So I had a problem with my deck plate mod after installing my custom dual projector headlights. The rear of the new headlights extend much further back than the original headlights, due to the dual projectors. So I had very little space between the back of the projectors and the front of the air box, where the deck plate hole was. I literally could not install the deck plate cover due to the lack of space, but I still wanted to be able to close the opening when going through deep water/mud.
So I wanted to eliminate the deck plate mod entirely, and design a new closable opening in the front of the air box. I needed something that I could open and close easily within a very small space. I also didn’t want a separate piece (ie deck plate cover) to store in the truck somewhere, and possibly misplace. So this is the contraption I came up with:
Two 1/4” thick hard plastic plates with 3 openings in each of them. The rear plate will be epoxied into the front of the air box where the old deck plate was. The front plate can rotate to either open or close the openings. Here are all the individual parts:
This is what the parts look like assembled together (without the air box). The two plates are held tightly together with the use of a spring, but still allow rotation. (I got the spring idea from how the wire spool mounts onto my Hobart welder.) The “L” shaped handle provides something to hold on to when rotating the front plate.
Showing the front plate in the almost fully open position:
Showing the front plate in the fully closed position:
I cut out the deckplate opening from the front of the air box, and epoxied the rear plate to the inside surface of the air box.
Then bolted the front plate to the rear plate with the spring, and labeled the open and closed positions on top of the air box. Open position:
The underside of the “L” shaped handle hits the top of the air box in both the open and closed position. This positive stop feature makes it super easy to get the front plate into the correct positions. Closed position:
The material for the plastic plates is ABS. It has very smooth slick surfaces that allow the two plates to rotate easily against each other, even though the spring is pressing them together very tightly. Also the tension between the plates can be adjusted by how far the nut is threaded onto the bolt and compressing the spring (just like my welder wire spool).
Now I have an opening in the front of the air box, that is super easy to open and close. As a future enhancement, I was thinking about setting up a small actuator to push/pull the handle into the open/closed positions. I could wire it to a switch inside the cab. Then I could open or close it at a moments notice, without even getting out of the truck and opening the hood to do it.
