what a deal!

went out to a scrap yard today to find a new fan/fan clutch... wasnt sucessful.. BUT i did manage to find a trooper built in july 92 (so im assuming and hoping its a 93 model year) with a purdy lookin set of skid plates! after much crawling around in glass and rocks i got them loose and dragged them, all the mounting bolts.. and another front tow hook up to the pay window.. the guy looked at me like i was crazy and said i dunno... 5 bucks? i about fell over.. but handed him a 5 and got out of there as soon as i could before he changed his mind heh... saweeeeeet my belly is now protected for super cheap! i was really close to buying the set on ebay for $80+ shipping.. glad i waited :dance:

Sweet!
Did you get all 3?

no.. i only got 2:( i stopped by spike's place on the way back to check his plates out.. i got the main plate that is in the center off the cross member and the one that covers the passenger side of the vx.. didnt get the one that protects the muffler... which as far as i can tell isnt all that helpful to begin with

one thing i didnt notice at the yard is that the passenger side plate was coated in what i can only describe as a peanut butter like substance.. no clue what it is.. im guessing really really dried clay and grease casserole... i soaked it in the utility sink for about a half hour... you could swear the plate was new.. there isnt a scratch on it! the main plate has a small scuff on the part of it that hangs the lowest... but other than that its perfect as well, i was going to repaint them but no need!

Man, I love self-service junkyards!! And I miss them too - I haven't been to one in over 10 years. :-( There were 2-3 good ones in the St Louis area that kept my '79 Volvo tip-top. If it wasn't a distinct engine part (i.e., alternator, starter, AC compressor) it was $5. I filled a bucket with interior and exterior trim bits that would have cost me hundreds or even thousands at a dealership, but it was $5 there!

I went a couple of times just for fun - smash some windows with a hammer, look through the possessions left behind in junkers, warm my hands by the fire burning in the 55-gal drum on a cold winter's day... ah, the memories of youth!

I still haunt the Daytona U-pull-it a couple times a rear.

MAN, I thought I got a deal...all three for $20, but since they were already removed & stacked neatly in the back seat, I guess I don't mind paying a bit more. ;) :p

Still, you got a great deal.

And yes, I too love my local salvage yards...just wish there was even one VX. :rolleyes:

yeah i love u-pull-its too... i try to find one in most of my vacation spots heh just for fun and u never know what u find... i found a really nice condition '56 bel air body in a yard in VA.. too bad i had no place to store it! apparently its gone now

ok the plates are on now... i guess the main plate was a little bent or something because it took a whole lot of work to get all 4 bolts seated and the 4th took a whole lot of work to tighten down all the way... now im a little nervous that the plate is touching a bar (im guessing its a torsion bar?) that runs front to back of the VX it looks like the plate has an indent to let the bar pass safely but its not seated quite right... is this gonna be a problem... anything i can do to fix it other than bending the plate (cranking the bar up 1/2" or so?)

http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/da.../skids_002.jpg

The torsion bar doesn't move up and down, just twists. so you should be fine.

If you make contact with something big & hard (read rock) with that r/f plate, it CAN, & does collapse onto the front drive shaft & makes one helluva racket as the allen bolts rub against it...been there... :rolleyes:
No big deal if you carry wrenches with you. ;)

cool, thanks.. now i can take the vx out for a test drive w/ the plates to make sure theres no annoying rattles! was afraid to drive w/ it like that cause i wasnt sure how the torsion bars worked

thanks for the tip ldub... i always have a decent sized set of rachets.. at least 1 spotlight and many tie downs/bungees/rope/blankets/random other useful crap in my vx :_wrench:

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Ldub

If you make contact with something big & hard (read rock) with that r/f plate, it CAN, & does collapse onto the front drive shaft & makes one helluva racket as the allen bolts rub against it...been there... :rolleyes:
No big deal if you carry wrenches with you. ;)

---

Been there, done that! Mine has already been "modified" using a really big adjustable wrench....a couple of times!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Triathlete

Been there, done that! Mine has already been "modified" using a really big adjustable wrench....a couple of times!

---

Same here, except after I modified mine by removing a good chunk of metal where it made contact, it just allowed it to collapse further. :rolleyes:

Since it doesn't protect anything that could cause a puddle, I just removed it.

Yep etlsport..You got a good deal, Here's a set of 4 for $80. plus shipping (s/h to Illinois is $70+). Nice Find ! !

$5 BUCKS. I was quoted $35 a piece.

GAHHHHHH BURGLEFLICKEL!


apparently the frame of the trooper wasnt quite straight... i took the vx for its first drive w/ skid plates when i hit the go pedal hard my vx went BRRRAAAAAARRRRRARRRRRRRRRRGGKATHUNKAAHAAHHRRAAHAAA AAA.... if i kept rpms down it was okay.. i was right next to a pep boys so thought what the heck went in and explained the problem to the guy.. he says well i think its your transmission... i tried to explain to him the tranny is fine we argued over it a bit.. went for a drive w/ him in it and couldnt recreate the problem... but he told me that my transmission is goin because it revs too high :rolleyes: only goes to 4500-5000 rpms in power mode if i get on it hard.. which its done for the last 19 months and 17k miles.. so i asked if we could put it up on his lift to look and check transmission fluid.. he said i wasnt allowed to look with him.. so i said screw it and drove the vx home... got it up on my jack out in the rain :( .... what do i see.. a nice shiney chunk missing from my skid plate... im guessing its what ldub and triathlete were talking about crushing the plate... what did you do to fix it? i was in there with a pipe and couldnt move it.. so im thinking angle grinder to take a small section out around the plate

http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/da...s_004_copy.jpg

As I said earlier, relief cutting will work just fine...until you run it up on a big hard thing, then the cut you made allows it to collapse even further. :(

Look at what it's actually protecting & decide if it's worth the effort. ;)

Just take a lagre adjustable wrench, clamp it on the leading edge where it rubs and gently persuade it downwards to the desired clearance...works like a charm! :smack: :dance:

The exhaust pipe crossover skid plate is fairly worthless IMHO...it isn't strong enough to take a good hit without getting forced up into the front U-joint etc. The other Trooper skids are thicker steel for some reason, and do a much better job.

Once I had my passenger side exhaust re-routed around the back of the transfer case, I took that crossover skid off for good.

Just wondering, what size fastners held these plates in place in case I happen across a 92/93 trooper on the side of the road,.. I mean in a junk yard if you remember

If you do a search, I posted a how to for the skid plates and it has the info you seek. I don't remember it off the top of my head.