Rear Shock Mount Skids

[glenyoshida]

I picked up a set of Rear Shock Mount Skids from Toytec. Not really an essential but an eaaaasy mod. You don't have to compress or remove the shock, the pressure is held to the stud going to the axle. Just remove one bolt and put the skid on. Vwallah, done. Check out how bent and mashed my washer was.

The new skids are made out of stainless steel and can be painted whatever color ya want and there's no worry of rust.

Mounted on the 2001 4runner (they work on the 4th gens too)

They go for $95/set


.

 

[glenyoshida]

Geez no one has an opinion? lol Come on dudes, I'm not going to be offended. Here's what I think. They are nice sure, but pricey for how important they are.

The rear lower trailing control arm skids, now that's good bang for the buck. Skids for the rear control arm mount, same thing. You will bend and bash both of those if you wheel your rig in rocky areas. That's just a matter of time. Front and belly skid, that's obvious.

Just curious on your opinion of them. What do you think?

 

[SilverBullet01]

i think anything that involves protection is worth it to some degree. i think the shock mounts look good on there. paint em flat black and you have my vote.

i just wish i had the available materials and tools to fabricate things like this on my own to save a few bucks

 

[glenyoshida]

i think anything that involves protection is worth it to some degree. i think the shock mounts look good on there. paint em flat black and you have my vote.

i just wish i had the available materials and tools to fabricate things like this on my own to save a few bucks

I agree with you on the paint. I'm not into bling.

The best tools I have are an angle grinder $70 and my Miller welder. You can cut virtually everything with that basic angle grinder. Tube, sheet, plate, etc. all can be done with the angle grinder. What I have done with my rear bumper has all been with the angle grinder and the welder. The bumper is my first welding project. I totally encourage you to get 'em. It's a lifelong tool and one that is very useful far outside of wheeling. Not sure where you live but I just picked up the yellow pages/google maps and started calling around until I found places that would sell me steel. I took a one week class to learn how to weld. After that I was on my way.

 

[SilverBullet01]

yea, i actually learned how to weld years ago as a graduation requirement for a senior project, and i loved it. learned the basics of ever form of welding, and i would love a tig welder. ive got the angle grinder, and a chop saw, just want a plasma cutter and tig welder next.

i just need to put in a 220 volt outlet and see what i can fashion up

 

[glenyoshida]

yea, i actually learned how to weld years ago as a graduation requirement for a senior project, and i loved it. learned the basics of ever form of welding, and i would love a tig welder. ive got the angle grinder, and a chop saw, just want a plasma cutter and tig welder next.

i just need to put in a 220 volt outlet and see what i can fashion up

Mann you are ready to go! Just need the welder. I have a nice plasma cutter and rarely use it. I've tried it a few times but it ends up being more work for most things because you have to dress the cuts anyhow. It also screws up metals such as stainless steel because it does not use a gas shield.

MIG vs TIG -

Just in case you didn't have any hands on experience yet. TIG is more expensive to run. A tank of argon is roughly $65 and it lasts a half day of continuous welding. A 20lb tank of CO2 for a MIG is $12 in my town and it's lasts a loooooooooooooong time. You planning to weld aluminum where you would need a TIG?

 

[SilverBullet01]

true, tig is more expensive, and i could get away with a mig welder no problem, but i just love the clean lines of a tig weld, and how strong they are. look at the weld lines on those pictures you posted. look how clean of a tig weld that is

 

[glenyoshida]

true, tig is more expensive, and i could get away with a mig welder no problem, but i just love the clean lines of a tig weld, and how strong they are. look at the weld lines on those pictures you posted. look how clean of a tig weld that is

I can definitely relate to that. Those are some of the same reasons why I chose TIG over MIG. I would love both but who can afford that as a hobby right? Since I don't weld often I figured I could deal with slow if I the trade off was to be able to weld virtually any metal. I used my welder to make my aluminum drawers, stainless bumper, and have done lots of projects with mild steel. I welded some copper just to see how hard it was. I love my TIG welder and it's such a luxury to be able to weld with just a long sleeve shirt instead of covering up with leathers because of the weld splatter. I also love being able to do a weld a bead that varies in thickness. When I'm welding a triangle piece the bead goes all the way to the tip and there's no burn though.

Makes me happy to hear about someone else that want's to do TIG. In a little way it's quality over quantity. It's not for everyone but I sure don't regret starting with TIG. I really do want a MIG too though lol

Someday maybe I can get my welds to look as nice as on the shock mount skids. I keep forgetting to try the pulse settings on the TIG. I bet that would be fantastic once I get it down. Did you notice that the welder didn't add quite enough filler on the skids?

 

[david_ray320]

Wish I had the experience of you guys and could fab up my own stuff! The skids looks nice though and I agree that they're a little expensive but hey, if it protects your ride and does something to prevent from any pricey damage then it's all worth it in the end. Love your rig too by the way, Glen. All you Co4Lo boys have awesome rides.

 

[SilverBullet01]

david, i highly recommend you go take a welding class. it really isn't that hard, and you learn a lot in a short period of time. from there if you get your own welder, you just need to practice. it really is a lot of rewarding work.

and yea, the filler seemed kinda sparse, but with things like that they are probably trying to crank them out as fast and as cheap as possible.

 

[glenyoshida]

Wish I had the experience of you guys and could fab up my own stuff! The skids looks nice though and I agree that they're a little expensive but hey, if it protects your ride and does something to prevent from any pricey damage then it's all worth it in the end. Love your rig too by the way, Glen. All you Co4Lo boys have awesome rides.

Thanks for the generous words David. I'm with silverbullet. It's not hard, it just takes practice. Welding was one of those things I wanted to do for a long time but procrastinated because it seemed like a difficult thing and kinda risky but with hindsight I had it way overbuilt in my mind. It's really not that hard to do. Making the welds look pretty takes a lot of practice but functional comes quick. It's an extremely useful thing to learn how to do. I also highly recommend taking a class or having a buddy show you the basics. You can also post up photos of your welds and you will get a lot of helpful tips from other welders on what to change to improve your skills. Once you start to get the hang of how to lay a good bead the world opens up.

I was thinking of reinforcing the shock mount skids so the shin guard has some more support. If I do that I'll post up pics.

 

[sn0wrunner]

Those are sexy! This hobby is making me broke. :moping:

 

[Pikeman]

I never took a class but my dad had a metal fab shop for a couple years and once in a while he would let me use the welder. Never got that good at it then went a few years. Then a few months back started my rear bumper and man were teh welds ugly at first, but then started to clean up, of course using a friends welder. Next step is to go to a class and get my own welder.

 

[CSL]

Geez no one has an opinion? lol Come on dudes, I'm not going to be offended. Here's what I think. They are nice sure, but pricey for how important they are.

The rear lower trailing control arm skids, now that's good bang for the buck. Skids for the rear control arm mount, same thing. You will bend and bash both of those if you wheel your rig in rocky areas. That's just a matter of time. Front and belly skid, that's obvious.

Just curious on your opinion of them. What do you think?

What do I think...I think, damn you Glen! Just added another to my wish list... (behind the CB of course...)

sn0wrunner, I couldn't agree more, but I was already broke! ha!

 

[glenyoshida]

What do I think...I think, damn you Glen! Just added another to my wish list... (behind the CB of course...)

sn0wrunner, I couldn't agree more, but I was already broke! ha!

That's my job. This mod is only $100 bucks. You have a locker that I want, that's a $1000 mod that I want now because of you. We'll be homeless soon but we can talk on the CB about how sweet our rigs are. lol

 

[LINY4Runner]

thread revival!

My winter build is going to consist of mostly armor...does anyone know if these are still available?

 

[glenyoshida]

thread revival!

My winter build is going to consist of mostly armor...does anyone know if these are still available?

Toytec may still have them. If not I think they can still get them. If you run boots with your shocks I don't recommend them. The "shin guards" abrade into the boot causing cuts.

 

[brian2sun]

I might be interested in these too. I've seen this thread before and kinda forgot about them, but my lower shocks mounts are starting to get pretty hammered now. My washers look about the same as yours in those pics. I guess I'll have to see if Dylan can get some (can't find them on the toytec site anywhere).

 

[LINY4Runner]

Toytec may still have them. If not I think they can still get them. If you run boots with your shocks I don't recommend them. The "shin guards" abrade into the boot causing cuts.

My skyjacker shocks have the boots on top now...but I plan on getting Billies over the winter...prob 5150s...which it looks like that's what you have...?

 

[steezemcqueen]

yep i should be able to get them. i will check tomorrow.

:thumb3: