Spring shackle skid plate

[SR1355]

Originally Posted by Desert Dan

I got my AmStar skids and will put them on this weekend.
They look like skis and no they aren't red. The are black.

Hey Desert Dan, Where did you pick up the skids? at a dealer? or somewhere else. How do you like them?

[Desert Dan]

I ordered mine thru the dealer. I ahd to give the the part number and they had to Amstar to confirm.

They look great. I haven't had time to put them on yet.

Between work and moving last weekend no time for wrenching

[Hal]

Here's my Amstar skid plates, picked up today, got the service manual a few days ago too


Installation surprise follows... READ THIS: the Amstar instructions say you must remove and discard existing U-bolts and nuts, but retain the washers ( ) and replace with new GM u-bolts and nuts or void any warranty for the skids.
Is this standard procedure ?? guess I got to drive 100 miles round trip back to the dealer for that wish I knew ahead of time. ANYONE KNOW THE REASON FOR THIS? (serious replies only please)


Some powder coating on the edge of skids is already falling off, but hey, I plan to make even more come off myself.
Oh yeah, you want to know the price... skids from dealer $210 plus tax! and the service manuals from Helm $135 plus shipping! Ouch and Ouch!

[H3slate]

looking forward to pics after you install them. That is wierd about replacing the u-bolt!?! Aren't you just going to replace with the same bolt? I could understand if they gave you new bolts to install, the bolts should be included for $200 bucks .

[Hunner]

Actually I paid
$210.00
13.14 tax
12.00 shipping
$235.14 total for brand "A"

Im not sure the best way to handle this. Im all set up to make my version of this that actually protects the inside end of the shock bolt and the inside edge of the shackle plate. See previous pictures of how the other does not even at the $235.00 price.
It Seems brand "A" is plasma cut with rough edges and so the powder coat peels off. It peels off around the holes as well, in the box.
Mine are going to be laser cut and I will prime and paint my personal ones. To save on cost to buyers I was thinking of no finish. You can always paint any color and touch up with a spray can. If you really get in the rocks as we do here they will need touched up often.
I dont want to upset our hosts and I have seen many violations of their rules about selling products. So now what do I do? I have the pattern for the front of the spring mounts ready as well. I still need to double check packaging and shipping before I quote a price. I was going to get folks to PM me and use Pay Pal if that works out. I started all this to help folks but it may get too complicated. I want to get a feel for how many I could sell before production to get an even better price. I really dont need 40 of these sitting around. If this gets edited then I will have to figure some way to post to a web site and hopefully be found that way. Could take quite a bit of time that way. I will try to find out more and quote a price very soon. It will be less than brand "A" with the option to add the front ones. More later.
1secondwind@comcast.net

[Hunner]

Ok, here goes. First to save time read all that other stuff and look at the pictures. I don't do this for a business. I just thought if I went to the trouble to have this done I would help others. I have already saved my shocks and mounting with mine. I saw in H2 the Rubicon run. I would like to know how the H3's made it thru that without these and what their shocks and shackles look like. I will post in H3 classifieds.

[Sewie]

Originally Posted by Hunner

I saw in H2 the Rubicon run. I would like to know how the H3's made it thru that without these and what their shocks and shackles look like. I will post in H3 classifieds.

I didn't damage mine at all on either of the Rubicon runs and I don't think any of the other 3's did either. But with slow rock-crawling like that, you're probably not going to damage that area unless you land on it really hard or get hung up on it and try to power through. On a trail like that the skids will help most by keeping you from getting hung up on that plate.

[HummBebe]

Mine are in perfect condition. Well, ok, not perfect...but no real damage.

[Hunner]

Yep that is what happens here. You land on it really hard and get hung up. Even crawling. Going up hills you have no choice and sliding down loose rock they pile up back there. I guess the difference in terrain is what is causing the problem I have. I go almost every weekend and the odds are catching up with me. I have only seen one other H3 on the trails. H2's that came from Texas had some tight places and broke tie rods. I know of two. Are the ones on the H3 bigger, stronger or is it just the H2 with big tires and power grab after spinning and brake them? I have looked at the Fab-Tec but dont know if the are the same for H3. Thought you guys might know.

Originally Posted by Sewie

I didn't damage mine at all on either of the Rubicon runs and I don't think any of the other 3's did either. But with slow rock-crawling like that, you're probably not going to damage that area unless you land on it really hard or get hung up on it and try to power through. On a trail like that the skids will help most by keeping you from getting hung up on that plate.

[Hunner]

Originally Posted by Sewie

I didn't damage mine at all on either of the Rubicon runs and I don't think any of the other 3's did either. But with slow rock-crawling like that, you're probably not going to damage that area unless you land on it really hard or get hung up on it and try to power through. On a trail like that the skids will help most by keeping you from getting hung up on that plate.

I guess this was before that happened. I was just messing with you but it is a really great picture to show what can happen. The skid may have been damaged but hopefully would have saved that damage to the other parts. Sorry if you took it the wrong way. Im showing my damage as well. It's a fact it is going to happen.

[Linus Gump]

Originally Posted by Hal

Installation surprise follows... READ THIS: the Amstar instructions say you must remove and discard existing U-bolts and nuts, but retain the washers and replace with new GM u-bolts and nuts or void any warranty for the skids.
Is this standard procedure ?? ANYONE KNOW THE REASON FOR THIS? (serious replies only please)

The reason for the replacement of the hardware is because when you torque the nuts down to spec the bolt actually stretches and the threads of the nuts stretch and deform. This will cause the bolt to possibly break later on when retorqued, or never be tight because of over stretch. To prevent from lawsuits from bolts breaking under acceleration and causing accidents, they advise you that your warranty will be voided if you don't replace the hardware. This is why commercial lift kits come with new blots and nuts, and also why you need to replace the head bolts when you pull a head.

I agree that for $200 they should include all hardeware to mount them.