Thread: Underside protection - how much?

I have always run my defenders across paddocks and fire trails for work, only ever put front diff protectors on them and have never had a drama. Hit plenty of hidden rocks and stumps but the diff guards have copped a hiding including dented chassis cross bars, they are pretty well designed for cross country work, everything is tucked up out of the way...

If you are getting a Puma I would recommend a fuel cooler guard as the return hoses are pretty exposed and are easily removed by a wayward branch etc. I have one fitted along with a steering guard and QT diff guards, the rear one has a slider and protects the UJ of the rear prop at the Diff.

There are a few different types of cooler guard but I prefer the Entreq one as it covers a fair section of the under side.



http://www.entreq.de/products-lr-def...offkuhler.html

Brian

Originally Posted by Lorryman100

If you are getting a Puma I would recommend a fuel cooler guard as the return hoses are pretty exposed and are easily removed by a wayward branch etc. I have one fitted along with a steering guard and QT diff guards, the rear one has a slider and protects the UJ of the rear prop at the Diff.

There are a few different types of cooler guard but I prefer the Entreq one as it covers a fair section of the under side.



http://www.entreq.de/products-lr-def...offkuhler.html

Brian

A fuel cooler guard is on the must-get list for my 130, those hoses do look delicate and vulnerable, and a potential stranding failure.
Lorryman, these large under-body trays are not favoured here in Oz as they have a habit of gathering spinifex (a native grass) in outback country which results in vehicle fires.

My 110 has the following:

• Steering Guard
• Front & rear diff guards
• Fuel tank guard

FWIW - None of the Camel Trophy vehicles ever had diff guards fitted.

The cars at work only have steering guards but if I was kitting out a new car, I think I'd only bother with steering & diff guards these days.

M

Originally Posted by Summiitt

everything is tucked up out of the way...

huhh !!!

have you noticed how low and vulnerable your track rod is, weak as. Only think Ive really bent in 35 yrs or 4x4ing is a number of track rods
I even bent one running over a dead wombat .


I dont know about pumas, but I never run any underside protection ,except for a recently new front diff cover.

I also just cottoned onto the offset track rod which I now think is a must have


the last thing you need is guards and covers that are going to catch spinnifex & grasses , = fire hazard.

I see a bit of a mixed bag here and I suppose depends on the type of driving you do.

I guess a good risk analysis where the vehicle is going to go and that will determine how much protection you will need.

I will need to check under the car when it arrives next month and make that decision then.

My current 90 has the following fitted under body:

Front Runner Steering Guard
QT Diff Guard
D44 Track Rod Guard

Considering the amount of scrapes and gashes in both I would hate to know which part of the car's chassis and mechanical bits would have taken the brunt. I have lived in Pilbara for 14 months which had the car climbing football sized boulder piles and rock fields nearly every weekend, so back to your personal application... I have also had a couple of high speed encounters with the local wild life and between the bull bar and the steering guard the deflecting the carcass under the car, suffered no damage to track rods or dampeners.

I have also in the garage (waiting for warranty expiry in 3 weeks) a D44 Puma Fuel Cooler Guard and a D44 Puma Transmission Guard from Devon 4x4. The transmission guard is a skinny deflector type skid rather than a spinifex gathering cover plate just offering peace of mind on the transmission protrusions. Same with the cooler guard which you won't need for 99.9% of the time, but all you need is that 0.1% chance of a stick or branch flicking up and the car goes nowhere until the cooler is replaced.

Land Rover

As always, horses for courses. My African Defenders were protected for the environment (which was reasonable limited) and my UK Defenders had little or no additional protection, but Australia offers a few extra challenges depending on where you choose to drive and I prefer having the protection in place.

Cheers,

Lou

If you are going out in the spinnifex grasslands of central Australia don't fit any guards underneath, particularly near any source of heat like the exhaust pipe.

Guards are a fire risk as they catch the grass and the heat causes it to ignite.

Diana