Mod 15: More RCI Metalworks Skid Plates!
After some deliberation (and a timely sale from RCI Metalworks), I decided to bite the bullet and finish off my set of aluminum skids from them. This new set included the transmission skid plate and the transfer case skid plate, both of which came in raw aluminum.
After doing some offroading at Rausch Creek and with the winter coming up, I decided to take this time to get the underside of Po ready for the winter. I had a few crunchy slams at Rausch Creek, so I pulled off my original front skid to assess the damage and touch up any spots with paint. I am glad I did this because it gave me a much better sense of where I hit, how hard, and honestly how well the skid plate held up. I know aluminum skids are not as strong as steel, but there were some decent gashes in there and I am super happy with how it held up!
While I touched the front plate up, I also applied a number of coats to the brand new trans and t-case skids to match the look. Again, an easy process but just one that takes quite a bit of time. Seeing as these are barely visible under the rig, and that my patience was running thin, I decided to quickly slap 3 or so coats on there and call it a night.
And finally, I decided to Fluid Film the underside of the 4Runner. It was a very time-consuming process, but seeing as the Northeast gets very salty during the winter, it is worth the effort. I went through about 3 of the cans of Fluid Film over the course of a couple of hours. I found a creeper was a great tool to slide around underneath and get in all of the nooks and crannies. One word of advise: make sure the car has cooled down before you do that!
Here are some final pics of all of the skids installed. You can see the bubbly-looking stuff on my frame; that’s the Fluid Film!
