Jack Lobdell felt
that the stock Explorer leaf spring mounts weren't up to the task of serious
off-roading. After all, a well placed rock could easily put a stop to your
Explorers motion if it happened to get caught up in the spring mount.
Jack came up with a design for a shock
mount skid plate, the plate provides a flat surface for rocks to slide
over and also has angled approach and departure surfaces. The U-bolt threads
and nut are also completed protected by the skid plate, yet they are easily
accessible through access holes.
These skid plates start with new shock
mounts from Ford. 1/4" plate steel is then flame cut to the proper dimensions
and ground smooth. The plate is then bent to fit around the stock spring
mount and finally it is MIG welded in place along all of the seams. This
is one tough piece!
Closeup Photo
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