Minimalist Crossover/Tcase Skid

[Jetboy]

Just thought I'd toss this out for anyone who want's to DIY a skid for the pipe/tcase.

I built this over the weekend. It's pretty simple. Two pieces of angle for pads on the frame rails. 1.5" tube cross member. 3/16 plate pattern cut on my CNC Plasma. I unfortunately don't have a brake at my home, so I cut the parts 90% and hand bent them, then welded them up. I didn't get enough cut, so I had to hand cut a bit - compared to the CNC plasma, my hand cuts are ugly. Lots of weld = wishing I had a small brake = next project is to build a small brake for my home workshop.

The frame is tricky to find good mounting locations. This is a minimalist skid, so the goal was mostly to keep weight as low as possible while protecting the soft bits. I was able to put a jack under it and lift the weight of the vehicle, so I can confirm it's strength. It's not nearly as robust as many of the aftermarket skids that create a full flat belly pan. But it should take a pretty good beating and keep the crossover pipe from getting ripped off.

It's basically a copy of the Trail Gear style FJ Cruiser skid, but that skid isn't compatible as the frame rails are different (the 5th gen has an additional bracing plate welded on where those mount)

 

[Antman]

Nice job!

I got tell you, I have bent up ALL my factory skids (the word Bashed would be appropriate, lol) ripped off a converter heat shield and hit that crossmember hard enough to dent it, BUT that exhaust crossover pipe still looks perfect.

I don't get it, but I'm gonna find some wood to knock on...

I like what you did though!

 

[Jetboy]

I'm probably not as hard on mine as you, but I agree that the crossover pipe looks like it's really exposed, but oddly seems to avoid damage. I've just dented mine a little bit, but otherwise it's escaped damage quite well. At first glance I would have thought it would be the first thing to go. The rear exhaust tip seems to be in a very good location as well. I've yet to damage it at all. A side exhaust would have been crushed a few times.

The big issue I see with this design is that it creates a pretty serious plow down there. It is 1.5" below the cross member. It's prone to hang up on anything it hits. Maybe a next iteration I'll slope the two sides a bit more.

 

[wfo9]

Nice, but you are going to need to do something about the gas tank next.

I find the two most common contact spots under the truck are the TCase skid and the rear LCA brackets and gas tank skid (at that same spot on the drivers side).

I got rid of the cross-over pipe and mounted my t-case skid flush with the cross member. This only raised it up about 1", but that made a huge difference in how often I contact there. I wish there was something simple that could be done to get the gas tank and LCA links up an inch without raising COG.

How did you end up with a stud in the bottom frame. I think I would have put a bolt on the side of the frame rail myself... but maybe something was in the way...

 

[Jetboy]

Nice, but you are going to need to do something about the gas tank next.

I find the two most common contact spots under the truck are the TCase skid and the rear LCA brackets and gas tank skid (at that same spot on the drivers side).

I got rid of the cross-over pipe and mounted my t-case skid flush with the cross member. This only raised it up about 1", but that made a huge difference in how often I contact there. I wish there was something simple that could be done to get the gas tank and LCA links up an inch without raising COG.

How did you end up with a stud in the bottom frame. I think I would have put a bolt on the side of the frame rail myself... but maybe something was in the way...

I'd like to move that crossover pipe up and make the plate flush. That would probably help quite a bit.

The stud in the frame rail is a 1/2" bolt that I fed through one of the rectangular cutouts in the side of the frame rail. Those were the only OEM holes that I had to work with and I didn't want to drill new ones. The KDSS lines have a bracket right above that location, so on a non KDSS you might be able to use OEM welded in nuts. That would get rid of the big bolt hanging down from the frame rail. I didn't have a good way to reverse the fastener and get a nut to stay put on the inside of the frame rail. In a perfect world I'd have more patience. I'd weld a nut and washer together, then epoxy it inside the frame rail, let it cure, then bolt up from the bottom. It could be a lot more flush that way. I'll see if it's an issue. If it is I'll need to go that route.