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Factory Skids from Junk Yard

98XJSport

98XJSport

Destiny is the rising sun
Location
Western Maine
I think Ive finally found an XJ in a JY that has all the factory skids. The catch is Im not going to have much time to pull them. Any tips for getting them off? Going to be rusty, Im sure so I am bringing a breaker bar.

I also need to know what hardware to grab with them, something about nut strips? Are these inside the "Frame"? How do I get them out?

Looking at just the front and gas tank skids, the tranny skid probably won't be reachable because it's up to it's axles in the dirt, no tires etc.
 
For the tank skid it has to be from a 97+,to get the nut strips you have to remove the bumper.
 
Damn, that might make it a 2 day event.

BUT it's from an early 90's, what would it take to get the gas tank skid to fit my 98? Or not worth the trouble?
 
Dont even bother with it!
 
Looks like I would need to trim ~3/4 of an inch off the front lip to get it to fit. I will probably give it a try, if things come off easy. If not, screw it Ill just grab the front.

Any special hardware that I need to grab from the front?

Also I have a hitch on the back. Does it need to come off to put a factory skid on, then put on over it? Search yields conflicting reports...
 
Anyone modded an older gas tank skid to fit on a newer XJ?
 
I think Hammered has. Whoever I read about doing this mentioned bending the back lip...I think!?!?!

I'm a little out of place talking about the newer Heeps, but the older ones have nuts set in the frame for the front skid. To get the nut-strips from the back you need to remove the bumper. Also on the older ones, you need a hammer and chisel to cut the rivet that holds the nut-strip in place.

HTH
 
Heres a dumb question, if I have a rear hitch doesn't that already mount to nutstrips? So I may not need to pull them from the JY vehicle?
 
Yes if you have a hitch you have nut strips or nut plates already.You should check out the existing threads on factory skids. You might want to rethink the factory front skidplate.
 
If you needed new nut strips, they're 20something at the dealership. Not too bad, IMO- I bought a new one when I put my hitch on, not wanting to use the nuts included.
 
Hell I would pay ~20 bucks to avoid having to rolling around in the mud and pull them from an old XJ at the yard.

Ive read up on the existing skids, I want the front for the minimal protection it offers, but more importantly for the splash protection it provides. Otherwise it's not a rock crawler, just need some scrape protection, mostly for the gas tank.
 
yea, hammered put a pre96 skid on his newer gas tank, just had to notch out the one side to make it fit. Once you have it in hand youll be able to figure it out by looking at it and test fitting it. As far as pulling it, just go pull it! breaker bar and some muscle and you can get it. I wouldnt even bother getting nutstrips thats just a PITA. Depending on how your frame rails are setup you either have the nut strips, or holes there. So either way you dont 'need' them. Mine was just 4 holes in the bottom of the frame rail, and since I have a hitch as well I just fished bolts into the frame rail, threads to the ground, and hoisted that stuff up there and bolted it in. Piece of cake!
 
If you have the factory hitch you already have the nutstrips installed.

Hitch goes on after the skid. I use a household step stool and small scissors jack to get everything lined up.

If you want to use the factory front rubber splash shield, try to get the special two ended bolts that hold the front skid. If you don't, just break the nuts off and buy new bolts.
 
An idea for getting the bolts loose:

Take a small plumbers torch w/ you... and some heavy duty leather gloves... and be careful w/ the gas tank, in fact probably don't use this method on the gas skid just in case.

Heat the bolts up and crank on them. The expansion coefficient of the heat on the bolts compared to the "frame" should help loosen them up quick and break them free.

Disclaimer ;) you'll definitely have to get new bolts.
 
You don't need to mess with either bumper to remove the skids. I'm not that familiar with the pre '97 factory skid. But removing the rear bumper would be a deal breaker for me, especially considering that you'll need to modify the skid to get it to fit your updated gas tank. The skid plate bolts are 18 or 19mm, so bring the biggest breaker bar that you have.

The front skid has a bolt on each frame rail, and about four small studs on the front crossmember try to get the studs if possible. Otherwise, you'll need to use nuts and bolts.

Bring some PB blaster! The propane torch idea isn't bad either.
 
Hammered said:
just get a pipe that fits on your ratchet. someone to hold the ratchet on the bolt helps too.
Click to expand...

Seriously? How many ratchets do you go through a year? Get a breaker bar. A cheater bar isn't a bad idea, but don't stick it on the end of a ratchet.
 
The pipe on the ratchet for my leaf spring bolts is why I just had to buy a new ratchet lol. But I can get my hands on a 3' breaker bar, and I have a set of deep sockets so as long as I don't care to much about the bolts, getting it off shouldn't be a problem :D
 
98XJSport said:
The pipe on the ratchet for my leaf spring bolts is why I just had to buy a new ratchet lol. But I can get my hands on a 3' breaker bar, and I have a set of deep sockets so as long as I don't care to much about the bolts, getting it off shouldn't be a problem :D
Click to expand...

I bought the OE nutstrip from the stealer for 36 bucks. To make things worse, I bought 6 bolts for 6 bucks a piece. Installing the hitch was my first upgrade and I learned to search this forum and the parts yard since. I have saved huge bucks this way.

If you have the hitch, you don't need the nutstrip. I would grab a few extra bolts from other junked XJ's for good measure, however. No sense in paying full price for what you can get plenty of in the scrap yard.
 
I know I've posted this before, but this is all you need to do tyo get the older body style skid to work on the 97+

cut out this triangle... beat it outwards with a big deadblow mallet (rubber mallet) No biggie.

73105ef0.jpg
 
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