Bronco Raptor Skid Plate kit

[GregFoutz]

Hey everyone,

we just recently released our Bronco Raptor full skid plate kit. Cant wait to get it dirty.

https://www.foutzmotorsports.com/co...co/products/202-ford-bronco-raptor-skid-plate

 

[ChiliPepper]

Greg,
The engine and transmission skids are awesome. Full coverage - that's what I like! The transfer case skid looks small and unsupported. How about running it all the way over to the fuel tank skid?

 

[GregFoutz]

Greg,
The engine and transmission skids are awesome. Full coverage - that's what I like! The transfer case skid looks small and unsupported. How about running it all the way over to the fuel tank skid?

in person it is actually pretty strong due to the way its bent and shaped. it goes up under the main skid to mount and bolt in that you cant see in the pictures well. We also add an additional support cross member to the transmission cross member that it all bolts up to which adds a bunch of strength there.

 

[Dragoon]

Nicely done! I assume the small removable panel at the front is to gain access to the oil drain plug?

 

[ChiliPepper]

My guess is no. It is a bump out for the front diff (yellow arrow). The oil drain plug (red arrow) is on the passenger side of the plastic oil pan (and drains to the passenger side). It appears that the entire skid plate needs to be removed; same as the OEM.


The oil drains with a pretty good stream at first; be ready with your bucket.
I recommend the UPR drain plug to control the flow. A small hose can also be attached to direct the flow.
Ditch the crappy Ford plastic oil plug!

 

[ChiliPepper]

LOVE that rear diff skid. (FMI0206000120NA01)
Is it 3/16" steel? Any concern about protecting the pinion gear (i.e. extending the skid forward 3-4")? Does it come powder-coated? A lot of good stuff coming out of FMI.

 

[JohnGalt]

Just installed the Foutz Differential skid… very pleased.

Definitely heavy duty skid and hardware. Fit like it was designed by Ford engineers. Easy to bolt on, but no wiggle room.

installation of the skid was super quick. I torqued the differential cover bolts to 33 ft lbs (OEM spec for F150 Raptor is all I found). Hardest part was getting one side of the bracket bolted together and that wasn’t hard, just limited space to work in so I needed to switch out ratchets.

The hardest part of the whole experience was filing down my OEM differential cover bolts so I could get a socket on them. Do yourself and @GregFoutz a favor and buy this BEFORE you drag your differential over some rocks.

I’m sure there are other good options out there, but I don’t think you can go wrong with Foutz on this one.

P.S. The installation instructions are for regular Bronco, so don’t get excited when you only get 5 differential cover bolts vs. 6 in the picture. 5 is the correct number.

 

[GregFoutz]

Nicely done! I assume the small removable panel at the front is to gain access to the oil drain plug?

bump out to protect the front diff. it was too close with out the bump out and didnt want to lower the rest of the skid kit to get it low enough to have some room there. Plus the bump out adds some strength in that area.

 

[GregFoutz]

LOVE that rear diff skid. (FMI0206000120NA01)
Is it 3/16" steel? Any concern about protecting the pinion gear (i.e. extending the skid forward 3-4")? Does it come powder-coated? A lot of good stuff coming out of FMI.
View attachment 5782 View attachment 5783

yes 3/16 steel and comes powder coated black and with longer rear cover bolts to replace the stock ones.

 

[JohnGalt]

Powder coat version pics…

 

[ChiliPepper]

I love my FMI rear diff skid. Saved me a couple times already.

 

[DallasCajun]

Is the install as straightforward as removing the 5 bolts from the Diff cover, placing the skid and then replacing with the new bolts along with bolting on the front support bracket?

 

[JohnGalt]

Yes. It’s that easy.

Unless you’ve scuffed your OEM differential cover bolts. It took a little filing of the bolt heads before I could slip the socket on to remove two of them. Otherwise, this is super easy.

Also Plenty of room to do it with the truck on the ground.

 

[DallasCajun]

Thanks...thought so but figured better off to ask in advance. While rock crawling isn't really my primary interest, I realized during the trail rides at Raptor OR last week that a diff skid is probably still a great idea as it only takes one little misjudgment to potentially ruin the day.

 

[JohnGalt]

The day I my skid was delivered to the house, I was in the mountains in the rain wheeling and got my differential hung between two rocks on an optional obstacle. Couldn’t go forward, couldn’t go back and I was digging myself deeper in the mud. Fortunately a few well placed stacked rocks and my winch popped me up and over, but not before grinding the aforementioned bolts!

I just couldn’t wait! Ha ha

 

[Roughstock]

yes 3/16 steel and comes powder coated black and with longer rear cover bolts to replace the stock ones.

When back in AZ mid November I will be contacting you for some stuff. Perhaps I could drop by your shop and determine what works for me. Look forward till then. You are only about 4 hours away. Thanks

 

[DallasCajun]

Any idea what the torque specs are for the diff cover? I’ve seen 25 ft-lbs for the normal Bronco but not sure if the same for the BRaptor.

 

[JohnGalt]

F150 Raptor diff cover torque spec is 33 ft/lb. I used that

 

[DallasCajun]

Thanks. I had mine set to 30 ft-lbs. I was planning on going back and double-checking in the next couple of days so will target 33. It’s a standard ”analog” torque wrench (ie not digital) so I’m sure there‘s some variance in the setting anyway.

 

[JohnGalt]

Mine too. Digital probably has a similar margin of error, just implies more accuracy!

Your post is a good reminder to get back under there and re-torque just for peace of mind