If the skid plate doesn’t “give” how are the two struts on the front of the pan that attach to the brackets at the motor mount going to support the force of a hit? Somethings gotta give.
Oil pan / savvy engine skid disagreement
- Thread starter Marklar1983
- Start date
If the skid plate doesn’t “give” how are the two struts on the front of the pan that attach to the brackets at the motor mount going to support the force of a hit? Somethings gotta give.
I always wondered why instead of engine skids no one ever developed at least a 1/4" thick oil pan in steel or cast iron. There many diff covers like this. I don't see why this can't be applied to oil pans.
Probably could make one easy enough, but bashing it on rocks would give you the same kind of results, or worse.
And I don’t think you could sell enough of them to recoup the investment you’d make to manufacture them in bulk. And they’d be too expensive to make as hand built customs.
Skids are cheaper, easier, and generally very effective. But every once in a while……..
And I don’t think you could sell enough of them to recoup the investment you’d make to manufacture them in bulk. And they’d be too expensive to make as hand built customs.
Skids are cheaper, easier, and generally very effective. But every once in a while……..
I personally wouldn't want my engine bouncing off rocks though. That's asking for a world of trouble IMO. Those oil pan bolts are small. You would be smashing the entire weight of the vehicle on your engine, potentially damaging the oil pan gasket among other things.
Metlacloak makes one that bolts to your engine if that helps tell you anything.
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Versions of tight fitting skids have been around forever. Turbo Express used to make and sell one. Nth Degree even had a similar version. The problem with them is two-fold, hard to attach properly so the ones that glued to the oil pan tended to get ripped off on the rocks and a hard enough hit would smash the gasket and start it leaking there.
A full pan out of anything heavy enough to survive in the rocks would tear up the bolts that mount it to the block, it would be stupidly heavy, and it would cost a fortune.
If you build a steel skid that can't be bent, it will weigh a ton.