Fabritron (same company that has been making the ARB skid plate and rock sliders) has just come out with a skidplate that covers the transfer case. The plate is made from 3/16" steel. It can be painted in whatever color you like and comes with all the bolts needed to mount it. The price is 85.00. He has 10 of them ready for shipment now. I can either bring them with me to GOX or you can get it shipped.

Talk to either Tom or Keith
972-475-3027

well not to state the obvious here but doesnt the plate bolt only to the the transfer case itself. A strong impact would probably damage the case or am I wrong here.

Hmmm... I must comment....

I think I'll keep my $14.95 Nissan guard, since the transfer case is not a load bearing part of the Xterra.

I would hate to come down hard on that skid plate, with only the transfer case supporting it. At least the Nissan one will bend and give. That one may be too strong and cause damage to the transfer case.

You might ask him to put a few holes in it for drainage....

You are correct.

That plate also sits on the case itself so it is not just holding to the sides of the case. As for the drainage holes. With proper maintance of the Xterra you would not need them.

You are correct that the T case is not a load bearing structure.. but if you have a sharp rock (or any big rock) hit the case directly then you can kiss is goodbye. The one that Nissan offers will do nothing more than get in the rocks way before it taps the case.

Something else to think about.. if it can hit the plate then it can hit the case.

At least with the plate you have something to distribute the force before it gets to the case.

The perfect solution would be to do the full underbody skid plates. But for those on a budget this offers a better solution then having nothing.

seeing as how the transfer skid from Skid Row is $150.00 and you can get it and run it by itself. and it bolts to load bearing crossmembers (i have set the weight of the almost the entire truck on my transfer case skid plate many times). you'd be better served to spend the extra cash and get that IMO. then get the other skid row plates as money permits.

Again.. I agree that a full plate would be the best answer to the problem.. GOX is next week.. how fast can Skid Row ship?

Last year at GOX, I made no contact with anything underneath the X. I removed all of my Skid Row plates 2 weeks ago to save on weight since every little bit helps at that altitude. I have no worries at all for messing anything up since I'm not running Iron Chest or like trails... especially since I am now lifted.

I hope everyone doesn't think that they HAVE to have tank armor on the X for the San Juans, because you don't if you drive responsibly.

I agree with Mosi, take your time and you'll be fine. Although I do remember someone breaking in their rock sliderz taking a line through a deep rut.

I gotta go with XOC on this one too. At least the Nissan one will bend outta the way a little. Other then that this thing seems no different then the Nissan one. They both bolt directly to the case. And some drain holes would be nice too. For the price, I'll stick with the $14.95 one. The $85 Fabritron one doesn't look like it gives any more protection than the Nissan one. Never the less, it's yet another aftermarket option for the X which is a good thing.

The benefit I could see with this skid is for softer things that would slide across the skid.

I got hung up once on a decomposing tree stump where part of it wedged between the transfer case and the cross member. With that skid it would have passed under. But no load bearing support would still be a concern.

After spending 2 hours trying to get off that damn stump I ordered my full set of skids from Skidrow the next weekend.

I wasn't saying you disagreed, i was just quoting a price and my thoughts. sorry.

I'll be up at skid row on sunday doing some computer work for eric and can bring anyone one plate or a set to GOX if they buy them before then.

and i do agree with Cygnus-X1's last comment.

[ 08-24-2001: Message edited by: Synchro ]

Why? For those of you who think that it a good idea to put holes in it do not, I repeat DO NOT buy the skid row plates either. There are only two holes in the bottom of those plates ( for access to the oil filter). If you do not take the time to properly maintain your off-road vehicle then you should not buy true skid plates. Holes in underbody skid plates only allow for you to get hung up on something (rock, tree stump, pedestrian) You should be checking the underbody of your Xterra after you go off-road. This includes cleaning the underbody of any of the crap you have been driving through (yes this means removing skid plates if necessary).

So... If you need holes in the underbody skid plates, then you are mostlikely not taking the time to properly maintain your vehicle.

I find parking on my steep driveway and flusing out my skid plates with water flowing downhill to the rear works well.

Carltons skid has a flat spot on the side equal to the lowest point, so it would be easy to flush out.

Bull. You expect me to disassemble my Xterra every weekend ?

The Transfer Case skid plate is slightly angled, and makes a nice "cup" for holding water. It needs a drain hole.

Holes in skid plates do not get hung up on things, unless they are poorly cut, and have a rough edge.

Do you have to have a transfer case to get the skid plate. I would just like to put it on because it's yellow.

You could tape it to the frame somewhere

Why not just buy a rattle can of yellow paint ?

Yet another vote for the almighty Duct Tape!

I'm glad you guys are saying that full skid plates are not needed.
I was getting worried when people were pissed because they wouldn't get their rock sliders by GOX, etc.

I'm bone stock and even though I plan to get a bull bar, skid row plates, and calmini sliders, school starts in one week so Xterra add-ons are a distant second priority now.

Luckily I've been 4-wheeling long enough to know how to choose a proper line over an obstacle. Hopefully I'll make it through the week without touching.

[ 08-25-2001: Message edited by: Kerensky97 ]

I agree with Ian on this one. With my skid row plates, after a particulary muddy run, i go to the powerwasher and litterally shove the nozzle down under the lip of the plates, down into the lip of the skid row gas tank skid. when i took my plates off to add my torsion bars back in march - april timeframe, i was VERY suprised at how little dirt was up there. the side facing the underside of the truck was still black in most cases. I get more caked on mud around the sway bar mounts that anywhere else.

I do agree that you have to take care of your truck and I do remember the first time i saw the plates and saying to todd, mike and chris "can you get them on a chain with a quick release or something so we can easily drop them to powerwash under there?" when we did the initial trail test of them, we found that they have a great amount of drain holes vs flat surfaces. I have crawled along jagged rocks in mine and have yet to get them hung up on anything i couldn't power over.