Toyota Tech:
Beefing Up the Gas Tank Skidplate
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| Http://www.4x4Wire.com/toyota/tech/gastankskid/ |
Short Cuts |
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By: Jay Kopycinski. November, 2001.
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| Does your tank look like this....it could! |
If you do much challenging wheeling with your Toyota
you'll sooner or later hit your gas tank skidplate on a rock or other
trail obstacle. The stock skidplate is good for mild hits, but will
easily start to bend when hit hard. One option to fortify the area is to replace the
stock skidplate with something beefier. Instead, we'll show you a quick
way to beef up the stock plate for very little time and cost.
With the skidplate unbolted and removed from the
tank, you simply need to weld some reinforcing steel pieces to the top
side of the skidplate. We chose to use some 1/2" steel angle iron
we had lying around. Alternately, you could probably use 3/4" angle,
or similar sized box tubing, as well. Just be sure to check other
sizes to make sure they fit between the skidplate and the bottom
of the gas tank.
Cautionary Note:
Be sure that any welding is done
far from the gas tank and any fumes from the tank.
Kinda obvious.....huh? |
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| Angle iron used to add stiffness to the skidplate |
Paint removed in preparation for welding |
Welding the angle every few inches on the skidplate |
We cut the angle iron pieces and laid them in the low
areas of the skidplate. We then placed short welds every few inches to weld
the angle to the skidplate. We found the welding caused the skidplate to warp
a bit but it could easily be pressed right back flat when it was bolted
back onto the gas tank.
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| Here is the finished, beefier skidplate |
While this isn't the ultimate rock guarding skidplate,
it does offer a resonable improvement over the stock setup. Best of all,
the cost of the modification is practically free if you have access to a
welder.
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