How's access to your drive shaft zerks?
ASFIR Skid plates and front bumper
- Thread starter viducce
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How's access to your drive shaft zerks?
Well...not so much but I have not actually tried yet. The front don’t think so. The back of the front drive shaft maybe depending on how big your hands are.
With long flex line on grease gun they are possible to reach. I'm probably going to have to drop the mid plate though.
I'm not as impressed with these skids as I was when I just had the front plate on.
Having had others over the years from Slee, RCI, and ARB on other vehicles, there are areas that the budget price is really telling.
1. Overlapping plates vs butting up for a smooth transition. I anticipate I will hang up on a plate at this transition at some point.
2. Bolt hole alignment. I had yet another instance of the bolt holes being drilled incorrectly on the mid plate. I ditched their new washers for that part of the plate as they would not fit - the holes were misaligned by a half inch.
3. Hardware. The ASFIR plates have 13mm hardware - when OEM is 12mm (as are the diff drops provided by u.s. vendors). Switching sockets back and forth is just inconvenient.
I'm not as impressed with these skids as I was when I just had the front plate on.
Having had others over the years from Slee, RCI, and ARB on other vehicles, there are areas that the budget price is really telling.
1. Overlapping plates vs butting up for a smooth transition. I anticipate I will hang up on a plate at this transition at some point.
2. Bolt hole alignment. I had yet another instance of the bolt holes being drilled incorrectly on the mid plate. I ditched their new washers for that part of the plate as they would not fit - the holes were misaligned by a half inch.
3. Hardware. The ASFIR plates have 13mm hardware - when OEM is 12mm (as are the diff drops provided by u.s. vendors). Switching sockets back and forth is just inconvenient.
@AlpineAccess good points. Thanks for sharing for those of us who haven't finished up install yet.
I also wonder if there should be some more holes in the center belly to help drain mud and water. I can just see a very heavy collection of the fine silt and clay we have here growing and getting over the course of a weekend.
For the hardware, I just went ahead and bought all new stainless fasteners from McMC so they all matched. Since I was missing some of my "original bolts" already, it seemed like a good idea to have everything match.
I kind of like the overlapping aspect of the plates, but I can see your point about being a catch. I guess that if they are going to overlap, at least it's good that the forward panel goes on top.
I also wonder if there should be some more holes in the center belly to help drain mud and water. I can just see a very heavy collection of the fine silt and clay we have here growing and getting over the course of a weekend.
For the hardware, I just went ahead and bought all new stainless fasteners from McMC so they all matched. Since I was missing some of my "original bolts" already, it seemed like a good idea to have everything match.
I kind of like the overlapping aspect of the plates, but I can see your point about being a catch. I guess that if they are going to overlap, at least it's good that the forward panel goes on top.
I think there is an opportunity to improve based on feedback from customers, and templating multiple vehicles and looking for variances.
In my case, the measurements being off on the front plate I assumed were a factor of the Sleep diff drop being my forward point. That was dispelled after bolting up the cross bar from ASFIR and finding that the forward and center bolts were dead on. Rears were again way off.
Hardware would be quickly corrected just by finding 12mm option and providing a few extra stainless fender washers for if fitment issues are found.
The overlapping is a design area, but an adapter for the cross members would be one way to do it, with plates bolting into it.
For holes, aluminum is less malleable so I get why they don't want a lot of holes where a crack could start from, but based on your usage I think you could see where mud pools and pop in some drains with a step bit.
I wanted to use my factory trans skid as it's sturdy enough to provide a warning, so I measured and drilled holes to allow me to still use it.
What bolt sizes did you order?
Just did a quick scan back and am not sure which post of mine may be misleading. Let me know which page/post.
Gave my skids a bit of a workout this weekend and they did a great job.
Could definitely have benefited from a real gas tank skid.
Here's a few:
For those adding the middle skid you may want to increase the front center support by 1/4" to make up for the overlap with the middle ( I added a wood block to the tube and just added .25" more wood).
Oh, and figure out how you are going to jack/lift -the pads for the lift I use just squeezed into the right spot.
Thanks for checking back, sorry I didn't quote it previously. This post with the photos and modifications is the one I was talking about.
I too got to use my skids a bit this weekend. It was nice not sweating about hitting anything major as I was going on more rocky trails.
I used my new ASFIR front and gear skids Out on the trails this weekend too. Funny though I felt like I needed to go to the self car wash and spray off the dirt and dust from that beautiful shiny aluminum finish...with the old ones never gave it a second thought. I am sure I will get over it.
Maybe someone who has the new US/petrol spec set can comment on this - my suspicion is there will be the same issues(details).
Without other input I'm sticking with my suggestions with one proviso - I seem to recall a comment from ASFIR (either by email to me, or in a thread) about providing a slightly longer ceter bolt for the front skid.
With or without the longer bolt the front skid comes with a pipe to surround the center bolt and provide support against compressive (upward) forces. Because it seemed relatively insubstantial to me (WRT jacking the front center) I surrounded the tube with hardwood. For me this tubular support was exactly the right length for use of the front skid alone. When I added the middle skid ~over which the rear of the front skid mounts~ that spacer was 1/4" to short to provide support and, in fact, was rattling around as I drove.
I added the extra 1/4" of wood and again have snug-fitting support and no rattle.
Nice that you didn't see this issue.
I don't recall listing a bunch of modifications - I beefed-up the center support with hardwood to make jacking the front center less concerning.
I went looking for a buzz and found it.
Diesel or not there is going to be a difference in the ideal/desirable length of center bolt support depending on whether the front skid is mounted with or without overlap of the second skid.
The difference is close to the thickness of the second skid ~ 1/4" (short of doing the math on the change of angle and distance from the pivot point to get something precise...)
ASFIR has said there is only one front skid package for these diesel+petrol and that it is unchanged.
Today I replaced the torsion bar adjuster bracket guy and was able to finish the install of these skids.
Eh. They'll work, though I'm not 110% in love with them.
I still needed to notch the rear-most crossmember to clear the torsion bar bolt. I don't think I've seen anyone else mention this so it's likely there's something else tweaked under my truck. Aligns and rides fine, so a little skin off the crossmember was fine.
I'm also not in love with the fastening method for the rear portion of the center skid. Unless I misread the diagram, it kind of leaves the furthers rear/ furthest passenger side hanging off the OEM cross member a bit. Additionally, where that rectangular plate goes between the rear and center skids, it creates a wave in the panels so they don't fit flush to each other. Kind of negates the sound deadening strip right there if it's not sitting flat on it.
Luckily I was able to get everything lined up in the center and xfer case skid, meaning I only needed to enlargen the 2 holes at the rear of the front skid.
Now that they're installed, I'm not longer a fan of the overlapping design idea. I can just picture backing down a trail a bit to adjust my line and have a rock grab that lip and yank a bend into it. Also, there is no chance of me getting my front driveshaft greases with the skid on. This is a big deal, and I will likely need to cut an access hole for this. I'm not taking 2 skid plates off every time I need to service the underside (every 5,000 miles or 2-3 months).
I'd give a solid B. Not a B-, not a B+, a B.
I'll see how they do on a few trail rides in the next few weeks. These may end up being a great deal for someone else if they don't mind a few scratches on them already.
Eh. They'll work, though I'm not 110% in love with them.
I still needed to notch the rear-most crossmember to clear the torsion bar bolt. I don't think I've seen anyone else mention this so it's likely there's something else tweaked under my truck. Aligns and rides fine, so a little skin off the crossmember was fine.
I'm also not in love with the fastening method for the rear portion of the center skid. Unless I misread the diagram, it kind of leaves the furthers rear/ furthest passenger side hanging off the OEM cross member a bit. Additionally, where that rectangular plate goes between the rear and center skids, it creates a wave in the panels so they don't fit flush to each other. Kind of negates the sound deadening strip right there if it's not sitting flat on it.
Luckily I was able to get everything lined up in the center and xfer case skid, meaning I only needed to enlargen the 2 holes at the rear of the front skid.
Now that they're installed, I'm not longer a fan of the overlapping design idea. I can just picture backing down a trail a bit to adjust my line and have a rock grab that lip and yank a bend into it. Also, there is no chance of me getting my front driveshaft greases with the skid on. This is a big deal, and I will likely need to cut an access hole for this. I'm not taking 2 skid plates off every time I need to service the underside (every 5,000 miles or 2-3 months).
I'd give a solid B. Not a B-, not a B+, a B.
I'll see how they do on a few trail rides in the next few weeks. These may end up being a great deal for someone else if they don't mind a few scratches on them already.
So the rectangular plate is meant to go inside the cross member. On both the outermost bolts, they should be sitting flush, but only after the bolt is tight enough to squeeze them all together. Let me know if you need more explanation with that one, not sure if I wrote it out as clearly as the image in my head.
I think the torsion bolt thing is unique to your 100. Mine clear the bolt by a good bit.
Good review! Definitely some points to consider here.
I think this is going to be different person to person. It's not a big deal to me personally because I only do about 3-5,000 miles per year in my LC, so taking off the plates isn't a deal breaker for my usage. But I definitely see where wanting to add access points would be something you would want to modify in your case.
Thanks for pointing that out. I'll switch the plate into the correct position.
I think there's some room for that adjuster bracket to move a little forward or backward, depending on how far you pound the bars in at the front. Could have been a solution for me thinking of it in hindsight.
Yeah, with a good bit of mileage and at least monthly trail trips, getting access to them is crucial. I'm even going to need to switch my rear control arm zerks to 90* just to keep it simpler to service everything under the truck.
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I've decided that I really do not care for the oil filter access on this front skid. First, it leaves the filter pretty exposed from the side, even moreso than just the factory piece of tin. It's not far fetched to consider a stick could get in there pretty easily. Break off an oil filter on a trail and you're gonna have a bad day. Same goes for the lower radiator hose on the opposite and and I think that's a trans cooler line right next to it (another narrower rubber line).
Additionally, actually doing an oil change is a messy s*** show unless you've got an extra piece of hardware like a form-a-funnel handy to direct oil away from the skid. The result without this is the oil coating basically all of the skid from above as there's nowhere for the oil to drain out, no holes. I ended up getting a piece of Tupperware to hold/drain the filter and catch the remaining oil from the oil filter housing. Not ideal at all and still presents the chance of tipping the Tupperware when removing it. With my fumoto valve and original style of draining the filter, oil changes on my truck were extremely simple and tidy. This is no longer the case and that doesn't need to be the case.
And to echo what someone else has mentioned before: the cross member for the transfer case skid is going to present plenty of opportunity to hang up on a rock. Every other option I've found (Slee, Dissent BIO) has a full-frame-width panel here.
I have changed my "B" grade to a "C". Should have bitten the bullet and spent the little extra for another set.
Additionally, actually doing an oil change is a messy s*** show unless you've got an extra piece of hardware like a form-a-funnel handy to direct oil away from the skid. The result without this is the oil coating basically all of the skid from above as there's nowhere for the oil to drain out, no holes. I ended up getting a piece of Tupperware to hold/drain the filter and catch the remaining oil from the oil filter housing. Not ideal at all and still presents the chance of tipping the Tupperware when removing it. With my fumoto valve and original style of draining the filter, oil changes on my truck were extremely simple and tidy. This is no longer the case and that doesn't need to be the case.
And to echo what someone else has mentioned before: the cross member for the transfer case skid is going to present plenty of opportunity to hang up on a rock. Every other option I've found (Slee, Dissent BIO) has a full-frame-width panel here.
I have changed my "B" grade to a "C". Should have bitten the bullet and spent the little extra for another set.
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