TrailChaser Posted September 22, 2006 Share Posted September 22, 2006 I just finished it last week. It's made out of 3/16" and 10ga steel. I welded the mounting brackets to the axle, and welded the nuts to the brackets. I can put it on and take it off pretty quick. I drilled two holes in the bottom to let water drain out, but I didn't cut a hole for the plug. I'll just take it off when I change the fluid. Let me know what you guys think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Drift Posted September 22, 2006 Share Posted September 22, 2006 Pretty kick ass. Your post sparks a question...how often should Diff fluid be changed? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
89_trailboss Posted September 22, 2006 Share Posted September 22, 2006 nice. I change my diff everytime I do my trans/tcase. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Drift Posted September 22, 2006 Share Posted September 22, 2006 nice. I change my diff everytime I do my trans/tcase. How often is that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unccpathfinder Posted September 23, 2006 Share Posted September 23, 2006 every 10k? but dont hold me to that... looks nice BTW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
88pathoffroad Posted September 23, 2006 Share Posted September 23, 2006 Nice skid! I'mna make me one of those one of these days when I get that damn welder back from my friend Mark. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrimGreg Posted September 23, 2006 Share Posted September 23, 2006 Never understood the reason for a diff skid on a third member diff. I've dragged mine over a lot of rocks and it still looks fine. I can see the use on one with a cover that can peal off the back easily though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmorgan4 Posted September 23, 2006 Share Posted September 23, 2006 The main reason I'd opt for one is to protect the drain plug. They are a PITA to get out when they get scraped over rocks. BTW, awesome! That fits the contour of the diff way better than any that I've seen. Are you planning on selling these too? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slick Posted September 23, 2006 Share Posted September 23, 2006 nice work! -bounce- :cool2: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KILLVOX Posted September 23, 2006 Share Posted September 23, 2006 Niiiiiiiiiiiiiice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrailChaser Posted September 23, 2006 Author Share Posted September 23, 2006 Thanks guys. I'm not planning to sell these right now, but maybe in the future. I'd have to figure out an easier way make'em first. As for the reason I wanted one. I should take a pic of the bottom of my diff. That would explain. I've got the drain plug mangled and the bottom bolts to the 3rd member are just about wiped out. Not to mention the nice deep scraps. It's also just nice to know it's protected. I think most of my damage is due to running trails with 31" tires where the ruts are so deep you have to gun it thru some sections with the diff hitting rocks. Some is from the decaying granite at Katemcy Rocks. Thanks again for the kind words, David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
94 Pathy Posted September 24, 2006 Share Posted September 24, 2006 Beautiful Job! So, since no one has asked......What are you charging for those? For us that would love to fab one of those up, but don't have the welders and the welding knowledge such as myself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mickyficky Posted September 25, 2006 Share Posted September 25, 2006 That's sweet, looks good.... For all those that want one, you would still need to weld the mounts to the axle......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mws Posted September 25, 2006 Share Posted September 25, 2006 Very nice work! Nice enough that you could probably never make any money selling them. Looks like you've got at least 20 or 30 hours in it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest chechatonga Posted September 26, 2006 Share Posted September 26, 2006 That looks bulletproof Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
96SE Posted September 27, 2006 Share Posted September 27, 2006 That is really nice work. I'm going to have to sign up for a welding course to learn to do that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mws Posted September 27, 2006 Share Posted September 27, 2006 That is really nice work. I'm going to have to sign up for a welding course to learn to do that. Good on you! That is money VERY well spent! I love being able to fix or make anything I want for about 1/4 what new costs. Now if only I had enough TIME to make all I want! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrailChaser Posted September 28, 2006 Author Share Posted September 28, 2006 Thanks again everyone. I'll take a pic of the welds on the inside one day when I take it off to change the fluid. I'm not planning on selling any of these. Sorry, but like mws said. I would have to charge way more than people would want to pay. It actually only took about 6hrs to make it. I just worked on it for 45mins at a time on my lunch break for a couple of weeks. I used the press break to make it a little easier on me, but someone could easily make one using a big vise and a good size hammer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrailChaser Posted October 1, 2006 Author Share Posted October 1, 2006 If I were to make a few of these up. What do you guys and gals think would be a good price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ILoveMyPatty Posted October 1, 2006 Share Posted October 1, 2006 Wow. Very nice job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mws Posted October 2, 2006 Share Posted October 2, 2006 I would gladly pay $10-20 just for the templates to lay out the parts to save myself re-inventing the wheel... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrailChaser Posted October 3, 2006 Author Share Posted October 3, 2006 Actually, I made this seat of my pants style. Quick as possible. I just took some steel rods that are easy to bend.(clothes hanger would work if you straiten it out first) Then I just bend the rod to follow the curves from rear to front. Then I did the same thing for the sides. Just measure from the rear to the front to see how long it will be. Then cut a piece that long and between3-4 inches wide depending on your preference. Bend that piece by itself to match the bends in the rod. You can bend 3/16" that's only 3-4" wide in a vise with a good size hammer. When you get that piece of steel bent to match the rod then you can start on the "wings" for the sides. Measure from the side of the bottom piece (that is now bent up) to the spot where you want to mount it. These two pieces should only have one bend where the diff housing meets the axle tubes. The best way to make this bend is to put both pieces in the vise together. The one getting hit by the hammer should be about 1/8" higher than the other piece if you want then to be identical. Tack those three pieces of steel together in the proper configuration. Now that you have the "Main" body of the skid you can simply fill in the gaps. For the rear section. I laid the tacked skid on a piece of flat 10guage and used a soap stone to out line from top part of the rear to the top of the wing on one side. Then about 3" down I made another strait line. Add about 1/4" to the lenth of the out line you have. Then cut the piece and make another one just like it. Put a slight bend in the middle of these two pieces the same way you did the wings. The pieces you bent should now fit nice and tight in the space. You may need to do a little grinding to get a nice tight fit. Tack those two pieces in place. Then make for small triangles to fill in the small holes left over at the bottom. Next just out line the triangle for the front part of the skid. Cut those two pieces out, and you can just leave those flat. Tack the last two pieces on. Then weld it all up front and back. I think my skid ended up being made of 19 pieces of steel. All cut from a piece of 3/16" plate that was 16"x26" and an even smaller piece of 10guage for the "fill in pieces." I suggest making slightly oversized welds on the inside part of the skid, and weld the inside first. On the outside of the skid the best way to weld is to position the part you're welding so that the bead will be run downhill as steep as possible. While welding the outside you should run a smooth steady bead right down the middle of the seam. Don't weave or you'll just make more mess to have to grind off to get a smooth outside. After you grind off the outside welds so it all looks like one piece of steel you can buy steel buffing pads for angle grinders at a hardware store. Those will give you a mirror finish to lay some paint on. MWS I know you already know most of this, I just wanted to write it so everyone can possible go out and get a little steel and make one up easy. I hope this helps. Sorry for the bad spelling and errors. I'm rushing. :type: David Foreman ForemanMetalWorks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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