Rusted skid plate

[zig553]

Pulled off my old skid plate to replace it with a less rusty one. Has anyone seen a fuel skid this bad before? I'm convinced mine is the worst, I dropped it on the ground and it just fell apart.

 

[Black798]

Damn I don't know what you guys put on your roads in the winter but that's horrible. Mine has been soaked in mag chloride for most of its life and only has a little surface rust.

 

[Runner Magnetic]

:fear: DANG! now THATS some rust!

 

[acr_ted]

Having lived in Northern Ontario I can tell you they spread the salt and other stuff very liberally on the roads! I had a Dodge van (I know...) that rusted out in about 2 years. It ran good (usually) but that road salt got to it quickly. And that van had been Ziebarted as well.....

Ted

 

[SpidermanGeek]

My fuel tank skid is about the same as pictured. That same corner is completely gone. The only reason it's still on the truck is that it's the only thing holding my fuel tank in place because the strap is also rusted out and broken.

I'll be sure to take a pic once it's off. lol.

I recently got a new strap that I'm going to install soon, then the skid plate is going in the garbage. My truck will have no more armor, all skids will be off and gone.

The bolts for my front skid all snapped when I tried to remove it once, so I never bothered putting it/them back on.

 

[zig553]

My fuel tank skid is about the same as pictured. That same corner is completely gone. The only reason it's still on the truck is that it's the only thing holding my fuel tank in place because the strap is also rusted out and broken.

I'll be sure to take a pic once it's off. lol.

I recently got a new strap that I'm going to install soon, then the skid plate is going in the garbage. My truck will have no more armor, all skids will be off and gone.

The bolts for my front skid all snapped when I tried to remove it once, so I never bothered putting it/them back on.

That was the same case with mine. The skid above was essentially holding the fuel tank in place. I made sure the tank was almost empty, then ratchet strapped it on a hole on the edge of the tank to hold it up. Then I was able to detach the old skid without the tank falling on me and install the less rusty one. (which will probably look the same as the old after 3 years)

 

[wemslie97]

Did mine last fall. Bought one off eBay. Funny thing, the front skid and the rest of the frame aren't bad.

 

[Rocky5000100]

Mine looks pretty much the same as the ones pictured. I'd buy a new one, but I'm cheap. If I bought one, it'd be a real aftermarket skid, and I'd of course have to get the matching ones for the rest.

 

[SpidermanGeek]

I'm not gonna bother replacing mine. I kind of like not having skids. Makes things easier to clean and inspect.

Disclaimer: I have yet to take my rig on any serious off-road excursion.

I'll look into replacement skids later, for now it's just not a priority.

 

[shahsmerdis]

Having lived in Northern Ontario I can tell you they spread the salt and other stuff very liberally on the roads! I had a Dodge van (I know...) that rusted out in about 2 years. It ran good (usually) but that road salt got to it quickly. And that van had been Ziebarted as well.....

Ted

I hope you got dodge to buy it back if it was that bad.... i think all cars have 5-6 years rust warranty...

I'm not gonna bother replacing mine. I kind of like not having skids. Makes things easier to clean and inspect.

Disclaimer: I have yet to take my rig on any serious off-road excursion.

I'll look into replacement skids later, for now it's just not a priority.

i suggest you do. I dont think you want that liquid brine coating your engine or your tranny lines. if you do plan to do regular engine bay cleanings...

 

[SpidermanGeek]

i suggest you do. I dont think you want that liquid brine coating your engine or your tranny lines. if you do plan to do regular engine bay cleanings...

I'm not too worried about that. Most vehicles don't come with skid plates. Underbodies are basically exposed, save for maybe a plastic air dam up front.

Rusty driveline parts have never been an issue on any vehicle I've ever owned.

Brake and Fuel lines would be the first things to succumb to the cancer in that respect.

 

[acr_ted]

I hope you got dodge to buy it back if it was that bad.... i think all cars have 5-6 years rust warranty...

That van was a 1977 model that I bought new. I don't think they had much of a body rust warranty back then. I did drive it until 1988 when I bought my first Toyota pickup. It ran reasonably well but looked pretty crappy.

Ted

 

[kiana]

Wow that is a crazy amount of rust... I'm curious, what does the rest of underbody look like for you?

I'm so happy my 4Runner only came with very very minimal surface rust, either way I went ahead and used undercoat on pretty much all of the underbody. Next time I get it on a lift I'm going to make sure I get everything covered on the underside... super paranoid about rust on my 4runner. I want it to last as long as possible

 

[FMFwarrior]

That's some nasty rust. I took mine off earlier and was surprised at how good they looked. I'm looking at getting some different ones so if anyone is interested in some stock 2000 SR5 skid plates let me know.