Thread: Bash Plate

Garry,

You might want to drop a note to Harvey & the guys in the Freelander Owners Club back here in the UK. I remember that a couple of years ago they made up a bash plate for the Freebee that IIRC just swaps for the plastic one that's already there. In fact, I think they also addressed the oil filter problem with the design...

M

the concern with two flat plates is the ease that rocks gather in between the two---
negates the use of a bash plate,,,

Originally Posted by Pedro_The_Swift

the concern with two flat plates is the ease that rocks gather in between the two---
negates the use of a bash plate,,,

As Pauline would say "please explain" There is only one plate - will have a couple of holes to let stuff out.

Cheers

Gazzz

there are really two plates, sump and guard,,
and a rock stuck in between will take up any gap between the two and will quite happily punch through whichever is softer,,

its a murphys law thing,

Oh - OK - I follow - if all the plastic splash guards are in place the only way rocks can get in are from the top or from behind. The front and sides are all enclosed.

Mark - I will give the UK club a go if I can still find my log-in.

Thanks

If your after it as a bash guard allow me to recomend 3mm thick aluminum panel stock with 20mm holes drilled every where in an offset pattern. Better is to have the holes press cut so that the metal deforms in a small lip so that it re-enforces the plate.

For the spash guarding simply leave the original plastic plates in place by removing the bolts that hold the orignal in and replacing them with bolts about half an inch longer and adding a spacer between the plastic guard and the new alloy plate.

Originally Posted by garrycol

I want to make a bash plate to replace the plastic splash shield that sits under the engine and transmission of my Freelander. It will need to be basically flat with no bends for reinforcement and will be approximately 900mm x 700mm. It will not have any reinforcement except where it is connected to the current aluminium frame. The bottom of the sump is flat and there is one small reinforced switch under the gearbox which is where the plate will hit first if it is pushed up. These are strong in themselves bit do not offer mounting points.

Noting it will be flat without reinforcement, can anyone recommend the thickness of plate that I should use and if normal aluminium plate will be OK or is there some sort of other alloy that might be better.

Also, as I need to be able to remove it easily to change the oil filter I want to bolt it to the current aluminium frame but it will have to have some sort of captured nut - does any one know how I can use a captured nut system with aluminium. There is no where the bash plate can be mounted to steel where the nut could be welded.

Thanks

Gazzz

email my brother he has done it to both his Racers. Jules on Julian.Read@bisleyconstruction.co.uk He is in the Uk so is up and at work at the moment
. He will tell you all you need to know

you can see the one on his TD4 below


And his misses 1.8







I think you can see the bash plates he has made up on here

Hi Garry
I was in Rovercraft the other day,they had all sorts of belly plates,and reasonable prices,they had a cattledog with all Landys in it.Tombraider is also an agent for Rovercraft so he may be able to help.
Andrew