.

Modifying Skid Plate:
Cut mounting flanges off steel skid plate (Fig 7). Allow for sufficient overlap of metal when planning the cuts, typically, right at the main tank level is good but preserve the strap mount slots on the front.

Fig 7. Cut the three mounting flanges from the main skid plate body.​

Grind off paint from area to be welded. Over lap the mounting flanges 1" lower on the skid plate and clamp into place (Fig 8). Stich weld back together (Fig 9). Alternatively, you can clamp, drill, and bolt these pieces together. Bend the front of the skid plate between the mounting flanges inward slightly for a hair more track bar clearance (Fig 10).

If the straps need to be lengthened, cut and weld in a piece of thin steel or elongate the front strap slots. Clean up all welds and hit with some spray paint.

Fig 8. Re-align flanges 1" lower and clamp into place.

Fig 9. Stitch weld (or bolt) the flanges back onto the skid plate body.

Fig 10. Trim excess steel and bend for greater track bar clearance.​

Reinstall Skid Plate:
Reinstall gas tank and modified skid plate in the reverse order of removal. Having an assistant helps a great deal. For those with a rotated pinion the clearance to the track bar will be tight but can be improved with the techniques here. The rear shock is also tight for shocks with a rigid dust shield.

Welding Alternatives:
There are two alternatives to welding the skid flanges back on:

1. Do a bolted connection with the overlapping pieces. Clamp the pieces with a 1" overlap and then drill the bolt holes.

or

2. Trim off the stock flanges closer to the factory bends and then re-bend your own, new flanges with the remaining steel. Drill new bolt holes in the same locations on the new flanges.

.

 

Sweet Write-up man. I will have to look into this. I don't know how many times I have dropped into a deep hole and been sitting on the tank skid.

 

Nice write up! One question though? If you have to buy a 1" body lift (unless you already support this in your Jeep) how is the 1" clearance free? lol, just giving you a hard time.Nice illustrations!:trophy1:

 

One thing I saw on a 4x4 show was, if you pull the tank for any reason - flip over the straps and bend them the other way. There is a folded "lip" which can rub a hole through the tank over time. By putting the exposed edge "up" - its away from the tank.

 

you sure you did not see that from Jeff@rokmen in their install video?

 

Thank you, best writeup I've seen.

 

i cant believe ive never heard of this, great right up!
so i found a new use of a 3in BL gains 3inces of gas tank clearance, im gunna order another 3in bl tonight











joking of course
great write up

 

i cant believe ive never heard of this, great right up!
so i found a new use of a 3in BL gains 3inces of gas tank clearance, im gunna order another 3in bl tonight

joking of course
great write up

lol, there's a crossmember in the way of much more than a inch.. I put a thread on jp about 2years ago on raising the stock tank skid.
you could put it in there at an angle tho... lol. check out the may09 issue to make it stronger.

nice job OP...

 

Excellent write up, I love seeing stuff like this the average person can do without spending $$$.

 

While I agree this a good mod for many, the "average" person doesn't have access to a welder and doesn't know how to use one.

And yes, this was an excellent write up. Thank you, Jay.

 

The average person however probably knows someone who does own a welder and knows how to use it!:cheers2:
Great write up, I will be doing this soon as my filter on my fuel pump is clogging up anyways:brickwall

 

Thanks everyone.

A few points for clarity:

Credit and Thanks
I was first tipped off to this by Mr.Blaine in one of his many posts. Did some searching and found a few other stock gas tanks skid modification write-ups out there. Thanks to Mr.Blaine for tipping me off and for the other pioneers and their write-ups. I tried to take a lot of photos and fill in where some of the other posts were a bit weaker or didn't include some info.

Limit on Raising
There is a limit to how far you can lift the gas tank before you hit the cross member the shocks are mounted to. There's also the issue of the driver's side shock clearance to watch. I figure 1" is a good, safe amount of raising. Beyond that I "think" you could make it work but it might take a lot more effort (relocate shock mounts, etc.). A simple cut and weld of the stock skid seemed straight forward.

Alternative Methods
There are also two alternatives to the cut-and-weld approach. Both pretty much follow the above write-up. One involves cutting and overlapping the flanges, then bolting them back together (instead of welding).

The second method has the flanges cut off RIGHT at the bend. Then the author marked a line 1" below the cut and bent the verticle mounting "leg" 90 deg to form a new mounting flange. The folding usually involved clamping some 1"x1"x36" long angle iron to the skid and hammering the bend in. Bolt holes were then transfered and drilled.

Neither of these alternatives requires a welder and both can be performed with either an angle grinder / sawzall / jig saw and a power drill.

Flipping the Straps
When I took the straps off I didn't see any areas where they were rubbing. The straps are actually securred pretty tight so there's not much movement. Besides, I didnt' see any folds or lips along the straps where it would rub. Besides, part 2 - there are these plastic triangular ramp-like-things riveted to the top of the straps, my guess as a factory spacer or something. So you can't simply flip the straps over.

"Free"
Ha, ok GOLENJEEPTJ, you have me on that point, sort of. "If" you already have a 1" body lift installed, then you can get an extra 1" of clearance free. I think for most of us the 1" body lift is installed for other reasons (tire clearance, belly-up skid clearance, etc.). So it is usually already "there".

 

I've always wanted to try to cut that cross member off and move it up to gain more clearance for the gas tank.

On a body lifted TJ, you could just remove the body lift pucks there and move the cross member up however tall the body lift is.

Added this to the FAQ, nice write-up Jay. :cheers2:

 

On a body lifted TJ, you could just remove the body lift pucks there and move the cross member up however tall the body lift is.

I know this is an old thread but this little tid bit caught my eye. I am starting my LCOG build with +4 shocks and stock height. As you can guess my shocks are currently my bump stops (not good). I know the preferred method would be to outboard in the rear.. anyway to my point.

Is that cross member you speak of only held on by the body mounts? or is it riveted to the frame? because doing this would certainly give me the extra 1" I need to prevent my shocks from being the bump stops in the rear and my bump stops actually doing their job.

I'd get under there an look but I am at work webwheelin' and it's a burning question!

 

revive and become alive..will be doing this mod in the real near future also,thanks lupinsea,,,and blaine:thumbsup:
always learning great things from you guys,,and i dont care what they say about ya..im not a good listener sometimes..

 

Awesome, all ready have a 1 inch body lift, could use this mod to learn some welding skills. This would also be a good time to POR-15 the skid plate.

 

espeacially since no one will see the welds

 

Are the pics gone? Any chance of uploading them again?

 

Yeah, not working for me either.

 

http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f37/gas-tank-skid-997136/
Here is one with pics.

My favorite way to do this is the crossmember removal and trap door install. If you have ever had to drop your tank to get at the sender you know why/ I am just trying to figure out a way to keep access to what is loaded in back practical. My best guess is mine will end up being a raised floor across the whole tub to the front seats. I dont run a back seat. losing height will be a drawback but I have a pickup. I am thinking my new floor should have removable panels for access from the top to any future parts that may be fastened on top of the frame rails.

 

it takesa whole bunch more time to cut a hole than the 15mins it takes to drop a tank

 

http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f37/simple-gas-tank-skid-reinforcement-1005174/

and this one, thats all for me im off to search proquest--not nearly as much fun!

 

google the OP's name, he's got a personal website I believe his write-ups are on. Photos should be there. You can find him on L4J as well.

 

subscribed....got the BL need to do this now..Will this work with aftermarket tank skids?

 

i have done this mod three times, on two skids of mine, and a buddies, it is well worth the time and effort, especially with the better skidplate offered in the later years

 

What "later year" Tj's are you speakin of?? If its 03-06 your speakin of, can i pull one from the Junkyard and use it on my 98?

 

i have a 1.25 body lift would it be better for me to cut the tank just a little more to get the extra clearence?

 

Gah!

Sorry about the broken links, guys. I'll try and fix them soon and re-post the photos. Looks like the old hosting service stopped supporting everything. They said they'd keep the old websites up "forever" when they converted over to a new system. I guess in this case "forever" means about 11 months or so. In the mean time I've duplicated the write-up on my website.

Gas Tank Skid Mod - Direct Link

 

which rear bumper are you running?

 

I have a 2006 skid i did this mod too and it worked good. It is now for sale pm me if your interested pick up only in so california.

 

it would be sweet if the pictures still existed in this thread

 

http://web.me.com/jgreening/Jeep_Adventures/Jeep_Mods/Entries/2009/8/16_Gas_Tank_Tuck.html

 

Thanks dooode

 

Ok, since I haven't gotten off my butt to post up replacement / larger photos I've gone and re-linked to pictures that are on my website's write-up page. They're smaller than what was posted before but it makes this thread work again.

I also edited some of the write-up to reflect the absence of some photos (ones that weren't critical to understanding the mod process.

Anyways, the two OPs should be fixed now.