RIVAL Aluminum Skid Plate Ford Maverick (non-Tremor)

[AlsMaverick]

Oh crap, I forgot to post my pics lol

While I am impressed with the design and fitment of the skid plate itself, I feel the hardware could have been better executed.

But first, I was curious to see how the size and shape of the skid plate compared to the factory plastic bottom engine cover.

As you can see, the skid plate is very close to the size and shape of the factory plastic part. It is, however, about 3 inches shorter at the rear. That's not an issue because there is a large cross member that the rear of the skid plate attaches to.

There are two removable panels that allow access to the oil filter and oil pan drain plug. The panels are held on by 4mm Allen head screws.
The oil filter panel opening is a decent size and allows for plenty of room to get the filter off. In the below picture, I was easily able to grasp the filter from straight below it.

The oil plug panel allows good access to the plug. The plug is off to one side of the opening but there is plenty of clearance to allow the oil to drain and not hit the skid plate.

Installation was pretty straight forward but I did run into some issues.

Figure A shows what hole the insert nut should be inserted into and what hole the threads should be in. I ended up using the hole left over from the factory clip as the "tail" from the insert but was between the skid plate and engine cradle. It was preventing the skid plate from laying flat.

Figure 3 tells you to insert the nut plate into the indicated hole but that's where the threads need to be. You have to use the smaller hole next to it and finagle the insert nut. I had to squish the "tail" on the insert nut completely flat with pliers to get it into the smaller hole. I managed to drop the insert nut only once in the cross member and had to use a magnetic pickup tool to fish it out

Lastly, the biggest issue I have with this product is the hardware. This is what is included:

The 6mm bolts are used with the insert nuts. On some trucks, the 8mm bolt will thread into the rear cross member but my hybrid didn't have threads in that hole. The 6mm and 8mm washers are stacked on the bolts for the rear of the skid plate (Figure 4). I felt like this was kinda sloppy. I wish a thicker 6mm fender washer was used.

Two of the insert nuts had poorly cut threads and the 6mm bolts would not thread into them. Luckily, there are extras in the hardware bag.

The 6mm bolts are tiny; barely larger than the factory Torx screws:

And there are only 4 bolts in total holding the skid plate to the truck. I was kinda shocked the hardware was so small.

I didn't torque the bolts. The manual recommends 7.2 lb ft.

I tightened the bolts until the blue rubber bushings squished a bit. I was concerned about snapping off the 6mm bolts because they are so small.

It's a nice, well made, beefy skid plate that is let down by crappy hardware. I give it a 8.5 out of 10.

Thanks for the details.
Has piqued my interest.

Sponsored

 

[Glen Baker LLC]

Oh crap, I forgot to post my pics lol

While I am impressed with the design and fitment of the skid plate itself, I feel the hardware could have been better executed.

But first, I was curious to see how the size and shape of the skid plate compared to the factory plastic bottom engine cover.

As you can see, the skid plate is very close to the size and shape of the factory plastic part. It is, however, about 3 inches shorter at the rear. That's not an issue because there is a large cross member that the rear of the skid plate attaches to.

There are two removable panels that allow access to the oil filter and oil pan drain plug. The panels are held on by 4mm Allen head screws.
The oil filter panel opening is a decent size and allows for plenty of room to get the filter off. In the below picture, I was easily able to grasp the filter from straight below it.

The oil plug panel allows good access to the plug. The plug is off to one side of the opening but there is plenty of clearance to allow the oil to drain and not hit the skid plate.

Installation was pretty straight forward but I did run into some issues.

Figure A shows what hole the insert nut should be inserted into and what hole the threads should be in. I ended up using the hole left over from the factory clip as the "tail" from the insert but was between the skid plate and engine cradle. It was preventing the skid plate from laying flat.

Figure 3 tells you to insert the nut plate into the indicated hole but that's where the threads need to be. You have to use the smaller hole next to it and finagle the insert nut. I had to squish the "tail" on the insert nut completely flat with pliers to get it into the smaller hole. I managed to drop the insert nut only once in the cross member and had to use a magnetic pickup tool to fish it out

Lastly, the biggest issue I have with this product is the hardware. This is what is included:

The 6mm bolts are used with the insert nuts. On some trucks, the 8mm bolt will thread into the rear cross member but my hybrid didn't have threads in that hole. The 6mm and 8mm washers are stacked on the bolts for the rear of the skid plate (Figure 4). I felt like this was kinda sloppy. I wish a thicker 6mm fender washer was used.

Two of the insert nuts had poorly cut threads and the 6mm bolts would not thread into them. Luckily, there are extras in the hardware bag.

The 6mm bolts are tiny; barely larger than the factory Torx screws:

And there are only 4 bolts in total holding the skid plate to the truck. I was kinda shocked the hardware was so small.

I didn't torque the bolts. The manual recommends 7.2 lb ft.

I tightened the bolts until the blue rubber bushings squished a bit. I was concerned about snapping off the 6mm bolts because they are so small.

It's a nice, well made, beefy skid plate that is let down by crappy hardware. I give it a 8.5 out of 10.

Great review.
Thank you for posting all the pictures.. Fantastic job posting the pictures without the access panels in place and showing us there's plenty of room with the panels removed.
It allows us to see whether we want to order one or not.
It looks like it's on my wish list.
Thank you again

 

[FahnHup]

anyone know how Ford views this re: the recall/warranty fix of slicing holes in the existing skid plate to avoid oil fires?

i have the hybrid; were oil fires an issue for them or just non-hybrids?

 

[Jobst88]

Oh crap, I forgot to post my pics lol

While I am impressed with the design and fitment of the skid plate itself, I feel the hardware could have been better executed.

But first, I was curious to see how the size and shape of the skid plate compared to the factory plastic bottom engine cover.

As you can see, the skid plate is very close to the size and shape of the factory plastic part. It is, however, about 3 inches shorter at the rear. That's not an issue because there is a large cross member that the rear of the skid plate attaches to.

There are two removable panels that allow access to the oil filter and oil pan drain plug. The panels are held on by 4mm Allen head screws.
The oil filter panel opening is a decent size and allows for plenty of room to get the filter off. In the below picture, I was easily able to grasp the filter from straight below it.

The oil plug panel allows good access to the plug. The plug is off to one side of the opening but there is plenty of clearance to allow the oil to drain and not hit the skid plate.

Installation was pretty straight forward but I did run into some issues.

Figure A shows what hole the insert nut should be inserted into and what hole the threads should be in. I ended up using the hole left over from the factory clip as the "tail" from the insert but was between the skid plate and engine cradle. It was preventing the skid plate from laying flat.

Figure 3 tells you to insert the nut plate into the indicated hole but that's where the threads need to be. You have to use the smaller hole next to it and finagle the insert nut. I had to squish the "tail" on the insert nut completely flat with pliers to get it into the smaller hole. I managed to drop the insert nut only once in the cross member and had to use a magnetic pickup tool to fish it out

Lastly, the biggest issue I have with this product is the hardware. This is what is included:

The 6mm bolts are used with the insert nuts. On some trucks, the 8mm bolt will thread into the rear cross member but my hybrid didn't have threads in that hole. The 6mm and 8mm washers are stacked on the bolts for the rear of the skid plate (Figure 4). I felt like this was kinda sloppy. I wish a thicker 6mm fender washer was used.

Two of the insert nuts had poorly cut threads and the 6mm bolts would not thread into them. Luckily, there are extras in the hardware bag.

The 6mm bolts are tiny; barely larger than the factory Torx screws:

And there are only 4 bolts in total holding the skid plate to the truck. I was kinda shocked the hardware was so small.

I didn't torque the bolts. The manual recommends 7.2 lb ft.

I tightened the bolts until the blue rubber bushings squished a bit. I was concerned about snapping off the 6mm bolts because they are so small.

It's a nice, well made, beefy skid plate that is let down by crappy hardware. I give it a 8.5 out of 10.

Would you have any recommendations for better hardware?

 

[Aguy]

Or maybe whole aluminum stamped inner guards like what we do for Jeeps?
We might have them for Tacomas later this year so why not for Maverick too

Is this something that is being planned or not at this time?

 

[Potatomafia]

Would you have any recommendations for better hardware?

Ideally, I'd like to see rivnuts and larger bolts used. I know some people dislike rivnuts but given the way the engine subframe is designed, its nearly impossible to access the top of the subframe.

 

[Mr Pibb]

Waiting for the Black Friday free shipping deal to order.

Pretty sure shipping was already free when I purchased mine.

 

[Chaseman17]

Does the discount code no longer work?

 

[shadow76]

Great review.
Thank you for posting all the pictures.. Fantastic job posting the pictures without the access panels in place and showing us there's plenty of room with the panels removed.
It allows us to see whether we want to order one or not.
It looks like it's on my wish list.
Thank you again

Just accomplished the first oil change with the Rival skid plate installed on a Maverick hybrid .

The placement of access panels for the oil drain and filter were disappointing as neither allowed an oil drain or filter replacement without some oil collecting on the top of the skid plate. Of course this oil then missed the drain pan and created a mess. Furthermore oil then dripped beneath the truck for the next few days.

Granted the truck was on ramps rather than a lift but this should not have made a difference.

On the plus side, removing the skid plate completely for a mess free oil drain requires removing four bolts rather than the 14 securing the factory cover.

I will stay with this skid plate as road debris has already dinged it (did the job) and the factory fiber one will disintegrate within a year or two.

 

[Mr Pibb]

Just accomplished the first oil change with the Rival skid plate installed on a Maverick hybrid .

The placement of access panels for the oil drain and filter were disappointing as neither allowed an oil drain or filter replacement without some oil collecting on the top of the skid plate. Of course this oil then missed the drain pan and created a mess. Furthermore oil then dripped beneath the truck for the next few days.

Granted the truck was on ramps rather than a lift but this should not have made a difference.

On the plus side, removing the skid plate completely for a mess free oil drain requires removing four bolts rather than the 14 securing the factory cover.

I will stay with this skid plate as road debris has already dinged it (did the job) and the factory fiber one will disintegrate within a year or two.

Solo cups or ziplock bags were always the trick for the filter removal.

 

[shadow76]

Just accomplished the first oil change with the Rival skid plate installed on a Maverick hybrid .

The placement of access panels for the oil drain and filter were disappointing as neither allowed an oil drain or filter replacement without some oil collecting on the top of the skid plate. Of course this oil then missed the drain pan and created a mess. Furthermore oil then dripped beneath the truck for the next few days.

Granted the truck was on ramps rather than a lift but this should not have made a difference.

On the plus side, removing the skid plate completely for a mess free oil drain requires removing four bolts rather than the 14 securing the factory cover.

I will stay with this skid plate as road debris has already dinged it (did the job) and the factory fiber one will disintegrate within a year or two.

Exactly what I found during the 1st oil change after installing the Rival skid plate. But as noted, better to remove the four bolts with the Rival setup then dealing with the factory cover.

Can’t imagine going to an oil change shop with either the Rival or factory setup. Few shop employees will bother to ensure screws are not lost or stripped.

 

[Barnstorm]

Ideally, I'd like to see rivnuts and larger bolts used. I know some people dislike rivnuts but given the way the engine subframe is designed, its nearly impossible to access the top of the subframe.

I too would like to see a rivnut or plusnut solution in place of the sorta janky insert nut bars with their very short flat “wire” tab. My fear is that they will move/drop because the flat wire is too short to actually fix the insert nut into place after I need to drop the skid plate.

it looks like the mounts for the access panels are rivnuts. I would hope that there would be a better way to secure the mounting holes for the plate itself than what was provided to do so.

Has anyone tried a plusnut solution?

Sponsored