14 bolt FF rear axle skid plate and diff protector...yes it hit a rock

lol.... well like the title says the huge 14 bolt rear axle hit a rock on the test run out in barstow during easter weekend..... well its not a big deal a rock just bent the a small part of the cover which i guess also shifted it a bit causing the seal to break so it now has a really small oil leak .... well even though this truck is maily gonna be a dune truck and not so much rock crawler i still want to fix this flaw in the truck...... i want to add some smooth metal to the bottom part of the diff to act as a skid so it just slids over rocks instead of cacthing on them and i want to make some sort of a diff cover protector.... since im really green at this i was woundering what kind of metal is the norm to make the skid plate, howd any of u guys make it tips etc..... how strong are those differential spider guards that cover the diff cover but like like spiders?? they look really cool and i might just end up buying one of those ....  
solid axle chevys cant be beat
78 K5: 350 V8,700r4,np208, 8 lug D44 4:88, 14 bolt 10.5 4:88 with detroit locker and 35 inc parenelli jones dirt grip tires

Use as thick of metal as you can work. If it were me, I'd go with at least 1/4", 3/8" being better. I've seen skid plates made with U-bolts to attach to the axle tubes and pinion snout. The "spider" guards usually work well. You might want to consider shaving the 14bff "plow" while you're at it. If you go extreme, you can shave about 2.5", and easily 1"-1.5".  
1992 Olds Bravada, D44 front, 14bff rear, recentered Hummer beadlocks, 35" M/T's, eMap GPS, 700R4 from a 6.2 diesel, NP231, 3" BL.
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