I'g going to be doing some maintenance on my 08 SUT. I need to remove the lower ladder undercarriage protector and aluminum front plate. When I had my 06 in to have its trans replaced at the local Chevy dealer I had them both removed to make it easier for them to do the job.

I was told by one of the tech's that this is a no no. An H2 should not be operated without both of these parts in place. I was told the front engine lower aluminum cover helps airflow through the radiator and both the front cover and ladder protector prevents flexing of the frame and that damage can occur if these are left off. I would imagine damage could occur if you went a little nuts off road but I would not think it would be a big deal left off for a short time for on road around town use.

I had never heard of this before and considering I have some work that will take some time and I don't want to be having to repeatedly mess with them until the project is complete.

Any comments?

 

What you were told was complete BS. The mechanic's buddies were ROFL behind your back. They won the bet as you were punked.

The ladder is a flimsy bicycle frame-type tubing that you can bend easily, and offers virtually no offroad protection.
It is a joke, and only for looks rather than anything to do with real protection. It is also NOT bolted to anything on its front end, and only simply sandwiched between the frame and front bash plate. As such, very prone to vibration. I had to put rubber isolators on ours for that very reason. Complete waste of scrap metal.

The front bash plate is functional, but has nothing to do with radiator flow. That comes in via the front grill.
Nor does it add anything to the structural integrity of the ladder frame.

I would stay away from that (mentally deficient) "mechanic".

Proof: the H2 drivetrain is a shared component among other GM vehicles with DO NOT have the skid plates on them.

 

LOL, guess the joke was on me, here I was only trying to do something nice and save them the extra step of having to remove them. Guess that one got me up the kazoo. I did think the comment was a little suspicious but not being a know it all I thought I would post the comment here to see what other might think. Oh well, gonna leave them off for now while gas is high and get some needed work completed. thx

 

Sure, just do not go off-roading. That front bash plate does protect your oil pan and steering linkage.

And FYI for anyone doing serious off-roading: Replace the ladder type skid plate with a decent 1/4" thick aluminum skid plate, similar to what the front plate is made of, but even thicker.
Ditto for the mickey-mouse tiny tin plate under the transfer case. Isn't is cute, LOL!

 

I've had the tubbing guard off my 08 a few times and have driven it for a while that way while working out the custom exhaust, ended up modding it to get the exhaust to fit the way I wanted. I will say its not light weight bicycle tubbing on the 08's as the part is rather heavily made with fairly thick wall tubbing, don't know if it offers any stiffness to the frame or not.
I can see where the front skid could offer some cooling help by preventing the air from the fans from bypassing the engine/exhaust and dropping down and under the truck but have no proof one way or the other.

I think you will be fine driving without them on normal streets, just keep an eye on the temps.

Neal