96743explorer
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- July 21, 2013
- Messages
- 231
- Reaction score
- 1
- City, State
- Big Island, Hawaii
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- 06 explorer V6 4x4
hey Ronin any tips on how to make your own metal skid plate?
I just plasti dipped my grille. Covered the ford emblem but not sure if I should keep it or remove the plasti dip on it. Also tried some accents as you can see on pic 2 but not sure about it so I removed them for now.
Well I wanted tow hooks too, so I got a Curt front mounted hitch receiver (bolts to the frame) and modified it. I cut off the receiver part (hung down too low), welded in some shackle mounts, and welded a 1/4" steel plate on the bottom of it to protect the radiator. I didn't tie it in with the crossmember since I just wanted the plate to protect the radiator and didn't want anything hanging down too low. Plus since I have the V8, the oil filter is on the front of the motor and you have to have some space to reach up there so you can change it out easily. here are some pics:
what I started with:
cut off the hitch and cut out holes for the shackle mounts:
Shackle mounts:
welded them in:
and welded the plate to the bottom side and painted it. Here's the finished piece, installed:
Yours looks great too, explorer0629. Thanks guys for the feedback! I ended up removing the dip off the emblem.
How'd you remove your front license plate