Pro-gard front skid shield installed

[joflewbyu2]

covers from under the radiator to the front part of the oil pan. made of thick steel that is powdercoated black. protects the lower radiator hoses, power steering hoses, power steering rack, and parts of the front suspension. pretty happy for an investment of just $85 shipped. waiting for the rear to show up. will post pics when it is daylight.

[FiveO]

:up:

Nice.

Can't wait for pics.

[cruzer]

Sounds great, but will it affect cooling air for oil pan and tranny ??? :stupid:

[RCSignals]

Sounds great, but will it affect cooling air for oil pan and tranny ??? :stupid:
It could improve it.

[joflewbyu2]

if you go to www.gorhinopd.com and click on the shield, you can see how it attaches and looks.http://www.gorhinopd.com/carpagepics/skidplate/2.jpg http://www.gorhinopd.com/carpagepics/skidplate/3.jpg

[FiveO]

I like that.

Might have to order me one next week after I get my Marauder back to MN from San Diego.

Very nice.

[CRUZTAKER]

Aside from the obvious....what are the advantages of these shields?

[Fourth Horseman]

Taking it off every time you go to change your oil filter might be kind of a drag, though.

[joflewbyu2]

don't need to remove it for an oil change.

[Constable]

These shields are worth their weight in gold. I have one on my CVPI and it's saved my a$$ more than once.

I know none of us beat our Rauders by flying through medians or skidding to stops in rough terrain, but they're still beneficial. I can't tell you how many times I've pulled into a parking spot and hit the radiator "scoop" on the concrete stop. If I wasn't paying attention and pulled up farther who knows what would've hit.

I never liked the way the lower radiator hose hung down anyway. This plate will prevent ANY issues with that.

[hitchhiker]

covers from under the radiator to the front part of the oil pan. made of thick steel that is powdercoated black. protects the lower radiator hoses, power steering hoses, power steering rack, and parts of the front suspension. pretty happy for an investment of just $85 shipped. waiting for the rear to show up. will post pics when it is daylight.
Is this a direct bolt-on to existing holes?

Does the kit come with mouting bolts, etc?

Thanks,

David

[TAF]

and do you lose the little "radiator deflector thingies"?

[hitchhiker]

if you go to www.gorhinopd.com (http://www.gorhinopd.com/) and click on the shield, you can see how it attaches and looks.http://www.gorhinopd.com/carpagepics/skidplate/2.jpg http://www.gorhinopd.com/carpagepics/skidplate/3.jpg

Any pics of the rear one?

Thanks,

David

[joflewbyu2]

bolts up to existing bolts, easy install. rear is on the way. from driver's side look inside the driver's wheel well ahead of the tire. this is what is protects. look from the front under and see the power steering rack it proects.

[Fourth Horseman]

don't need to remove it for an oil change.

Is there room to reach around the shield to get to the oil filter? Or do you take it from the top? Looks difficult to me.

[joflewbyu2]

the pro-gard has a half circle cutout on the driver's side to get to the filter although you can get to it from the top.

[Warpath]

It looks like the front skid plate removes the ability to adjust camber. The aluminum cross member has slots in it where the LCA attaches to it. These slots and the cam on the bolt are used to adjust camber. The shield only has a hole in it in the rear and not a slot. I am assuming the tab on the rear fits into the little depression cut in the crossmember.

Even if the tab was small enough to allow it to move (doesn't look like it), its not a good idea to place something between the bolt and nut. It adds an additional slip plane to the joint meaning you are much more likely to have alignment change on you. A fastened joint, for the most part, is designed to prevent movement of the parts through friction. The bolt is not a shear pin. All of the loads are carried by the friction in the joint (theoretically). Since another part (slip plane) has been added, the clamp load of the bolt is spread out across more surfaces. Therefore, less clamp load is applied to each surface meaning its resistance to move has been reduced. This skid plate is not a good design. It should have attached to someplace else and not to a part of the vehicle which keeps the bottom side down.

[joflewbyu2]

Being that my clips are still on the bolts of the lower control arm and the skid plate lined up perfect, I am not worried. The clips are put on for a reason - I guess factory spec? I have 19k miles and the front tires are 70% worn in the center and the inside are worn just a little more. my rears are gone. At 20k miles, I am replacing all 4.

[purelux]

I was wondering would this line up and fit fine on my 98 towncar, also it does eliminate the black plastic/rubber "chinguard" right.

[Warpath]

Being that my clips are still on the bolts of the lower control arm and the skid plate lined up perfect, I am not worried. The clips are put on for a reason - I guess factory spec? I have 19k miles and the front tires are 70% worn in the center and the inside are worn just a little more. my rears are gone. At 20k miles, I am replacing all 4.

Those clips are outside of the bolted joint and do not affect the joint itself. It is used so that the factory doesn't have to set camber. It also prevents the need for having a wrench on the bolt (same for the lower shock bolt). They just bolt it together and ship it. Also, the bolt is not in the center of the slot with the clip on. It looks like the hole in the tab on the skid plate is centered making the bolt crooked.