Does this look bad? Plastic skidplate damage

[BlackDrake]

I was romping through some puddles yesterday and almost tore off a small plastic skidplate. I was in 4wd going in reverse and must have caught the rear edge of the plastic piece on a rock. The brackets that holds it on bent down and the piece dragged on the ground. I'm not sure if any part was completely ripped off or if I just bent this one piece. It's about 18" wide by 12" long. Two brackets hold it on with one screw each on the leading edge of the plastic piece. It is located behind the front crossmember, under the transmission. Should I just remove it? Does it look like any other parts are missing? Thanks for any help!


Picture from front looking toward back of 4Runner:

From the side:

From the back looking forward:

 

[HB 4X4]

Pull it off or bend it back up and you are good to go. :happens:

 

[SkylineGTRracer]

you can try to bend it back into place but it will rattle when you drive it. I'd say replace it if you off-road. it only looks like the passenger side was ripped off but from what I see you will need a new second skid plate.

 

[810moto]

nice work! i just wonder if we could buy a sheet of say, 1/4 or 3/8" steel and fab something up ourself. I used to deal with Todd over at Phillips Steel in long beach. They will make about anything when it comes to steel and chances are, they have the material in stock as well.

 

[Uneek]

If you're going to replace it, go with aftermarket skids like BudBuilt's. IMO, no point in paying good money for a whimpy OEM skid from the dealer, unless you're getting from another 4th gen owner who has upgraded.

 

[BlackDrake]

I used a floor jack to slowly and gently bend the brackets back into place, but the result looks funny. It seems strange that this piece would just hang there with no attachment on the trailing edge. On the other hand, I don't see any other attachment points for additional pieces or brackets. Can anyone confirm that this is what it's supposed to look like?

@SkylineGTRracer: The piece is centered side-to-side on the vehicle, so it doesn't look like there is a driver or passenger piece. Just one plastic skidplate. Also, when I took another look, I realized that it's more like 8" by 14".

@810moto: A metal skidplate is something that I would consider in the future. 1/4" even seems like overkill for me and could add some weight. I'll keep it in mind and maybe model some plans on AutoCAD or Solidworks when I get a chance. Any idea how much that might run? Any decent aftermarket skidplates for that area already in production?


Pictures from the side: