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Skid Row Oil Pan and Trans Skid Plate Install |
2-8-08 |
| I only had the Jeep a few days, and I was already on www.quadratec.com picking out parts for it. One of the main things I wanted to buy for the Jeep first, were skid plates and other protection. I still hadn't taken the Jeep out for its first offroading testing yet, so I figured I should install the Oil Pan / Trans skid plate first. Nothing like working on a vehicle with mud falling down in your face. | |
| The Jeeps come with a factory skid plate that covers the middle of the Jeep, where the 4x4 transfer case is. This is great, but it is only part of what should be protected. As you can see, the oil pan and the transmission are very exposed. | |
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| The first step is to remove the nut that connects the passenger side lower control arm to the frame. You can see it to the bottom left in the photo above. That is where the front passenger side of the skid plate will connect. (if these bolt is in your Jeep with the nut facing the outside, you will need to turn it around) Next, the provided bracket is bolted onto the driver side lower motor mounting base. Sorry my photos don't show it well, but the directions do a pretty good job of showing it for you. A piece of angle will connect from that bracket to the driver side of the skid plate. | |
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| The rear of the skid plate is a bit more difficult. The rear lip of the Skid Row skid plate will sit under the front edge of the factory skid plate. There are 3 pre-drilled holes in the Skid Row plate. However, there are no holes in the factory skid plate. You will need to drill at least 2 holes in the factory skid plate, so that you can bolt the new skid plate to it. I only used two bolts to hold the new skid plate on. The center one was pretty close to the transfer case, and I really saw no need for it anyway. | |
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| Over all, I am happy with the new skid plate. It is very sturdy, and meets up well with the factory skid plate. It does sit at least 2" lower than your transmission and oil pan, so you technically loose some clearance there. But its all worth it. The skid plate looks it will have no problems take quite a smack from rocks, and will surely add a level of protection. There is even a hole cut in the plate to allow access to the oil drain plug. Though you will need to take the skid plate off to drain the transmission fluid. The skid plate, with its included mounting hardware, weighed 39 lbs. and cost about $245 | |
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