LCA skids worth it?

Anyone running them and think the extra protection is needed? The LCA is strong but also likely to take some hits.

 

Just in case I have LCA skids and I've hit them few times and I haven't hit engine skid. I keep painting them to avoid rust because mine are steel.

My ORP got RCI LCA skids and Pro I'm trying Rago. Rago only hit one time (since I'm banned from wheeling after the new born) and no complains. Just painted over powercoating.

 

My Tacoma's OEM LCAs have held up fine without skids after 5 wheeling seasons. Over this time I've cracked a rim, bent my plate bumper, and twice dented my engine skid plate severely enough to require straightening in a press. The LCA is strong enough as a jacking point, so no, a skid isn't needed for them.

 

LCAs are pretty beefy, you dont need skids unless you are going for the bling factor. You're more likely to do damage to your rear trailing arms and mounts if you're wheeling hard.

 

Reminds me I got trailing arm skids and shock guard skids at the time of lift install and shop didn't charge labor for those. Rear diff they only charge 0.5 hour labor. Might be worth to ask the shop when anyone installing lift to get small things like this done at the same time.

 

No, not worth it.

If your style of wheeling is that intense, look for Total Chaos or Dirt King for OE LCAs that are more robust. Only after you destroy the stock arms!

 

Do you wheel like this?

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CnfHEk5NNGC/

 

I’d worry more about protecting the LCA frame mount tabs. I’ve tagged my LCAs twice, and each time also hitting those frame tabs Thankfully I haven’t bent them out of shape, but I decided to get skids wide enough to protect them.

Skids for the LCA itself seems counterproductive…many require drilling a hole in them, they reduce clearance, and they are less likely to allow you to smoothly slide over rocks, since they are usually squared off. The stock LCAs are more rounded off, so are more “lithodynamic”. None that I’ve seen actually offer any frame tab protection.

I’d save my money for a LCA replacement if it would ever be necessary.

 

I run LCA skids to keep sticks from damaging my CV boots which has happened a couple of times. My job has me driving over semi cleared land quite a bit. It's also why I run E load rated tires.

Under normal off-road conditions, I don't think they are needed.

 

At least both my RCI and Rago didn't require any drilling. Probably the easiest install for me.

 

Rago still sell them?

 

Uploading this install now just because you guys discuss;

https://youtu.be/F2caURByGwo

 

They always struck me as something for people that just love spending money and bolting on easy mods.

 

Get wheel speed sensor guards and tie rod sleeves before LCA skids

https://jomaxcustoms.com/jomax-buy-...r-for-the-toyota-tacoma-full-set-4-item-tx545
https://warfabarmor.com/products/4runner-fj-tie-rod-sleeves

 

I gotta say, when I first rolled under and peeked at them, I wondered what keeps the wheel speed sensors from getting torn loose in brush.

 

I completely forgot about wheel speed sensor guards and I run jomax's lol

 

Even with a guard in place, the wire is still exposed at the stock sensor mounting location. However, a wire repair is easier on the trail than a plug or sensor replacement.

Camburg knuckles move the sensor to the top of the wheel bearing, protected inside a cavity in the knuckle, but that's a $2k expenditure.

 

Anywhere to still buy rago lcas ?

 

Looks like they are not available at this time.

This is what I wanted initially (R4T one in TRD Pro Grey) but at the time they were not in stock. So I got Rago.

https://runnin4tacos.com/products/lower-control-arm-skids



RCI and Cali Raised also available.

 

Thanks Kmeeg!

 

Those wires are in the shadow of the front bumper cover. It might do a fair amount of diverting stray branches, and shrubbery. Perhaps damage to those wires is more common on lifted an/or viper cut 4runners? (Which might leave the front suspension area a bit more exposed)

 

That video was nicely put together!

 

Thank you

 

Probably so. My thought at the time was that nearly everything else seemed quite well-protected.

On the topic of LCA protection, I'd hesitate to sacrifice any ground clearance for that.

 

i’m indifferent when it comes to LCA skids. it’s one of those it’s your money deals.

i don’t remember the brand but a friend of mine has LCA skids and the amount of debris and dirt/mud they trap is high. the skids have to come off when cleaning to get all the crap out. pressure washer wouldn’t cut it for his skids.

 

Yeah. Imagine a good angled pressure washer might do the trick but straight pipe ones can’t get in there. I’m concerned about the cv boots. I had a tear from texas to NJ and had to duct tape it together the entire time every 100 miles. Was a mess

 

duct taping a failed greasy CV boot every 100 miles is excessive. once the grease is slung out there’s little reason to keep it sealed even for dust protection.

 

Much agreed. You falsely assumed all the grease was out already. Also, if it gets you to your destination then it’s worth it. Was on the road and did not have my tools to just pull a cv axle off to replace it. Wife and dogs in the car on a three day trip. I respect you but want looking for a lecture on how to keep my 4R running in an emergency situation. I really get tired of it when people derail a fun convo to lecture others about basics which we are more than well aware of. Kindly thank you and kindly butt out!

 

Good point. On a recent trip I got stuck in watery mud. That took a while to clean out, because every time I though I was done, I’d find something else packed with mud. The insides of the LCA had enough mud in them to plug up the drain holes. The LCA skids often use those same holes for mounting. So definitely, removal of lca skids to flush out insides should be added to the cleaning to-do list after swimming in mud.

 

At first I didn’t get how these could possibly protect CV boots….but then realized you must be talking about the inner CV boots.