Skid plates

BigClay

BigClay

Knower of useless ZJ things
Joined
Sep 24, 2008
Location
Winston-Salem
So I smashed my oil pan this past weekend on a rock so I am contemplating getting an engine skid and a transfer case skid on my 98 TJ. I have the stock transfer case skid and that thing is a shovel and rock magnet so I am looking for a higher profile one. I am on short arms and honestly I can't tell if the TJ has a body lift or not, if it does it is no more than 1". So give me some opinions on who makes good skid plates and where to get them.
 
Not sure about engine or transfer case specific skids but Barnes make 1/4" thick belly skids from 0-3" drop that are brutally tough.
 
I saw Barnes and I like it.

Any other people want to chime in with their experiences with different skids?
 
I'm not aware of a commercially-produced skid that doesn't use the stock method of supporting the transmission and transfer case.

Under Cover Fab (used to??) make a skid that doesn't include the gusset plate where the transmission mount goes. They also make an engine/transmission skid that incorporates into the belly skid. No personal experience with either, but I'm looking at their engine skid.
 
Savvy off road makes a great one (but it may be more than you want). You will need a small body lift though to make it work. I run it and love it, the transfer case is mounted by a crossmember bar which makes dropping the skid really easy if you need to do any work under the jeep.
 
I didn't know Savvy made one like that... but it looks expensive and elaborately engineered. Three feet of tube and a welder will get you a crossmember.
 
shawn said:
I didn't know Savvy made one like that... but it looks expensive and elaborately engineered. Three feet of tube and a welder will get you a crossmember.
Click to expand...

You are right, it isn't cheap. I would say though that it is the best off the shelf one out there if you don't have the tools or time to make one yourself. It probably doesn't wind up costing much more than having a local shop make one either (with the skid being done out of aluminum with countersunk bolts). Mine has held up to a ton of abuse. The way they did it maximizes the clearance more than anything mass produced I have seen.
 
I'm doing a TJ skid plate upgrade right now in my shop.
I used a Barnes 2" flat skid along with a 1" BL. I built a transmission mount stand off out of a section of 2x4 channel, tack welded to the skid.

The Savvy piece is a work of art and the best out there where the skid itself isn't the crossmember. Like @shawn said, 3' of .120 and a few tabs and you have yourself a crossmember if you're the handy type.
 
Jody Treadway said:
Like @shawn said, 3' of .120 and a few tabs and you have yourself a crossmember if you're the handy type.
Click to expand...

I've built two of them in the last couple of months. :rolleyes:

Does Savvy put any separation between the skid and the crossmember? I can't tell for sure from the photos.
 
shawn said:
I've built two of them in the last couple of months. :rolleyes:

Does Savvy put any separation between the skid and the crossmember? I can't tell for sure from the photos.
Click to expand...

The cross member also has slots in it along the whole length for the skid to bolt to. Not sure if that answers the question at all. That isn't the only place it mounts to though. And also about 3inches wide there to so
 
Thanks for all the opinions, I found a NIB original Savvy skid for an early TJ with 5 speed that I am going to get. Looks like I will also need a 1.25" Body Lift and a cable shifter. The Savvy skid plates seem to be the way to go.
 
Back
Top