So I'm sure many of you have seen the aftermarket "undershield protection" items offered on eBay, Amazon and Ali-express/baba... They are a Chinese made aluminum plate with some "rigged" hardware to mount in place of the plastic body trim piece that hides the front recovery tow-hook. They are priced anywhere from $300-$500 depending on where you look, but all appear very similar and probably from the same factory. They are designed to be more cosmetic and offer tow-hook access than be seriously functional and structural like Land Rover's version. Land Rover's version relies on an upgraded mounting bracket and is beautifully engineered in Belgium... and costly as you would expect. The bracket is designed to give it super-strength to resist major impacts. I totally get the fact that serious off-roaders will have strong opinions of any compromise in this area, and as a Land Rover purist, I agree. But before you hate, read on and at the price I found, I prefer this solution to a rigged cut-out of the plastic shield.

So last week one of these aftermarket versions appeared on Amazon for $200 (it was the "last one", so I have no idea why it was half the price of the others on the web). I figured.. what could I lose with free returns, I'd give it a try. It showed up in 3 days, shipped from California and not China. Beautifully packed and in new condition. The plate is a strong molded aluminum that is at least 5-6mm thick. Instructions are obvious translations from Chinese, so a little vague. But anyone that is a bit handy can figure it out. Once you unscrew the four coin-head bolts, you remove the plastic shield (which would be a pain in the mud or snow when you needed to access the hook-eye). In order to install the brackets, you have to cut away the sides of the plastic lower bumper trim that will allow you to bolt the upper holes of the shield to the bracket. The bracket bolts into the large hex-head bolts on either side of the hook-eye and then uses a curved plate bracket to attach itself to the upper outer support arms that run from the hook-eye to the sides of the front frame (this is what is replaced with a severely more robust one in Land Rover's version). This was relatively easy to fit and made sense once you see it all go into place. To install the aftermarket shield, you utilize the four front mounting points of the existing underbody shield that all the defenders have (but you are supplied with longer galvanized bolts to accommodate the thickness of the new plate.). Then you lift the plate to match the body lines of the lower bumper and side plastic corner pieces and screw in the supplied Torx bolts into the threaded holes on the new bracket that you just installed. If you lined everything up right, it mounts nicely. I've included some photos of the process and am very happy with the result (especially for the price). I don't plan to off-road so aggressively that I would need the strength of the Land Rover version, and feel that this gives me access to the recovery eye and some basic lower front shield protection that the plastic piece didn't.



Unpacked kit

Plate thickness

Before project

After plastic shield removed

cutting of right (passenger side)

cutting of right (driver side)

After cut and before bracket mounting (didn't get photos of brackets)

Final result and happy with the color of the matte aluminum.

 

I have the factory under shield, and yours looks pretty much like mine looks. Nice find!

 

I still don't understand when mounting these knock offs you have to almost demolition your front bumper..?

 

Yeah, I totally agree. I don't think the amount of plastic cutting is really necessary especially since the factory unit has figured out how to do it without cutting but I think it's the lazy way out for this aftermarket mounting. Even if I have to reinstall the plastic cover you'll never see the area that I cut off and I don't think it's very structural.

 

I think this approach is a fine one to take to expose the front recovery ring -- and even for on-road recovery is worth the effort. Taking off the OEM plastic cover is nothing but a pain in good conditions. To do so, in rain, snow or cold during the night time would be very unpleasant. Congrats.

Enjoy !

 

Thank you @drcoop for the write-up. I was about to buy the OEM under shield when I came across this thread. I got a $2800 installed quote from the dealer for the OEM under shield and $2000 from a local shop (part is $1300). I would have had to had it powder coated black on my own dime. BTW, if you are placing a custom order please spend the extra $620 -- it is a bargain. I know the OEM version with new support is much stronger, but I primarily wanted to expose my recovery hook and provide better loose rock and pothole protection to the front.

I ended up ordering the black version from eBay at only $176 (link below). At that price I can replace it often if I had to. It is not as reinforced as the OEM version, but it is way better than the cheap plastic that comes stock on the Defender. Your description of the plate was accurate. It is heavy aluminum (weighs in at 10 lbs) that is .22" thick (5.35mm) and feels well made -- very surprising for the price. I followed your thread above and the janky translated directions and it was an easy install. I also took time to paint my recovery hook red, so it pops.

The only question I have after the install is a small exposure of the AC hose behind the hook. On the OEM under shield do they put any protection in front of that hose when the hook is exposed? See the last photo in the series below...

Here are photos of my install:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/404356174551

New aftermarket shield vs. stock plastic shield


Before photo:


(car) Left side cut out and bracket mounted:


(car) Richt side cut out and bracket mounted


Both sides done and ready to mount the shield


Finished photo:


Note AC hose behind the recovery hook. Any concern about leaving that semi-exposed? Is it that way on the OEM shield? I am tempted to fab a protective cover for it. ?

 

Please fab during install a plate between the 2 holes above the tow hook, there will be a lot of debris and or mud in the future.
The original underbody protection has that spot covered.
I refer to my thread of the easy accessible front tow hook,.
https://landroverforums.com/forum/20...k-loop-105535/

 

Thanks @Defendit.. -- That looks MUCH better. The aftermarket bracket looks like it has perfect holes to mount a protective plate, so I am surprised they didn't include it. It should be easy to fabricate, but would have been better to have included.

 

I actually don't even think that the aftermarket bash plate is that much weaker than OEM. Yes, the brackets in the OEM version are more substantial, but Simon from Powerful UK did a comparison in a vid a while back and found that the aluminum in the aftermarket version is actually thicker than in the OEM version. I will be installing the aftermarket version on my Defender and if it seems like it needs it, I'll modify the brackets. But I kind of doubt it.

@Mojave $700 for the install from an indy shop and $1500 from the dealer? Both of those prices a seriously f@cked IMO, but the dealer... Are they at least providing lube to ease the pain or giving it to you dry?

 

I wonder does the aftermarket mount to the same spots as the OEM bash plate.

Mine is looking a bit worse for wear. Love the red on the hoop.