Northridge4x4

I am pretty sure it is 1/4 thick. But i may be wrong.

David

AZJeeper

How 'bout we split the difference? I crawled under the Jeep and measured 3/16".

armycop

Thanks for the information. I am hoping mine gets here before Friday so I can install it before my Disney Oklahoma Part II trip this weekend. I have the oil pan skid from Rancho on order too, the Rockhard was a bit too pricey. The Rancho was only $123.

armycop

This was a simple 5-minute installation. I had no fit problems. Three bolts out of the canister bracket, put the skid on top, and bolted right back up. No problems, plus it's pretty sturdy!

seer1

Sorry about the length of this, but you asked for it.

I've just come back from a five day trip to Moab and have lots to say both good and bad about these skids.

First let me qualify by saying I haven't contacted Rock Hard yet, but I sure am going to next week.

Now I'll start from the rear and work forward. The gas tank skid is awesome. I didn't have time to install the last two bolts in the rear, but those weren't really needed. It looks like I'll have to drop the drive shaft and rear axle to be able to fit a drill in there. That'll happen when I put in the new Rusty's 2" lift this Spring. Yes you do have to drill the original skid plate to put in the bolts.

The transfer case skid is probably the most important, at least for the Unlimited. It's well thought out and took one hell of a beating without much carnage to show for it. As far as the install goes, Shrockworks sliders make it interesting. I would recommend ordering a new set of tab nuts from Shrockworks before putting this on. If you don't have the Shrockworks sliders, it'll go on fast. Just remember it goes on after the gas tank skid. The four bolts in the front aren't really the issue that most critics have claimed. I ended up breaking off one of the bolts during the install, stripping another so badly that I had to use one of the original bolts from the OEM skid. Since it had the fixed washer, I couldn't couldn't use the tapered bolt protector for that one.

Now for the engine skid. I am not happy with the design. First the bend on the front causes it to jam right up against the oil pan itself. This ended up putting a slight dent in the front of the pan, made the front brackets almost impossible to line up and left the rear four bolts off just far enough off that I had to auger out three of the holes going to the frame with my uni-bit. One of the holes was so off that I broke off the bolt trying to crank it in. Now I'm going to have to remove the skids, retap at least two of the holes and remove the broken bolt to get it right. By the way, those four bolts need to be about 1/2" longer as well.

If Rock Hard won't do anything for me, I'm going to have to grind off the front bend of the engine skid and drill out the rear holes on it to install it properly.

Running a 1.75 skid, 32" Rubi tires and enough weight (skids, metal bumpers, etc...) to bring that down a bit, skids were an absolute necessity. I did Metal Masher, Behind the Rocks, Stryker's Ravine and Copper Bluffs all in the snow and I have to say those skids are awesome. The bolts took an amazing amount of abuse without any problems. Most of the abuse shows up on the gas tank and transfer skid with only one angry mark on the engine skid. Much of the abuse shows up around the bolt area. Those bolt protectors work!

If you don't want to spend some major time trying to design your own, order the transfer and gas tank skid. They are all they're made out to be. Wait a bit on the engine skid though. I'll let you know what Rock Hard says when I call them.

Cheers!

Northridge4x4

Not sure why this happened to you but we have installed 2 sets of these and had at least 1/4" clearance from the oil pan.

Can you post a pic of how you installed the skid?

David

jsmoriss

I have all 3 skids on the way -- I hadn't though about the Shrockworks sliders. Did you have to remove the sliders completely? I really don't want to re-install that last nut on the drivers side... Which bolts did you have to remove, and how many nuts did you have to fish out and re-install?

Man... I was really looking forward to installing these skid plates, but not so much anymore... :-)

js.

CarFanatic

you should post pics of the final install

bly109

I just installed the Oil/trans skid last week and I didnt have any problems with the oil pan clearance. Before I tightened the front bolts , I pulled the front of it down and then tightened them. I think I have at least 1/2" between the skid and the pan. I know I can fit my finger all the way around without a problem. And even before I pulled it down I had at least 1/4" clearance. The 4 rear bolts lined up perfectly too. Maybe you just got a bad one Seer1. I hope they make it right for you. Keep us posted.

seer1

I think the issue is with the engine skid going over the top of the transfer case skid. I think it caused the engine skid to go up at the wrong angle butting it into the front of the pan. Bly, did yours come with instructions? Would you mind posting a pic of the front brackets? Hell maybe I put'em on wrong, but that's the only way I could get them to work with that front lip against the oil pan. The fact I was installing it in an unheated garage 15-20 degrees F with a fever of 101 didn't help either.

As far as the sliders go, you'll need to remove the front two bottom bolts on each side and loosen the first two side bolts on each side as well. It's really tough to re-tighten those side ones. That's why I suggested getting new tab nuts. And no, there was no way in hell I was going to touch those back bolts. Also, you'll need a good pry bar and hammer to get the skids slid under the tabs of the sliders.