Second Prototype Gas Tank Skid Plate
I liked the skid plate I fabricated for Jennifer’s XJ so well that I decided to make one for my Jeep. I did however make a few changes in the design. I did not like the way I bolted hers in place by tapping into the thin metal frame rails. One of the bolts stripped out and had to be replaced with another one near by. I have bought rivet nuts to strengthen it next time it is taken off her Jeep.
For mine, I decided to fabricate a bolt strip to insert inside the frame rail. To make the strip, I first had to remove the rear bumper. This is easy on my off road Jeep due to the way the custom pipe bumper is made. I also took this opportunity to remove two broken off bolts in the bumper mounting surface.
The first one was accessible from behind the bolt hole so I simply clamped vise grips onto the end of the bolt and turned it out the back. I did have to use some heat and penetrating oil to get it to turn but one it did, it came right out the back.
The second bolt was at the top and I could not access it with vise grips. I could however spray penetrating oil on the exposed part. I first tried cutting a slot in the bolt and turning it with a screw driver. That did not work at all. Next I made a deeper slot and tried my impact driver. I was able to turn the bolt about half a turn before it stopped again. Even heating it cherry red did not help.
Next I took a nut and welded it to the broken off bolt. I used my flux core wire welder to make the weld. The bolt came out relatively easily with the nut welded to the top.
I measured for the two holes that were already in the frame rails. I then marked an approximate location for the third bolt. I drilled the holes in the angle used for the mounting bracket. I then made a strip of flat bar with the same hole spacing using angle as a jig. I then welded in two bolts into the holes that lined up with the two in the frame rail. I used a magnet to slide the strip into place and temporarily bolted the angle in place. I then drilled through the hole in the bracket into the frame rail. I then removed both parts and welded in the third bolt.
I repeated the procedure for the other side. I had to open the hole at the rear of the Jeep slightly to get the strip inside. I used a cut off wheel to make two vertical slits and then bent the metal out to open the hole enough to get the bolt strip in. Fishing it under the gas filler section was challenging but it worked.
With the mounting points fabricated, I used the template from the first skid plate to lay out the side pates. I extended them about a quarter of an inch to give a little extra clearance when installing the plate. The bottom plate ended up about a half inch wider. I am not sure how that happened. However, I like the extra clearance on the side of the tank.
Another change I decided to make was the exhaust hanger. Jennifer’s uses the exhaust hanger bolts as mounting bolts. However, these proved extremely difficult to install when mounting the skid plate. For mine I fabricated studs and welded them to the mounting angle. Now I can simply slip the hanger over the studs and install two nuts. I expect this to be much easier.
I currently have the sides and the bottom tack welded together. My next step is to remove the assembly from the Jeep and complete the welds. I picked up a new roll of wire for the welder today.
UPDATE: Last night I took it down and did the final welding. I finished off the spool of wire that came on my MIG so I had to learn how to change wire in the middle of the welding process. I ground down the edge and now it is ready to be sanded for paint.
UPDATE 2: I added a small lip at the front edge that adds a lot of strength to the plate. I also sanded it down and painted it black.
