No, not the one shaped like the end of a drive shaft

I was surprised the first time I crawled under my Disco 2 and looked around. Something was clearly missing:



Turns out that is an inspection window to allow a peek at the torque converter. The hole is supposed to be covered with a little metal plate. A little metal plate that costs $25.

Since I'm a CSOB I went a different route. First I took a "rubbing" and punched the hole locations with a pencil:



Then did some trig:




Made a PDF file and took it to the laser cutter at work. In a flash (which you're not supposed to look at) I had this:




Okay, so 1/8" acrylic is kind of a ridiculous choice of materials, but it was there, and the laser can cut it.

I bought three bolts from the local hardware store (M6 x 16) and viola:



Fit just right.

Anyway the part isn't mission critical but it is nice to have. Anybody that needs one (and doesn't have access to a donor vehicle at the pick n pull) can either:

a) print the PDF and use it as a template to cut one out of sheet metal.

b) use a laser cutter to make one out of something easily cuttable but no so great mechanically (acrylic, plywood...)

c) send it to some company with a *real* laser cutter, plasma cutter, CNC, etc. I'll bet it's not too hard to get it done for under $25!!!

Carp. I thought I had the PDF on my phone. I'll post it tomorrow.

 

Nice job, reminds me of this

 

$2 and a trip to your local yard.

 

3d print is another option - although it gets pretty warm down there.

 

I would recommend swapping the acrylic out in the near future, it is a very brittle plastic and not impact resistant. I would recommend PETG, a laser cutter can cut it and it’s impact resistant. Don’t try and cut polycarbonate on a laser, it’s bad news!