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DIY Transmission Skid

BottleShark

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We all know Ford was dumb for giving the Bronco skids over everything but the transmission. Worst part is, it’s right behind the tires and right where they drop off a rock you put the trans in danger. So I made a small aluminum bashed plate. I don’t full on rock crawl but do get in some spots that I could hang up here.
I make these brackets. Long one goes to the cross member bolts. The front ones go to the back of the sway bar skid. Only holes I had to drill were for the front two mounts.
Ford Bronco DIY Transmission Skid 649FA5C2-C36E-40DA-A316-653E061A801A

Had to make a few bends to match the shape of the sway bar skid plate.
Ford Bronco DIY Transmission Skid 88CFDCDB-1E87-4246-9E8F-CC080C64619E
Ford Bronco DIY Transmission Skid 5CA2C370-15D9-420F-846F-CC12A39EEF8C

Here are the mounts all bolted up.
Ford Bronco DIY Transmission Skid EFEB78E9-1653-4643-AB33-E3B1BAFC55C1

Ford Bronco DIY Transmission Skid 3E9DFF69-0829-412A-9864-FA4C328C2159
Ford Bronco DIY Transmission Skid 1F906DD2-63D7-4F77-8004-38E442DCA97E

I used a piece of 1/4 aluminum scrap. It already had a bunch of holes drilled in it, so I think that will help with air flow. I kinda worried about trapping heat, but this shouldn’t.
Ford Bronco DIY Transmission Skid 81704EC1-9C8B-4325-937D-12B3178F4315

Ford Bronco DIY Transmission Skid 480F5EA4-E84F-4D88-A3D7-1BF3E72002EE

Ford Bronco DIY Transmission Skid 1F8EE2FE-9318-40C2-84B6-A7BE3B95A293

I now feel like my transmission and the exhaust pipe have some protection. Plus there isn’t a huge hole to get hung up on a rock. I built the whole thing with scraps and some stainless hardware. Have about $10 into the build. Even if you had to buy everything, this could be easily built for less than $100.
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2020FordRaptor

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We all know Ford was dumb for giving the Bronco skids over everything but the transmission. Worst part is, it’s right behind the tires and right where they drop off a rock you put the trans in danger. So I made a small aluminum bashed plate. I don’t full on rock crawl but do get in some spots that I could hang up here.
I make these brackets. Long one goes to the cross member bolts. The front ones go to the back of the sway bar skid. Only holes I had to drill were for the front two mounts.
Ford Bronco DIY Transmission Skid 1F8EE2FE-9318-40C2-84B6-A7BE3B95A293

Had to make a few bends to match the shape of the sway bar skid plate.
Ford Bronco DIY Transmission Skid 1F8EE2FE-9318-40C2-84B6-A7BE3B95A293
Ford Bronco DIY Transmission Skid 1F8EE2FE-9318-40C2-84B6-A7BE3B95A293

Here are the mounts all bolted up.
Ford Bronco DIY Transmission Skid 1F8EE2FE-9318-40C2-84B6-A7BE3B95A293

Ford Bronco DIY Transmission Skid 1F8EE2FE-9318-40C2-84B6-A7BE3B95A293
Ford Bronco DIY Transmission Skid 1F8EE2FE-9318-40C2-84B6-A7BE3B95A293

I used a piece of 1/4 aluminum scrap. It already had a bunch of holes drilled in it, so I think that will help with air flow. I kinda worried about trapping heat, but this shouldn’t.
Ford Bronco DIY Transmission Skid 1F8EE2FE-9318-40C2-84B6-A7BE3B95A293

Ford Bronco DIY Transmission Skid 1F8EE2FE-9318-40C2-84B6-A7BE3B95A293

Ford Bronco DIY Transmission Skid 1F8EE2FE-9318-40C2-84B6-A7BE3B95A293

I now feel like my transmission and the exhaust pipe have some protection. Plus there isn’t a huge hole to get hung up on a rock. I built the whole thing with scraps and some stainless hardware. Have about $10 into the build. Even if you had to buy everything, this could be easily built for less than $100.
Seriously! You could make some bucks selling this stuff! Once my Bronco comes in I'm searching for something like this.
 
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BottleShark

BottleShark

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Seriously! You could make some bucks selling this stuff! Once my Bronco comes in I'm searching for something like this.
Thanks, I just don’t have a way produce stuff. Making them one at a time would take for ever. But this is why I did the write up. Maybe they will help others with the idea. And show people that stuff can be done affordable.
 

dgorsett

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Nice. I've been thinking of something similar. Mine does not have sway bar disco, I would mount angle to upper sway bar mount bolts with flange up, run skid to the rear, angle down ahead of the crossover pipe, flatten and bolt to bottom of crossmember to maximize clearance.
 
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BottleShark

BottleShark

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Nice. I've been thinking of something similar. Mine does not have sway bar disco, I would mount angle to upper sway bar mount bolts with flange up, run skid to the rear, angle down ahead of the crossover pipe, flatten and bolt to bottom of crossmember to maximize clearance.
I was thinking about getting some domed Allen bolts but the factory bolts stick down 🤷‍♂️
 

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goatman2

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I was thinking about getting some domed Allen bolts but the factory bolts stick down 🤷‍♂️

We've had bad luck with Allen bolts on the bottom of Jeeps. When the rocks scrape over them they get nearly impossible to remove. FYI
 

goatman2

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Thanks, I just don’t have a way produce stuff. Making them one at a time would take for ever. But this is why I did the write up. Maybe they will help others with the idea. And show people that stuff can be done affordable.

Nice idea. I just had mine on the rack this afternoon putting some new wheels on it and I saw that the trans pan is plastic and exposed. That's worrisome. I like your solution. (y)
 
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BottleShark

BottleShark

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We've had bad luck with Allen bolts on the bottom of Jeeps. When the rocks scrape over them they get nearly impossible to remove. FYI
Thanks, maybe I’ll just leave them as is.
 
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BottleShark

BottleShark

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Nice idea. I just had mine on the rack this afternoon putting some new wheels on it and I saw that the trans pan is plastic and exposed. That's worrisome. I like your solution. (y)
Such an oversight from Ford. Makes me wonder what else they missed in design……
 
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BottleShark

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Does the Raptor have this area missing a skid plate?
 

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Donkeygyrl

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Nice work add some washers under those bolt and your good
 
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BottleShark

BottleShark

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Nice work add some washers under those bolt and your good
Yeah, I was going to replace with low profile bolts, but as others have pointed out, not the best idea.
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