Hey all, just looking for some advice before I go wheeling again tomorrow.

I don't have a front skid plate, and last time I went wheelin I got water all in the engine bay (leaves stuck to the underside of the hood ) - nothing which would damage the motor, just fool with the contacts and cause temporary losses of power and loping @ WOT...

So I've been doing some calling around and managed to track down a skid off a 4Runner for $30 on the phone...Tried to talk them down to $20 and asked if I could pull it myself, but they wouldn't let me and wouldn't budge on price. (Didn't ask if that included the hardware...don't see why it wouldn't though.) Am I just being cheap or is $30 too much for a USED skid plate that I don't know what condition it's even in.

Planned on going down later today and haggling face to face like I should have done in the first place

So what are your thoughts? $30 too much?

BTW, anyone know the bolt sizes for the factor skid plate?

 

I guess if it's in good shape that is reasonable. My old stock skid plate got thrown in the trash can, but I did hit a coyote with it @70mph so it was a little bashed up.

 

i'd check on the aftermarket skid plates cost.
$30 seems like a lot for the little protection the thin stock ones offer.

 

Aftermarket is way out of my price range (At least $200) I'm just looking for something to help keep water out of the engine bay...

Another bump for those bolt sizes

 

That's definately a good buy, my buddy parts out yotas (good friend to have) and he gets $60+ on ebay for stockers.

 

I paid $20 for mine on ebay, but is was listed poorly, and shipping was $15 or more. You aren't gonna find a better deal unless it falls in your lap or has skunk meat on it. pew

 

Alright. I'm just cheap

Went by there though and they didn't have a skid plate on any of the 4Runners or Pickups like they said they did

Said another 4Runner was coming in Monday or Tuesday and I will try then.

Thanks

 

I took my stock skid to the local steel shop and had them replace the weak ass sheet metal with 1/4 inch plate, it took a little custom fitting (had to hog out da bolt holes) but you can jack up the whole truck on that bad boy.
I had some problems with bashing the stock skid and front crossmember, this fixed it. Paid about 40$.

 

That price is a GREAT price. We get more than that for it. And just because you think they are "thin" doesn;t mean they offer little protection. I've used one on my rig for years now, and bashed it into many many rocks and obstacles, and it holds up great. I've had the entire weight of my rig scraping across that skid, and it holds up great.

 

a skid thats got dents and scratches and scrapes also looks cool, like its been used for something good.

 

Yeah, my stock skid went thru a bit, but I finally punched a hole thru the vent holes. Plus I needed better protection for the stock front crossmember,
the skid would bend and rock bent the front crossmember.

 

Luckily we didn't hit any of the parts that were too messy - Unfortunately, I helped crackerjack mount his new BudBuilt and put it to good use today...now I'm drooling all over that. Without that thing we may have been in some serious trouble

 

I never realized there was a market for these things...

I took the stock skid plate off my truck about 10 years ago and have been storing it ever since. After I put the body lift on the truck it just looked stupid on there so I took it off. I started to throw it away a few times but I never did for some reason.

I would sell it to you but I am selling the truck in a month or so and the new owner might want it. I have been very good at saving all of the stock parts I took off the truck over the years for that purpose.

Back ot, I think $30 is fair.

 

Another bump for those bolt sizes for the skid. Landed a straight front skid plate and a dash clock for $10 total at the local junkyard today

 

I was lucky, mine didnt come with the skid plate either, but I saw the prev owner at autozone once, and after trying to buy the truck back from me again (he liked the 22re reg cab better than his 3.0 ext cab, and tried to buy it from me many times) He said, i have the stock skid plate if you want it...I was like "HELL YEAH" hahah!

 

I dont remember the size of the bolts, I just got a couple and tried them out...hahaha, the hardware store owner let me!

 

If i remember right i got my skid for $1.25 + shipping off ebay. The bolts are 8mm x 1.25 i think. Theres a thread on here where i asked what size the bolts are (i didnt know when i got the plate without any bolts either).

edit: heres the thread

 

You're the man, Alex! I shoulda searched