Demello Offroad 4th Gen Skid Plate!

[Good Times]

Hey Ya'll:

I'm going to be proposing Jason @ Demello Offroad to make some dope 1 piece skid to replace the stock skids since it's a POS. But before I do this I need a good headcount on who's interested.

Please respond to this thread on yotatech!
http://www.yotatech.com/showthread.php?t=31897

Sorry for the pain but I just want to keep it on 1 thread so I can just show Jason the replies and then he can go from there

If you are interested, let me know!

 

[Noloc]

I can't seem to post on the yota site. Everytime I try I get logged out. Anyway, count me in.

 

[MAC4Runner]

Count me in if the price is right :arrow:

 

[shintaro29]

Count me in for one

I need one too. Went over some rocks and got got my tail pipe dented.

 

[schneidermj]

Looks like Downey has a skid plate for the 4th gen 4runners (see below). I'm contacting them to find out additional information. I'll post the information later.

"2003-04 4 RUNNER SKID PLATE

We never got around to designing a new front-end guard for the new generation 4 Runners, and you can see by the looks of this beat-to-crap front bumper, weh should have! What we didi do is remove the totally mangled stock sheet metal skid plates (both) and replace them with one of Downey's indestructible solid steel zinc plated Tacoma skid plates. Installation requires welding front mounting tabs onto a front cross-bar (as shown), and drilling two new 4 Runner mounting holes into the Tacoma skid plate - - - easy deal
52203-L ‘2003-04 4 Runner Lower Skid Plate"

:dancin: It's about time somebody came out with one...

 

[Good Times]

psss... check out my sig.

 

[4route]

dude, they've been out for awhile, someone is already running one.

 

[schneidermj]

Ahhh...my eyes are now open.

Good Times, were they easy to install and how many pieces? Good coverage?

 

[Good Times]

skid works nicely as it's definitely stronger than the stock (by 100000000 times).

Two weld tabs (to make bolt hole) across the front member under the radiator and 2 bolts to the back and you're done (pretty easy to install I think).

it's one piece btw, that replaces the stock 2 piece skid plate.

It would have been nice if they extended the skid all the way back to cover the transmission but then again if you don't plan to do any crazy rock crawlin then it's no biggie.

 

[schneidermj]

Good Times-did the Downey skid take away any ground clearance? Is it a solid fit? Thanks for the info...

 

[Good Times]

not that I know of. Maybe 1/8"?

The Downey skid is beefier than the stock skid so in that sense you lose abit of height. (but not much)

 

[MAC4Runner]

Cost??

 

[Good Times]

Not sure, you'll have to call them and ask.

 

[schneidermj]

Cost is $185.95 (includes shipping). Very reasonable. Call 562-949-9494 and follow the prompts to the sales team. Talk with Jim (I believe he fab's the skid plates). He'll talk your ear off with all sorts of 4gen facts, parts, etc. He know's his stuff!

 

[Good Times]

Part number of this is 52203-L

not sure if the exact cost includes shipping though but I know it is $185.97.

I don't think he told me this was the final cost including shipping and tax (for all the cali members).

If you are interested, please call the store directly.

 

[Noloc]

If I had a welder I'd jump on getting this skid plate. Does it need to be welded??

 

[schneidermj]

Jim (Downey) said it may be possible to bolt the skid plate on (front attachment), but he couldn't remember. Two bolts in the back and four 1 inch welds in the front and it's on. Remove the old skid plates and drive to Midas (any place that has a welder) for the install. Install the rear bolts and push the skid to the bottom of t4r and weld the tabs in place. According to Jim, it's an easy install. See my entry above and call Downey and talk with Jim. $185 includes shipping...

 

[Good Times]

The skid plate is held by 4 bolts (two in the front, two in the rear).

The front requires two tabs to be welded. The welds should take no more than 2 minutes.

The rear will use existing bolt holes so it'll be easy to do.

Installation is simple as it only needs 2 new weld tabs and then you're set.

Easy as apple pie

 

[Noloc]

Does anyone have pictures of this installation??? I'd like to see the weld points and locations along with the actual mounted plate. I saw a picture on the the Downey website but it doesn't exactly provide much detail.

 

[Good Times]

front:

rear:

yet another angle:

These are the only photos I have of the Downey Skid. Don't have any current ones either since it's no longer on my truck. (sitting in the garage)