[rrnsss]

Samurai,

I had faced similar problems with my Chevy Silverado 4x4. The front diff and oil pan was protected by a fibre glass plate. It would flex and ultimately broke and took my borg warner transfer case actuating motor along with it, stranding my truck in Neutral off the road.

Only few customers take the GV off road and I am sure thats why Suzuki has given a fibre glass based skid plate. The only thing it can skid on is sand and dirt . If you touch a rock , there is no telling what would happen.

If GV is not a unibody (monocoque) , you should think of getting 5 mm steel plate, and bolting it on to the chasis. You could cut holes in the plate to let the water drain / debris drain etc and to also reduce the weight.

If GV is unibody , dont go for a heavy skid plate . It might transfer forces to the body and "might" deform the unibody. Better to go with a flimsy skid plate and keep lots of glass cloth and epoxy resin handy to repair it. It is pretty easy to patch up those skid plates. (not so easy to patch up the transfer case though :( )