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Stock front skid

ditch the rubber mat... it just collects dirt and grime to corrode things and serves no real purpose that that skid won't fulfill better
 
I ditched the mat but it does keep spray from making it up into the engine compartment quite as easily. The front skid is great on a mild trail rig or stocker, but if you're going to be bashing it on rocks, plan on welding a few stiffeners onto it before installing it. I've bent the hell out of mine.
 
Is there a difference on the pre 97 skid plates for the front and gas tank?

Just wondering if you could take, say, 93 skids and put them on a 98?

Thanks,
Lindsey
 
For what it is worth, the t-case skid is the same also.
 
Got mine from a near local NAXJA member. I plan to mount cooler once the heap is lifted and I do something along the way of an anti-rock to move the sway bar out of the way. As a skid, it is good until you lift. Then either space it down or remove it as your steering will be hanging out in the breeze.

Pre 97 tank skids can be used on a 97 up but they require a bit of massaging to get them to fit due to a change of tank shape. I ran one on my 97, I found a "prper" one for my 98 again from a handy local NAXJA member.

Post a WTB on your local chapter for sale area.

Just my .02...
 
I liked my skid on 3.5" of lift till I beat the hell out of it, it doesn't quite fit right anymore and bent pretty badly. I can't decide whether to straighten it back out and weld more stiffening bars to it, or just take it off. Steering was hanging out in the breeze a bit, but better than nothing, and I haven't managed to break or bend my V8 ZJ tie rod yet even though I've basically been wheeling like I don't know (or care) it's there.
 
kastein said:
The front skid is great on a mild trail rig or stocker, but if you're going to be bashing it on rocks, plan on welding a few stiffeners onto it before installing it.
Click to expand...

Agreed, but one other benefit I found to the front skid last Winter was that it does a reasonable job of directing deep snow out of the path of the fans and under the engine. At 4.5" it's not going to do a lot to save my steering if I run up on a rock, but for keeping the engine bay from getting completely packed with the white stuff in 3' of snowfall it seemed to do a reasonable job.
 
iwannadie said:
In case you're wondering, the skid plate bolts are M10x1.5 .
Click to expand...

Thanks, I finally found a skid plate and need the mounting hardware. Haven't taken it out of the box yet though. How many bolts are there? Do they need nuts or do they go into ones already in the unibody? I'm not near the Jeep to take a look myself.
 
there are three studs that will go into a little front cross member under the radiator. then there are three more bolts, 2 on one side, 1 on the other, that mount to the frame rails behind the sway bar mounts
 
I used all bolts/nuts it's not too difficult to get a wrench on the front bolts to hold them in place.
 
I used 3 random size lag bolts and self tappers I had in the junk bin for the front edge. IIRC there are actually 3 bolts on the frame rail on the pass side and 1 on the driver side.

Actually just tore mine off the 96, it was ridiculously bent/mashed/tweaked and I got frustrated with it while wiring up my winch. Might bend it back and strengthen it, might just toss it on the scrap heap...
 
When I mounted mine, I built a "bolt strip" sort of like a nut strip... I used a couple of pop rivets to secure it to the bottom of the radiator support. This made putting in the skid much easier as it would hang on the bolts allowing me to pivot it up to the uniframe.
 
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