trans skid

[v7guy]

I've been interested in this for awhile. To be honest I really wanted to do something with full coverage that covered the cat and everything. But Moots wanted something smaller cause apparently something as big as BartonMDs skid plate (or something bigger like I wanted) was "too much weight". I don't claim to understand it, I chock it up to "kids these days".

So he traded some bourbon, sharpies, and window vent shades for the trailblazer for steel and an evening of my time and electricity, I think I might still of lost out on the deal, but I like me some bourbon lol.

This design was inspired by the pics Karo posted and a bit by BartonMD. With the center piece made I figure making "wings" on either side that bolt on to cover the air pump and cat won't be a big deal and will probably make servicing the underside a bit easier. Everything but the diagonal is .187, the diagonal is .125

It's pretty simple to build and with an O/A it's really quick to cut out. I might have 5 hours in it and that's while waiting for it to cool (it's only warped about .125) and drinking some Makers Mark and smoking an Alec Bradley MAXX. The rear mount for the skid I made by making a bracket with welded nuts that fits up in the holes for the rear tranny cross member. Bolts with washers go through the skid and bolt into the plate inside the cross member. I'll post up some more pics later.

hope you guys enjoy, it's still a work in progress.

[DirtyBacon04]

i call dibs once it's finished.

[mikekey]

Looking good!

[The Roadie]

Cool. Looks a bit like my gas tank skid. Have you taken a weight yet?

[ErikSS]

Keep me updated! I want to see a finished product!

[v7guy]

Cool. Looks a bit like my gas tank skid. Have you taken a weight yet?

Nah, it seems to be about 15 - 20lbs, you can carry it with one hand.

[bartonmd]

Cool. Looks a bit like my gas tank skid. Have you taken a weight yet?

Nah, it seems to be about 15 - 20lbs, you can carry it with one hand.

7ga, which is .179 is 7.5lbs/square foot. The oil pan skids I sell are 20#.

Mike

[v7guy]

so that would make this skid about 32lbs. Really didn't think it was that heavy though.

[Karo]

That's cool, I like it! It's something I have on my plans too. Make some pictures from the final version and when it's installed.

[v7guy]

well, Matt got all crazy and in a rush. He painted it up and tossed it on his truck while I was hacking up the body, before I got pics or a weight. I got another one traced out. probably make one for myself soon. I'll get more pics and a weight then.

it's easy to build

[Moots1288]

[Trail X]

I like it. Post up some dimensions and I may cut one at work. Looks super simple, but solid.

[Bcchevy]

Looks good moots

[DirtyBacon04]

What effect, if any, would this have on xmsn temperatures? Seems like if it got warm enough, your skid would almost act like a dutch oven....

[v7guy]

Matt hasn't had any trouble with the trans temp since he put it on. Everything seems alright. Kyle hasn't reported any trouble either and he's had one from Barton that covers more of the underside for over a year if I'm not mistaken.


It's pretty simple to make, some plate and some 1" wide strips for reinforcement make it quick and easy. I'll toss up some measurements tomorrow. Hell, maybe I'll make myself one tomorrow.

[bartonmd]

To be honest, I don't know what I'd have that angled crossmember in there. What that does is take out 1.5" that the skid can flex before it hits the trans pan, and it doesn't add a whole lot to the strength of the skid. The ones that add all the strength are the ones at the sides. What would be as strong as anything, would be to gusset the side strips, so they don't fold over and lose strength when the skid is hit.

Mike

[v7guy]

so your saying to make a triangle out of the side gussets? We thought about that, I kinda wanted to do a ladder type gusset with the cross pieces on each side of the pan but moots wanted to just " get it done". He was getting impatient while I was welding and letting it cool so we just did the diagonal. Hell, I tried to get him to slow down and go with at least an X instead of just the one diagonal... but yeah.

[mikekey]

Looks good Jason, welding is a skill I need to learn sooner than later.

[bartonmd]

so your saying to make a triangle out of the side gussets? We thought about that, I kinda wanted to do a ladder type gusset with the cross pieces on each side of the pan but moots wanted to just " get it done". He was getting impatient while I was welding and letting it cool so we just did the diagonal. Hell, I tried to get him to slow down and go with at least an X instead of just the one diagonal... but yeah.

I mean to do nothing across the middle, but just put a small triangle gusset or 5 on each of the side flanges. All it will do is keep the flanges from folding under pressure.

Mike

[Trail X]

All it will do is keep the flanges from folding under pressure.

AKA buckling