Tranny/oil pan skid

[Truro Offroad]

Well I picked up a piece of 3/16 aluminum today and am gonna try my hand and making a skid plate..

This is my design:



Originally I had planned on flush mounting it to the face of my RE skid, but that would require a lot more work, since I would have to take the skid plate out and then drill holes in the lip of it. So instead I am gonna mount it flush to the bottom of the plate and use the 3 exisiting holes in the bottom of the RE skid.

So I am gonna try making it with 2 bends along the long side of it, 90* bends and the lip will be 3/4" long.

For the front I am thinking of getting these for the upper mount.




Then getting a piece of 2x2 tubing and doing this:



Notching it out to form the bends then having it welded up, then bolt the skid plate to the front mounting bracket from the bottom, up through the tubing.

I am also gonna take the extra flat piece of aluminum I have left over and place that on the inside of the skid plate, have enough to almost double up the entire inside and have that welded in. That should make it good and strong..I think..

They only downfall is the skid row mouting tabs...they are $140cdn..which I can't see me spending on them..I am sure I can have some made locally for a hell of a lot less..

The nice thing about a tab like that is that the motor mount already has the holes in it, so no drilling there is required.

dun laugh at my paint drawings..LOL

Total weight will be under 15lbs

[Dr. Burkeee]

Looks cool.
You may have trouble bending a 90* without cracking the Al along the seam. A 45* with a generous radius will add just as much rigidity and shouldn't crack. You should be able to google a chart that shows max bend angles and min radius for different thickness Al plate. You don't want to have to heat it to complete a bend, because it will remove the temper and weaken it. Also layout the design on your plate with the bends parallel to the plate's rolling direction (should be able to see lubricant streaks) and it'll bend easier.

$140? Weld some tabs to the frame and be done with it.

Paul

[Paul Boudreau]

dont forget to put a gasket betwen the steel and the aluminium , and use some stainless fastener

[Creepy]

i'm still sayin the 10#'s you save in wieght isn't worth making it out of Al. instead of steel.

Randy if you order those brackets you are a bolt on machine.
soooo easy to make!!

[Truro Offroad]

for the cost of em...no way i am buying them...i'd rather just make a tab and have it welded to the frame...simple and easy...

problem with me making it out of steel..i don't really have the tools for doing that...with the AL..i can easily cut it with a jig saw..and work with it easily...plus it cost me a whole 15 bucks..

I am sure it will be strong enough..if I come down on it hard enough to destroy it..then i will make it out of steel..

[©Big6™]

Randy, I can cut/bend that design on a piece of 1/4" plate in 30 minutes.....even punch the holes for you!