Yet another attempt at an IFS 3rd gen skidplate

[4x4mike]

How do you bend the crossmember with the BB ones? The factory skid plate has mounting feet and the middle support foot rests against the cross member. This design makes it really easy to bend the cross member. The BB plate is 3/16" and has no feet.

How are you able to deflect 3/16" of steel 3 inches with enough force to bend that cross member?

As far as the thinner material I think it'll be OK for a while. For one it's a whole lot lighter than 3/16" which means better mileage and less weight being drug out on the trail. Plus this piece of metal full retail is like 40 bucks. If it gets messed up I'll make another one.

[Seanz0rz]

i think we are talking two different cross members.

the cross member just ahead of the radiator is the one that is bent on mine, and im assuming so for others as well. i see NO WAY you would ever bend the cross member that sits at the front of the engine block.

[Tankota]

Thats a really fun rite up. It reads like a comic book!

Maybe you aught to try and find someone with a sheet metal brake to help with the bending. A local machine shop or commercial HVAC shop.

[4x4mike]

It reads like a comic book!

Thats the story of my life.

Maybe you aught to try and find someone with a sheet metal brake to help with the bending. A local machine shop or commercial HVAC shop.

That'll take all the fun out of it. Plus it would cost money and I'd have to drive my POS to them and explain what the hell I'm doing, or trying to do. I'm sure they'll just shake their head and charge me double.

Actually on the drive in this morning I was thinking I would have to take it somewhere. Not for the bends I have now but for the last bend. It's on a 2" section that's about 2" away from another bend. Both bends will need to be 90* and there is no way I'd be able to get the leverage needed to bend it.

[4x4mike]

i think we are talking two different cross members.

the cross member just ahead of the radiator is the one that is bent on mine, and im assuming so for others as well. i see NO WAY you would ever bend the cross member that sits at the front of the engine block.
[img width=800 height=600]http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m141/hamiltoncomputers/IMG_0020.jpg[/img]

Good god. Thats kind of crappy. I hope I never have to deal with that thing bending (good thing I'm not as hardcore as you).

The crossmember I'm talking about is the one that runs left to right on the vehicle just in front of the a arms. My '99 has 2 metal lines running along it. I haven't 'bent' forsay but more of tried to punch a hole in it. The metal is a little thick so it didn't tear but it is deformed. I'll try to grab a picture of it tonight.

[Bob98SR5]

mike,

who cares about the skid plate, i love the narrative, esp the pics of the misses watching the girl movie! classic! looks like you're almost there.

hey, how about using a floor jack in some fashion to push up the metal? I guess you'd have to figure out how to brace it against the wall or something like that and then youre golden

[Seanz0rz]

yeah, something i am changing on my design is providing more surface area on my mounting brackets to avoid punching a hole in that cross member.

as for the front cross member, some day soon ill chop it out and weld in a 2x4 inch rectangular tube.

[4x4mike]

hey, how about using a floor jack in some fashion to push up the metal? I guess you'd have to figure out how to brace it against the wall or something like that and then youre golden

Bob, your burger avatar is making me hungry.
I was thinking that I could build a jig using 2 pieces of square stock (around 3' long) mounted to something a couple inches apart. I'd lay the plate over the 2 pieces, lay a third piece of square or round stock at the location of the bend and put a bottle jack or 2 on top of the third piece of metal. All of this laying below the frame of the 4runner. I think that the jacking up the vehicle with the jack will force the thrid piece of metal into the crack and cause the bend. All I have to do is get the bend started. After that it's a little easier. Who knows, maybe it'll work, maybe it won't. Right now I imagine the bottle jack shooting out while being compressed and hitting me in the junk.

[4x4mike]

i think we are talking two different cross members.

the cross member just ahead of the radiator is the one that is bent on mine, and im assuming so for others as well. i see NO WAY you would ever bend the cross member that sits at the front of the engine block.

The cross member is similar to the one shown here.


I think this one is much higher than mine though. I have the metal lines on mine but I think mine bridges the gap in the same plane as the 2 cam bolts. Either way right in the middle it's got a big one.

[slosurfer]

Mike, find a street grate that the metal will slide into, have Ken hold it so the "break" will be in the correct spot. Pull up in the 4runner, and put one tire in the center of the plate, and push.