install advice on skids

i've got a gas tank skid and a tnt belly pan begging to be installed after sitting in my garage all winter. i can't seem to find an actual write up on either one. i've got instructions for the belly pan, but would like advice from "experts" B4 i start in on em'. any advice, suggestions etc...to make the job go smoother?

i used a floor jack and 2x4 to keep my belly pan from DPG offroad up while i marked for the holes. tring to lay under and hold it up with your arms can make it tough. when i get tired and frustrated the job takes for ever instead of just taking it easy and taking your time from the start.

I like to use the little bottle jack that came with the Jeep. It takes up less room under the Jeep then the floor jack and you can raise and lower it while you are under the Jeep.

Get good drill bits, use some muscle while drilling. Take your time and line everything up before drilling and use a center punch.

Slap that baby up there and attach. Use bolts

Seriously, both should be pretty straight forward. For the skid, support the rear of the T-case with a jack and a woodblock, remove the 4 center nuts, and remove the bolt and nut from each side. The x-member should be free and basically reverse process for the skid.

Gas tank skid should just lift into place and bolt up.

do you have the nutstrips for the gas tank skid? If so you have to take off your rear bumper to get the nutstrips in the uniframe. If you dont then you have to get a set or make your own. I have the diagram if you want it. There are no "nuts" in the uniframe for the gas tank skid to mount to without the nutstrip. You also have to remove the exhaust hanger from the frame and once you install the Gas tanks skid you put the hanger back on.

i planned on using the nustrip that my towhooks are attached with. i am pretty sure the bolts are long enough, since the gas skid is somewhat thin metal.

Slap that baby up there and attach. Use bolts

Click to expand...

Thanks Jason, you mean the 100 pack of zip ties i bought wont hold that puppy in place? :dunno:

no, you can only use zip ties to hold together important engine and suspension components, haha

WheelinJR said:

no, you can only use zip ties to hold together important engine and suspension components, haha

Click to expand...

:twak: how silly of me.

I have recently installed 2 Hidden hitches on XJ's and they do not use the nut strips. Both times I had to remove the old nut strips was a pain, so I did not miss them at all. HH supplied stove bolts with small rectangular steel tabs punched with square holes. The square shoulder of the bolt fits the tab and the tab is the right size to fit in the unibody channel without spinning.

The thing that took me a while to figure out is they also supplied some heavy gauge, 12" to 18" long wire coiled at the end like a spring. :huh: After spending time thinking about how to fish the bolts down through the mounting holes, I figured out the wires. The coil is just the right size to fit the threads on the bolts. Put the bolt through the tab, thread on the wire and it is simple to fish the bolts through the frame and remove the wire.

I do not know if HH will just sell the hardware without the hitch, but this worked really well - you may try to contact them. Since the skid uses the same holes it would work without the hitch.

started the belly pan install a lil late today. only got about half done. a few questions....

1. is the T-case supposed to be resting directly on the T-case part of the skid?

2. there are 2 lil spacers (i assume to drop the T case) on each side of the factory X-member. should i re-use these? i did an SYE, but when i try to remove them i can't jack the t-case/tranny high enough to bolt the new x-member skid flush to the frame. i tried some home made spacers about half as thick and they seem to work. suggestions?

3. the directions say to drill a 1/4" hole on the inside of the frame rail for the hole saw to tap into from the outside. how the @$!#% do u get a drill up inside between the frame rail and T-case?

tomorrow morning should be interesting.....

thanks for the help ya'll. :cheers:

getting ready to start again today. any comments on the above /l\

"3. the directions say to drill a 1/4" hole on the inside of the frame rail for the hole saw to tap into from the outside. how the @$!#% do u get a drill up inside between the frame rail and T-case?"
- This was a pain, especially on the exhaust side. If you can get ahold of a 90deg drill, so much the better, but I was able to do it with an average size drill (just took a lot of cursing)
- Torque the bolts that connect the arms to the belly before you put it up. MUCH easier
- I'm not sure what's going on with your T case. Mine cleared it just fine. I replaced the NP231 shortly after putting on the TNT with an Atlas that did touch the skid, and no, you don't want it to touch. I'd remove any kind of T case drop and spacers. I wouldn't think that the belly pan would fit up there with them (maybe I'm not picturing what you've got).
- Once you've got everything up there, dropping the pan isn't the terrible pain so many people carry on about, so don't hesitate to do/undo it to make sure everything's good to go.
- While adjusting the arm's length, it's easier to undo the axle to spin turn the arms, than to undo the bolt at the belly pan.
- Really get on those jam nuts when you tighten everything down, they tend to loosen.

No major problem beyond tight quarters. The instructions were pretty good. Good luck!

maybe it's because mines a 242? i got it all buttoned up. tried to space the tranny mount with a cpl washers to get it up a lil bit, but the T-case is still resting on that part of the skid. there is one hell of a vibe, i assume because of this, i can feel it just sitting at idle, so i know it's not drive line related. the only thing i can think to do is put the spacers back in and see if it clears?

suggestions? ? ?

mojojojo said:

2. there are 2 lil spacers (i assume to drop the T case) on each side of the factory X-member. should i re-use these? i did an SYE, but when i try to remove them i can't jack the t-case/tranny high enough to bolt the new x-member skid flush to the frame. i tried some home made spacers about half as thick and they seem to work. suggestions?

Click to expand...

Arnt you suppose to remove the drop befor the sye? JUst wondering!

XJedi23 said:

Arnt you suppose to remove the drop befor the sye? JUst wondering!

Click to expand...

usually you would remove the spacer drop after doing an SYE yes, but its not like it wouldnt work without it, ya know?

Is the drive shaft length affected by the Drop? Sorry for the highjack, just curious.