection though!

[Ebag333]

Originally Posted by NLXTACY

I know you showed me this last week

Yeah, but those were a handful of crappy cell phone pics.

Originally Posted by NLXTACY

but you're still nuts!!!

Didn't you say you wanted one?

By the way, the guy who helped do the welding/cutting said he's up for building another. He's already talking about how to do "Belly plate version 1.1".

[livinoffroad]

"As mentioned above, I'm considering adding a plate to cover the t-case access hole."


With all that protection, you would be remiss to not make a cover plate...drill or torch a 3/8" hole on either side of the rectangular hole, weld a couple nuts on the top side of the "belly pan", and bolt thru from underneath.

Easy drop down , or swivel aside action for maintenance. This type of "belly pan" was quite common on the Caterpillar dozers, loaders, and scrapers I used to work on as a kid.

Except they used 3/8" plate.

Great job on your "belly pan".

One suggestion...you might consider welding an angled edge on the rear, so if you ever find yourself reversing out of the rocks, you won't catch on the rocks, but will ramp up over them.

Consider posting the dimensions for tech.

Way to go!

[NLXTACY]

Originally Posted by Ebag333

Yeah, but those were a handful of crappy cell phone pics.



Didn't you say you wanted one?

By the way, the guy who helped do the welding/cutting said he's up for building another. He's already talking about how to do "Belly plate version 1.1".

Oh I never said I DIDN'T want one

[Ebag333]

Originally Posted by livinoffroad

With all that protection, you would be remiss to not make a cover plate...drill or torch a 3/8" hole on either side of the rectangular hole, weld a couple nuts on the top side of the "belly pan", and bolt thru from underneath.

Easy drop down , or swivel aside action for maintenance. This type of "belly pan" was quite common on the Caterpillar dozers, loaders, and scrapers I used to work on as a kid.

This is probably what I'll end up doing. I don't like the extra plate because it provides something to get rocks hung up on, but I'll end up doing it anyway.

Originally Posted by livinoffroad

Except they used 3/8" plate.

Well I'm not that much thinner than them.

Originally Posted by livinoffroad

One suggestion...you might consider welding an angled edge on the rear, so if you ever find yourself reversing out of the rocks, you won't catch on the rocks, but will ramp up over them.

That's a good idea, and something that I will probably do once I reroute my exhaust over the frame rail. Once I reroute the exhaust that cut out for the tubing won't be needed, and I'll have some extra room for what you suggest.

Originally Posted by livinoffroad

Consider posting the dimensions for tech.

I intend to take measurements in case if I ever do version 1.1. When I do, I'll post them here.

[Beowulf]

Originally Posted by Ebag333

Cutting out the access holes for drain plugs and zirks. The initial cuts were too small (and one was slightly off, due entirely to my WAG that was not quite right).

How do you access the transfer case fill plug?

-B-

[Ebag333]

Originally Posted by Beowulf

How do you access the transfer case fill plug?

-B-

I should be able to reach it from the back of the skid plate.

If it's too difficult to get to, I can drop the skid plate quite easily. It's only 6 bolts.

[landtank]

You've got nothing supporting that metal in the back under the t-case. I'd put a jack under there and see how much it flexes. I think if the truck came down on that plate with all it's weight you might get contact.

[nat88toy]

sweet man looks great! just made one very similar and couldn't be happier

[jfz80]

Great coverage and initiative to go out and tackle making your own design!!!
X2 on adding an angle up in the rear and maybe incorporating a brace at back end to framerails \_/ .

[cruiser 51]

looks good. im thinking of doing the same. for i cant aford all that expensive shit and i do no how to weld .

[Ebag333]

Originally Posted by landtank

You've got nothing supporting that metal in the back under the t-case. I'd put a jack under there and see how much it flexes. I think if the truck came down on that plate with all it's weight you might get contact.

I've done exactly that with no flex. My jack isn't tall enough to completely lift the tires off the ground, but the suspension is pretty well unloaded.

It wouldn't surprise me if eventually the back end started bending/bowing slightly from hits, but it's going to take a LOT of force, and I doubt it's going to move far enough that it'll become a problem (there's nothing above it that it can interfere with).

And if it does move, I can always drop it and hammer it flat. Or maybe I'll just consider it "self adjusting" to provide an angle for when I backup over a rock.

When/if I add an angle at the back, I could add in some angular bracing off that to provide support and prevent warping....

Originally Posted by cruiser 51

looks good. im thinking of doing the same. for i cant aford all that expensive shit and i do no how to weld .

It's not difficult. If your welder can't handle 4 gauge, 6 gauge should work just as well. (I would probably add bracing in a couple of spots for extra strength.) I don't think for a plate this size anything thinner than 6 gauge would work that well, given how heavy an 80 is.

[landtank]

If you think you will be able to hammer it flat if it bends, the stock isn't thick enough.

[Ebag333]

Originally Posted by landtank

If you think you will be able to hammer it flat if it bends, the stock isn't thick enough.

Well, maybe with a 20 lb hammer. And a much much bigger guy than me.

(I already know that my 5 lb hammer with me behind it won't even dent it. Ask me how I know...)






Yeah...it was wishful thinking.

[nicholas]

Very nice, stout, low cost alternative, I like it! Look forward to seeing the dimensions when you get around to it. Great work!

[PScottBx]

Nice

Bx

[1shot1kill]

Great work! Cheers!

[Russ in California]

Instead of the usual birf party, maybe there should be a bellypan party. Make a weekend out of it. ???

[NLXTACY]

Originally Posted by Russ in California

Instead of the usual birf party, maybe there should be a bellypan party. Make a weekend out of it. ???

ding ding ding!!

[Ebag333]

Originally Posted by Russ in California

Instead of the usual birf party, maybe there should be a bellypan party. Make a weekend out of it. ???

I'm game.

[CreeperSleeper]

I would love to have one of those...

[Ebag333]

Originally Posted by CreeperSleeper

I would love to have one of those...

The way you wheel, it might work better if your entire body was made out of 4 gauge steel.


You're not that far away from me though. If you want one, let me know, and it can be arranged.

[F0RSAKEN]

Not to sound negative, but I'm with Landtank. The weight of the vehicle unloading onto a hard surface like a rock is much greater than that of it not even completely suspended by a jack.

[Wrench]

I still love my IPOR. It protects so well. And I really love the added ground clearance.

[Ebag333]

Originally Posted by F0RSAKEN

Not to sound negative, but I'm with Landtank. The weight of the vehicle unloading onto a hard surface like a rock is much greater than that of it not even completely suspended by a jack.

I don't disagree. Force = Mass X Acceleration. We know the mass, we can guess at the acceleration, and that equals one heck of a large amount of force. Much more than lifting up the truck with a jack.

I don't think that this is going to bend much if at all however. It is better supported than other options on the market (except for perhaps Slee's new one, I'm not sure how that one is mounted up yet). It's also a thicker material than most other options.

Originally Posted by Wrench

I still love my IPOR. It protects so well. And I really love the added ground clearance.

I really like the IPOR. I disagree however that it buys you any ground clearance that matters. The T-Case hangs way lower than the cross member, and you're measuring your extra clearance in quarter inches.

In 99.9999999% of all situations, if that extra clearance was going to make the difference, you were likely hosed anyway.

Since my skid plate is tucked up so tightly against the t-case (maybe even too close), it has at least as much if not more clearance as the IPOR does under the t-case.

As I said before, if I didn't go my own route and if Slee's new one wasn't available, IPOR's would have been my choice easily. IPOR's plate is a great product, just a bit too pricey for me, and didn't quite fit my needs/wants.

[CreeperSleeper]

Originally Posted by Ebag333

The way you wheel, it might work better if your entire body was made out of 4 gauge steel.


You're not that far away from me though. If you want one, let me know, and it can be arranged.

My body is way too far gone to save, not even worth it anymore!

PM me a $$. I may be able to talk the into it after the 4Runner sells!

[hatman406080]

i just wonder with heat build up under form tran,cat.

[Ebag333]

Originally Posted by CreeperSleeper

My body is way too far gone to save, not even worth it anymore!

That's why you cut it all away and rebuild it from 4 gauge steel! Really kill your aerodynamics by making it one giant box!

Originally Posted by CreeperSleeper

PM me a $$. I may be able to talk the into it after the 4Runner sells!

I'd actually never intended it for resale (or to do more) but the guy who did mine said he'd like to do at least one more (to fix all the little flaws in mine)....

Originally Posted by hatman406080

i just wonder with heat build up under form tran,cat.

Cat's aren't an issue unless you've relocated them (and I'm not sure where you'd relocate them to in that area anyway). They are outside the frame rail, so not covered at all.

There will be more heat buildup from the tranny and t-case, but so far I haven't noticed any issues. I haven't gone farther than about 40 minutes (almost entirely freeway), and I could easily lay my hand on the skid plate. It was warm to the touch, but not uncomfortable.

I think that there is plenty of air getting through there. Remember a lot of folks with IFS put up skid plates that block off far more air flow to the tranny than my plate does, and they don't seem to have any issues.

If you feel it's an issue, slots could easily be added in the front half to allow more air flow through. That would of course weaken that area, but it's not likely to get a lot of hard hits to begin with.