Most important under armor?

[Blues Fan 30]

After being offroad for the first time ever and enjoying it we are definitely going again at some point. I will say the trails we were on were nothing super crazy and I got out and scoped many of the lines before actually proceeding. I don't have the budget for a full on skid setup nor do I feel it's worth it with how I intend to offroad. More or less interested in protecting the most likely oopsie underneath. That being said, where am I best spending money? The obvious choice seems to be diff skids as that's the low hanging fruit if you will.

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[GATORB8]

You already have sliders and bumpers?

 

[Centurion07]

Just in case the trail is way worse than you thought...

Based on some advice I got from a trusted forum member, I went with diff skids and skids for the rear LCAs. Part of my decision was based on how much lift I have and my intent to choose my lines carefully vs doing a full send on every obstacle.

 

[Blues Fan 30]

Just in case the trail is way worse than you thought...

Based on some advice I got from a trusted forum member, I went with diff skids and skids for the rear LCAs. Part of my decision was based on how much lift I have and my intent to choose my lines carefully vs doing a full send on every obstacle.

Yeah I was just climbing around underneath doing some cleaning and checking things out. I'd agree seems like the rear lcas are also pretty low on the back side. Protecting that area and the shocks back there seems like a pretty good investment as well. Which skids did you go with? I was looking at metalcloak because tbh they look badarse but the diff skids appear to be only for rubis?

 

[Rubi6mt]

In my view the oil pan and the exhaust crossover area are both exposed and will lead to a bad day if you hit hard enough.

those would be my primary focus areas.

Case in point how my skids look over the exhaust over area on a rocky trail and yes I was picking my lines carefully

 

[Blues Fan 30]

In my view the oil pan and the exhaust crossover area are both exposed and will lead to a bad day if you hit hard enough.

those would be my primary focus areas.

Case in point how my skids look over the exhaust over area on a rocky trail and yes I was picking my lines carefully

The oil pan definitely seems to be a popular choice as well. I did some searching and most of it is listed for the 3.6 not the 2.0. Not sure if they're interchangeable or not?

 

[Centurion07]

Yeah I was just climbing around underneath doing some cleaning and checking things out. I'd agree seems like the rear lcas are also pretty low on the back side. Protecting that area and the shocks back there seems like a pretty good investment as well. Which skids did you go with? I was looking at metalcloak because tbh they look badarse but the diff skids appear to be only for rubis?

I went with Rough Country. Not super gold & sexy, but still heavy steel plates.

 

[Maverick909]

oil pan/trans skid plate is the most important. followed by rear diff and LCA skids. then i would add the front diff and LCA on the front.. factory fuel tank does just fine. I would also look at a GOOD set of rock sliders. save the money up for sliders. I learned the hard way buying smittybilt slider/steps. was a big waste of 300+ bucks. now the jeep has dented door sill driver and passanger after coming off a rock harder than it looked. Now i have a set of LOD sliders. LOD makes really good stuff and well worth the money

 

[melendez69]

Maybe consider the FAD?

 

[Rubi6mt]

The oil pan definitely seems to be a popular choice as well. I did some searching and most of it is listed for the 3.6 not the 2.0. Not sure if they're interchangeable or not?

Don't think they are interchangeable as they bolt onto the engine mounts.

 

[Mx5red]

What will strand you? Oil pan/transmission lines that the engine skid covers.
Then I’d do diffs. I haven’t seen anybody post pics of a cover getting “peeled” off dragging over a rock, or caving a front cover in, but there are stories of people doing that.
Agree stock gas tank and t case skids work pretty good.

 

[Centurion07]

What will strand you? Skid pan/transmission lines that the engine skid covers.
Then I’d do diffs. I haven’t seen anybody post pics of a cover getting “peeled” off dragging over a rock, or caving a front cover in, but there are stories of people doing that.
Agree stock gas tank and t case skids work pretty good.

Agreed. I went with diff skids because they're the lowest bits. I'd have to drop on some gnarly stuff after making some sort of bad decision to really hit much else.
I'm not saying it couldn't happen. I just have to be selective on lines and obstacles. The Jeep is my DD, too.

 

[beast40]

Has anyone actually damaged a rear Diff? The cover can peel back, so I understand the rear diff cover, but in 20+ years off-roading I've never seen a damaged differential that would require one of the many diaper options now on the market. If anything I would take the additional ground clearance over the protection. Is it for the u-joint protection?

Oil Pan, Tranny/X-fer case, Diff covers would be the first skids I'd recommend. Keep your Jeep as light as possible while protecting the most important items.

 

[Centurion07]

Has anyone actually damaged a rear Diff? The cover can peel back, so I understand the rear diff cover, but in 20+ years off-roading I've never seen a damaged differential that would require one of the many diaper options now on the market. If anything I would take the additional ground clearance over the protection.

Hey now, don't be hatin' on diapers...lol

 

[Blues Fan 30]

Agreed. I went with diff skids because they're the lowest bits. I'd have to drop on some gnarly stuff after making some sort of bad decision to really hit much else.
I'm not saying it couldn't happen. I just have to be selective on lines and obstacles. The Jeep is my DD, too.

This was my thought too. After some digging it seems the oil pan/trans line cover more protects from branches or anything like that catching on those components and ripping them out more than crush damage to them. Makes sense to me actually. Leaning towards that plus the rear lca/shock skids.

Does anyone know what budget skids are available for the oil pan? So far the only one I've found for a 24 2.0 is the m.o.r.e. also, needing lca skids compatible with teraflex shock extensions.

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