flat skid/belly up

[CRAZY LARRY]

eagle sheetmetal, rose metal,and ozark mt.sheetmetal.

[YJ_Aaron]

I'd figure out what size you NEED.  Then call around to some steel yards and see if they have any cut pieces etc in similar scrap etc.  

[Jeeper guy]

alright will do tomorrow, thanks guys.

alex

[LoneWolf]

looks good Alex

[Jeeper guy]

Thanks Jimmy, Well i decided to keep it light weight and see how well some aluminum will work...A friend of mine got me some "scrap" aluminium from his job. I got a 3x4 sheet and its 3/8 thick I'm hoping it will hold up, not sure what type of aluminum this is but for 30 bucks i thought id try it. This is gunna go from spring hanger, to spring hanger, to get plenty of coverage. Ill get some pics posted when i get it all finished up

Alex

[TJ-2thousand]

any updates on this Alex? im about to start collecting parts and materials for a flat skid as well. just wanna see what your finished product looks like.

[Jeeper guy]

I suppose .... the piece of 3/8ths aluminum has held up great (6 wheeling trips). I landed very hard on it a few times, slid over a bunch of boulders and it is one of the best mods Ive ever done. Ill get some pics of my plate and the under side of my jeep for ya. My plate bolts through to the stock captured nuts in the frame and it has held on there. Although I have broke some of the captured nuts off from over tightening the skid. The way I solved the problem was to use a hole saw, drill into the frame and re-weld the nut. Since the frame is boxed I don't think ill have any issues with the holes being there, but Ill keep my eyes on them( If I do have some frame problems Ill weld up some fish plates and beef the frame up). If you have any questions ask away.

Here I tried to "bump" my back tires up, they hit the ledge I went 2 feet in the air landed all the weight on the skid and the tires came down and decided to break my rear drive shaft.   I was DENIED...


Alex

[TJ-2thousand]

i  would like to see some more pics of your cross member. what kind of bushings and frame mounts did you use?

thanks!

[Jeeper guy]

I just used a poly bushing that I got from KORE, the tabs I also got from KORE.


These are the bushings:
http://kore4x4customs.com/asccustompages/products.asp?fav=0&fpage=1&categoryID=25&productID=48&cartID=555390671

These are the tabs:
http://kore4x4customs.com/asccustompages/products.asp?fav=0&fpage=1&categoryID=2&productID=18&cartID=555390671

[Jeeper guy]

For the crossmember I just welded the square tube to the metal tube from the bushing and the holes are for heat to escape from the ehxaust.
Here are the Pics:

[TJ-2thousand]

looks good man. i cant tell form the pics, but what did you use as a trans mount?

thanks

[Jeeper guy]

Thanks, for the mount for the trans I just used a piece of angle, drilled some holes in it and bolted it to where the stock mount holes were. Then I welded the angle to the square tubing. I I've been running this for awhile and it has worked good. I believe they sell a low profile tranny mount for the tj's, might be something worth looking into?.

alex

[TJ-2thousand]

Does having it hard mounted like that make for more vibes? Or do the bushings at the frame rails take car of that?

[Jeeper guy]

no the bushings take care of any vibes and they have zerks in them. Really the only thing that makes noise is the skid, and that's because I need to put some rubber between the plate and frame rails.

[Jeeper guy]

don't forget any exhaust mods that need to be done, so everything clears.