Skid Plates

April 1997

Background | Installation ( Fuel Tank, Tranny, T-case) | Cost | Postscript

Background

Since I did not have a lift yet, I was worried about all of the scraping and banging I heard as I went down the trail. I wanted to add as much protection as I could to the soft underbelly without sacrificing too much clearance. I decided that as a minimum I should cover the fuel tank, transmission, and transfer case. Unfortunately, the muffler and exhaust are still exposed, and the differentials do not have protection for now, but you have to start somewhere.

The only skid plate for the fuel tank that I could find anywhere was the one made by Jeep. Since it was nice and thick and made to fit tightly around the tank, I saw no reason to try to recreate one, so I ordered one from the dealer.

After calling around, surfing the web, and asking for some net.wisdom from rec.auto.4x4, I found that only Tomken made a serious skid plate for the transmission and transfer case, so I ordered them and they were delivered in two days.

Installation

Fuel Tank Skid Plate

The instructions that came with the plate were minimal, and had three sections depending on what kind of trailer hitch setup you have. Unfortunately, I could not tell from their descriptions which I had, so I assumed the worst and began trying to remove the rear bumper as per the instructions.

After many hours of frustration, I finally gave up on the bumper and decided to try the best-case scenario which did not require the removal of the bumper. That worked much better, and it went into place fairly easily. I would recommed getting a friend to help hold and push during the initial install. I managed by myself, but it was no fun.

It also did not line up perfectly, but I think that is because the frame was slightly tweaked in the accident, so you may not have that problem. Because of the alignment problem, one of the bolts had to go in crooked and tap itself. It took one hell of a cheater bar to get it to go in, and I pitty the fool that wants to take it off someday.

Once in place, it fit well and should provide excellent protection with no degredation to clearance.

Transmission Skid Plate

The transmission skid plate was an easy bolt on that used existing holes in the frame. One end slips onto the crossbar that supports the t-case, and the other bolts to a crossbar that is supplied with the kit. The only gotcha is the part that slips onto the crossbar. It has two notches. Each one fits different models, so you need to use the one that fits the best. I didn't notice this at first, and it did not fit tightly and rattled a little. Once install correctly, it was very solid.

Transfer Case Skid Plate

The t-case skid plate was not as easy. The instruction were not very good at explaining where it goes. One of the supports attaches to the bolts that hold the front seatbelt recepticle in place. They give you different bolts to replace the original ones, but I still found them to be too short. Also, there are two different support bars, and the instructions do not show which goes where or which way they fit, so there is much trial and error involved. These supports go around the tail cone of the t-case and clear OK with the stock setup, but I wonder if they will clear if a shorter tail cone is used in conjuction with a lift?

The front of the plate is held in place with a little clamp that comes with the kit. It works, but it looks like a weak point in the design to me. The side of the plate bolts directly to the frame. You must drill guide holes for the self-tapping bolts. Once mine was in place, I started the engine, and almost jumped out of the seat. The worst noises you could imagine permeated the intire vehicle. After quite a bit of disassembly, I finally discovered that the plate was in direct contact with the t-case and that it was transfering all engine noise and vibration directly to the frame.

After talking to the folks at Tomken, they decided I needed two spacers to give a bit of clearance between the plate and the t-case. Unfortunately, when the parts arrived (quickly and at no charge), not all were there. For now, I only have one of the spacer/bolts in place. Someday, I will get to the hardware store and get another bolt, but it seems pretty solid for now. I wish I did not need the spacers, because now instead of mounting flush, it sticks out and I have cut myself more than once on the exposed corner while working on stuff near it.

Picture

Cost

Postscript