2011-2014 HD Skid Plates

[C/K Man]

I ordered my 2012 Sierra 3500 HD with RPO NZZ skid plate package.  That option included a heavy ribbed steel plate under the front diff. and engine oil pan and a small plate under the transfer case.  Not bad for OEM, but even with the option the truck still had the angled plastic 'splash shield' under the radiator between the first and second crossmembers.  I always figured that part to be worthless for anything beyond keeping mud out of the fan and belts, and it tends to break around the bolt holes even with normal use.  There are plenty of metal aftermarket replacements, but all that I have ever seen are missing the transmission cooler line clip and Duramax lower radiator hose brackets the stock plastic shield has.  Also, a lot of the aftermarket shields have obnoxious logos embossed on them anyway.  Fortunately, it looks like there is an OEM solution to this problem.  2017-up HD's with the All-Terrain package have a thick aluminum plate that replaces the plastic splash shield and has the proper transmission cooler line clip bracket on the top.  Since the chassis of 2011 through 2019 HD's are very similar, it appears this shield will work for many 2011-2016 HD's.  There are 2 different parts numbers, 1st. design 23269406 and 2nd. design (late 2017-2019) 23388753.  As near as I can tell, the only difference is the position of the Duramax lower radiator hose bracket.  The transmission cooler line clip bracket is in the same place on both shields, so it appears you can use either shield part number for 6.0L gas engine trucks.  There are a lot of pictures of both shields on the net, so if you would like to try one I would suggest carefully checking the bracket locations particularly if you have a Duramax powered truck.  I installed a 23388753 on my 6.0L truck and it fit perfectly, I was able to use the existing bolts and the transmission cooler line clip bracket was in the right place.