- Location
- Covington, Va
So I installed the full set of Shrockworks Skids on my Xterra and this weekend was the first real trip with them.
All weekend the Xterra was running noticeably warmer. The floor boards, shifter, and interior was really warm. Also, my electric cooling fan rarely comes on when trail riding, even in 90-100° weather and it was howling most of the weekend.
So I like the protection, but I've got to do something to fix this.
My first thought is longitudinal slots, 1/4-3/8" wide and roughly 4" long, staggered at 4" intervals on the engine and transmission skid. That would help with drainage and venting. Being longitudinal, they would be less likely to hang me for forward or reverse motion and drilling holes at each end should lower the risk or causing cracks. But it's 1/4" steel plate, so I can just weld up any damage easy enough.
I was also thinking about taking 6-8" off each side of the transmission skid to help the radiated heat from the exhaust system escape instead of continually heating up the skid and transmission.
I have bashed my factory engine and transfercase skids over the years but so far, haven't touched the transmission. I'm sure I'll belly it out eventually but I don't think narrowing that skid will cause any issues that having it full width would help me drive out of vs having to lift/winch the truck.
All weekend the Xterra was running noticeably warmer. The floor boards, shifter, and interior was really warm. Also, my electric cooling fan rarely comes on when trail riding, even in 90-100° weather and it was howling most of the weekend.
So I like the protection, but I've got to do something to fix this.
My first thought is longitudinal slots, 1/4-3/8" wide and roughly 4" long, staggered at 4" intervals on the engine and transmission skid. That would help with drainage and venting. Being longitudinal, they would be less likely to hang me for forward or reverse motion and drilling holes at each end should lower the risk or causing cracks. But it's 1/4" steel plate, so I can just weld up any damage easy enough.
I was also thinking about taking 6-8" off each side of the transmission skid to help the radiated heat from the exhaust system escape instead of continually heating up the skid and transmission.
I have bashed my factory engine and transfercase skids over the years but so far, haven't touched the transmission. I'm sure I'll belly it out eventually but I don't think narrowing that skid will cause any issues that having it full width would help me drive out of vs having to lift/winch the truck.