Gen 1 Ex, Dana 35 Skid Plate | Ford Explorer Forums
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Gen 1 Ex, Dana 35 Skid Plate

V

v8_dave

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Joined
October 11, 2007
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City, State
CT
Year, Model & Trim Level
'02 Explorer, '05 Exped
Man this thing is low, I worry I am going to nail a rock full speed with that pumpkin. Has anybody fabbed up a skidplate for this twin I beam setup?

I found some plates online $50 for the cheap one like this:

Good enough?

http://www.tellico4x4.com/product_info.php/cPath/3017_84_2519/products_id/17261

16597.35.jpg
 



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That one won't do you any good, it's meant for a jeep rear diff.

There's a thread or two here somewhere with pics, when RockRanger and maybe others fabbed some up.

Welcome to the forum, by the way. :thumbsup:
 






The front of the TTB 35 is not what needs protection. It is about 1/4" steel and is pretty beefy. The aluminum 3rd member is what needs protecting from the bottom. I fabbed up this guard for my Explorer which extends a skid about 3" past where the stock TTB lip stops giving a little more protection to the aluminum diff. It also adds some protection up front.
 

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RangerX said:
That one won't do you any good, it's meant for a jeep rear diff.

There's a thread or two here somewhere with pics, when RockRanger and maybe others fabbed some up.

Welcome to the forum, by the way. :thumbsup:
Click to expand...

Thanks! Good call, I have not spent enough time under there looking to have figured that out. I will do some searching.


Brian1 said:
The front of the TTB 35 is not what needs protection. It is about 1/4" steel and is pretty beefy. The aluminum 3rd member is what needs protecting from the bottom. I fabbed up this guard for my Explorer which extends a skid about 3" past where the stock TTB lip stops giving a little more protection to the aluminum diff. It also adds some protection up front.
Click to expand...

Thats a good looking plate, I may just copy my design after that. I didnt realize there was any damn aluminum under there, good to know! When I pulled plug to check the fluid, I noticed the case was very thick. I just worry about it stopping me dead in my tracks if I hit something lol. Thanks!


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That is a great looking plate rockranger has. I might just fab it up! Thanks again!
 






I've hit the Dana 35 pretty hard and all that happend was a big bang... But Im not too concerned with that diff, because if it breaks it gives me even more motivation to put the 44 under it haha

I'd say you'd have to hit a rock pretty damn hard to actually crack the 3/8" plate housing, or what looked to be 3/8".
 






the skid plate helps you slode the beam up and over rocks too, not just additional protection from cracking the metal housing...it also helps prevent bending the beam

I have the same skid plate RangerX and RockRanger have....
 






Kinserin said:
I'd say you'd have to hit a rock pretty damn hard to actually crack the 3/8" plate housing, or what looked to be 3/8".
Click to expand...

They will bend, though. That's how DiffWackDaddy got his name! There's a pic on here somewhere, of four Explorers hitched together in a line, trying to pull his TTB beam back straight enough to drive on. Another Truckhaven incident. ;)
 






RangerX said:
They will bend, though. That's how DiffWackDaddy got his name! There's a pic on here somewhere, of four Explorers hitched together in a line, trying to pull his TTB beam back straight enough to drive on. Another Truckhaven incident. ;)
Click to expand...

This is very true. lol Im hopin my D44 trussed will be able to handle my driving.. I appearntly cant seem to let off the throttle o.o meh.. It makes things interesting when I break my vehicles, so long as nobody gets hurt!
 






I recomend making sure you run the plate up the back side to protect the aluminum diff. On my old truck I got hung up on a rock while backing up and placed the rock on the aluminum diff with both front tires in the air. After that I could never get the diff to seal right. I think I stripped some of the threads so it couldnt get tight. I ran the plate I built twice I think before I swapped to a dana 44.
 






Oh wow, thanks for all the great input! Until I make one up, I will be very careful driving in reverse. I like yours RockRanger, I may make it with even higher ramp to it so I don't get bending any beams and being flung into the windshield. Great advice, I will post pics when I get something fabbed up. Right now I have to make body bushings, shackles and fix the header exhaust leak. :)
 






my diff skid build is on here somewhere. Mine protected the aluminium all the way to the driveshaft.
 






Brian1 said:
The front of the TTB 35 is not what needs protection. It is about 1/4" steel and is pretty beefy.
Click to expand...
I've found frequent banging of the beam into rocks slowly distorts the beam over time (the 1st sign is usually very slight oil seepage around the lower housing bolts).
Having the guard protect the front (like on yours) is certainly worthwhile.


I started building this one on mine, although somehow I've never gotten around to completely finishing it :scratch:
skid.jpg
 






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