Hey John, please don't worry about this...I would have mounted it that way whether you and Kert were here or not....I just didn't get to it before last weekend.
I also noticed today upon dis-assembly of the drivetrain that the bell housing bolts that hold the t/c cover on...4 of the holes are broken out....I can't say positively that this happened from the plate being bolted to the cover, but it falls in line with not allowing the trans to twist with the engine torque....seem feasible?
I will try to get the skids mounted in such a way that they do not touch the drivetrain at all, but will still protect it from rocks.
Also the poly bushings I used to mount the transfer cases (mounted at the trans adapter and the 203 bottom and the rear of the 205) all are of the shock absorber type...about 1" in diameter and 5/8" thick before compression...do those seem sufficient?
I hadn't noticed any issues related to breakage before these skids were put on, so I'm thinking my mounting system was working well before becoming too rigid and preloaded with twist in the opposite direction of engine torque, from the skid plates touching the 205, and the trans skid being mounted to the torque convertor cover.
How about adding a torque control rod (spherical ends and adjustable link) to the block to prevent engine torque movement?
Thoughts?