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 Post subject: KK Gas Tank Skid Plate Installation
PostPosted: Sun Feb 28, 2010 11:47 pm 
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Installing a gas tank skid plate is much more involved than what is shown in the instructions which you can find at http://moparestore.trademotion.com/moparimages/accessory%20catalog/images/isheets/K6860238.pdf

Here is what it looks like before you start.

Image

The instructions imply that you just slip the skid plate over the existing gas tank and fasten it with 5 bolts, a bracket and 2 nuts. In reality, you need to remove the existing support structure that holds the gas tank in place and then install the skid plate which then holds the gas tank in place. So, the fairly obvious first step is to get the gas tank as empty as you can (gas weighs roughly 6 lbs per gallon so a full tank with 19.5 gallons weighs about 117 lbs plus the weight of the tank). Don't even think of doing this with a full tank, you could be seriously injured or worse! :dead:

Here is what I used to do the installation (I forgot to take a picture of the bracket that attaches to the skid plate with two nuts as shown in the instructions):

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Since there are a lot of hoses connected to the gas tank, I decided to strap it in place so I could remove the support without disconnecting the hoses. The hoses might have been strong enough to hold up the empty tank but there was no way I was going to count on that. Here are some of the hoses connected to the tank.

Image

Getting straps in place takes some patience. You have to thread the straps between the tank and the support. In order to do this, you need to loosen all of the bolts holding the tank up to create a little space to lift the tank up to get the straps under it. The way I did this was to fish the strap down between the tank and the support on each end. To make this easier, I removed the two closest bolts to whichever end I was working on and lifted the tank up with one hand while fishing the strap down with the other. Once you get the strap to the bottom, there are holes in the original support that allow you to grab the strap and direct it back up the other side. When you finish getting the strap through on one end, reinsert the bolts and thread them in most of the way. Then repeat the process on the other end. Getting the straps through on each end is tedious. It is much easier said than done.:banghead:

Once you have both straps fished through, tie them off to convenient tie points on the underside of the Jeep. Here are some photos showing the straps in place.

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Tie the straps off in a way where it will be easy to tighten them further if needed when you remove and lower the support. I had to do this to prevent strain on the hose connections to the tank.

On the inboard side of the tank, near the middle, there is a plastic flexible conduit attached to the gas tank support structure. You need to disconnect this prior to lowering the support. To do this, push the plastic tie-down out of the hole in the support by pushing from the backside. Here is what it looks like.

Image

Now you can remove all of the bolts and lower the support. Since there is very little clearance between the gas tank and the rear drive shaft, getting the support out requires twisting the structure to get the brackets to clear the drive shaft. When I did this, I found it a lot easier to remove the bracket that connects the support structure to the frame near the wheel well before lowering everything. This requires the removal of two nuts just like the ones shown in the instructions for installing the skid plate. Here is what this looks like.

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Once you have removed the original support structure, here is what the straps look like.

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Putting the old support next to the new skid plate makes me wonder why they didn’t just install the skid plate at the factory and never bother to have a second part number. The two are very similar. The old one weights 18 lbs. and the new one weighs 30 lbs. I think they would have saved a lot of money only having one part number. :?

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Now all you have to do is reverse the procedure to install the new skid plate. If you had to tighten the straps as you removed the old support, you will probably have to loosen them as you position the skid plate before you can insert the bolts. Once you have all of the bolts in loosely, remove the straps, then torque to the spec listed in the instructions. Don’t forget to reattach the flexible plastic conduit to the support on the skid plate.

On a strange note… the nuts that came with my skid plate were too big for the threads on the skid plate??? Luckily, the nuts from the original support structure were the right size. Also all the bolts were 15mm and the nuts that didn’t fit were 18mm. The original nuts that did fit were 15mm. I don’t know where they got the 17mm and 19mm figures mentioned in the instructions.

When it is all done, here is what it looks like.

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When I was all done, I went and filled up the tank. One look at the gas pump shows I almost did too good of a job getting the fuel level low before starting! :shock:

Image

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 Post subject: Re: KK Gas Tank Skid Plate Installation
PostPosted: Sun Feb 28, 2010 11:54 pm 
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Wait.... :? You took off a skid plate and put on another one?

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 Post subject: Re: KK Gas Tank Skid Plate Installation
PostPosted: Mon Mar 01, 2010 12:04 am 
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what he removed could hardly be called a skid plate..

also the lines are so long on the tank i didnt even support it up, i let it rest on the ground


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 Post subject: Re: KK Gas Tank Skid Plate Installation
PostPosted: Mon Mar 01, 2010 12:09 am 
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03CDKJ wrote:
Wait.... :? You took off a skid plate and put on another one?


No. Mine did not come with a skid plate so I ordered the full set of skid plates. The thing I took off is what comes standard and it is not very thick (it is 18 lbs. and the skid plate that replaces it is 30 lbs.). The skid plate is noticably thicker and stronger but very similar in construction and identical in how it attaches. I'm not sure if earlier KKs or KJs had this kind of support standard (mine is a 2010).

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Last edited by wecwbe on Mon Mar 01, 2010 12:22 am, edited 1 time in total.

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 Post subject: Re: KK Gas Tank Skid Plate Installation
PostPosted: Mon Mar 01, 2010 12:18 am 
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DirtyKK wrote:
the lines are so long on the tank i didnt even support it up, i let it rest on the ground


Interesting... my lines were not long enough to rest the tank on the ground especially once I had it on ramps so I could get under it and get enough room to do the remove and replace. The front end of it probably could have made it to the ground but not the back where the hoses I could see were attached.

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 Post subject: Re: KK Gas Tank Skid Plate Installation
PostPosted: Mon Mar 01, 2010 12:29 am 
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wecwbe wrote:
DirtyKK wrote:
the lines are so long on the tank i didnt even support it up, i let it rest on the ground


Interesting... my lines were not long enough to rest the tank on the ground especially once I had it on ramps so I could get under it and get enough room to do the remove and replace. The front end of it probably could have made it to the ground but not the back where the hoses I could see were attached.



well mine is lifted and i just layed under it. i didnt have to jack mine up til i hand to maneuver the skid plate around. im a smaller guy though so it was easy.


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 Post subject: Re: KK Gas Tank Skid Plate Installation
PostPosted: Mon Mar 01, 2010 12:31 am 
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DirtyKK wrote:
wecwbe wrote:
DirtyKK wrote:
the lines are so long on the tank i didnt even support it up, i let it rest on the ground


Interesting... my lines were not long enough to rest the tank on the ground especially once I had it on ramps so I could get under it and get enough room to do the remove and replace. The front end of it probably could have made it to the ground but not the back where the hoses I could see were attached.



well mine is lifted and i just layed under it. i didnt have to jack mine up til i hand to maneuver the skid plate around. im a smaller guy though so it was easy.


That's what she said! :shock:

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 Post subject: Re: KK Gas Tank Skid Plate Installation
PostPosted: Mon Mar 01, 2010 12:36 am 
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03CDKJ wrote:
DirtyKK wrote:
well mine is lifted and i just layed under it. i didnt have to jack mine up til i hand to maneuver the skid plate around. im a smaller guy though so it was easy.


That's what she said! :shock:


my penis is not proportionate to my body

That's what she said! :wink: :lol:


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 Post subject: Re: KK Gas Tank Skid Plate Installation
PostPosted: Mon Mar 01, 2010 12:37 am 
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DirtyKK wrote:
well mine is lifted and i just layed under it. i didnt have to jack mine up til i hand to maneuver the skid plate around. im a smaller guy though so it was easy.


Ah, mine only wishes it was lifted. :twisted:

My ramps are probably 8-10 inches so that made it pretty high off the ground while I was working on it. Maybe that made the difference.

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 Post subject: Re: KK Gas Tank Skid Plate Installation
PostPosted: Mon Mar 01, 2010 1:31 am 
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Thanks for the write up 8) 8)

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 Post subject: Re: KK Gas Tank Skid Plate Installation
PostPosted: Mon Mar 01, 2010 5:49 am 
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Great write up! The Pics made it very easy to follow.
Well done! :mrgreen:

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 Post subject: Re: KK Gas Tank Skid Plate Installation
PostPosted: Mon Mar 01, 2010 7:47 am 
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the kj's tank being behind the rear axle makes it much easier to get to without lifting the vehicle etc even on a stock

usually on rather new vehicles if the lines will reach the ground (or your chest) you're ok, but most of the kj's age makes allowing this to occur a rather bad idea and a recipe to crack open breather hoses and what not

the supports for the tank are similar, except our gas tank uses common gas tank support straps and our skid, mopar or aftermarket, mounts to the chassis same way hitches mount

good write up dude! :) should make it much easier for following KK owners especially with the instruction sheet discrepancies

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 Post subject: Re: KK Gas Tank Skid Plate Installation
PostPosted: Tue Mar 02, 2010 11:31 pm 
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DirtyKK wrote:
my penis is not proportionate to my body


wecwbe wrote:
DirtyKK wrote:
well mine is lifted and i just layed under it. i didnt have to jack mine up til i had to maneuver the skid plate around. im a smaller guy though so it was easy.


Ah, mine only wishes it was lifted. :twisted:

Mine is probably 8-10 inches so that made it pretty high off the ground while I was working on it. Maybe that made the difference.



Boy, the conversations we see here ... :-)r

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 Post subject: Re: KK Gas Tank Skid Plate Installation
PostPosted: Wed Mar 03, 2010 2:15 am 
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nightdrv wrote:
DirtyKK wrote:
my penis is not proportionate to my body


wecwbe wrote:
DirtyKK wrote:
well mine is lifted and i just layed under it. i didnt have to jack mine up til i had to maneuver the skid plate around. im a smaller guy though so it was easy.


Ah, mine only wishes it was lifted. :twisted:

Mine is probably 8-10 inches so that made it pretty high off the ground while I was working on it. Maybe that made the difference.



Boy, the conversations we see here ... :-)r


I have been misquoted!!! I said "My ramps are probably 8-10 inches..." :goink:

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 Post subject: Re: KK Gas Tank Skid Plate Installation
PostPosted: Wed Mar 03, 2010 2:26 am 
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And you noticed how I ignored it :ROTFL:

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 Post subject: Re: KK Gas Tank Skid Plate Installation
PostPosted: Fri Mar 05, 2010 12:02 am 
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WTF :furious: :furious:

I thought I was going to save $200

Im just going to leave this on there anyways

yall think that would suffice?

:furious:

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 Post subject: Re: KK Gas Tank Skid Plate Installation
PostPosted: Fri Mar 05, 2010 12:23 am 
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stubble88 wrote:
WTF :furious: :furious:

I thought I was going to save $200

Im just going to leaving this on there anyways

yall think that would suffice?

:furious:


It depends. The skid plate is certainly thicker and tougher. Since it has fewer and smaller holes in it, it is less likely to get snagged on something you are sliding over.

Realistically, if you come down very hard on it (for instance if you slip and land on a big rock centered on the gas tank) even the heavier skid plate will probably not be strong enough to save you. If you think your's is going to take that kind of beating then you should probably look for a heavier duty aftermarket one because neither of these will probably stand up to that kind of punishment.

Another option that I thought of after installing my skid plate is that you could take the standard support off and add some thick armor plating to it if you are handy with a welder (obviously you wouldn't do this in place :dead: ) and then reinstall it. That would probably be a lot cheaper than $200 and it could possibly be even stronger depending on the plating you added. If you do that, make sure you put some drainage holes in the added armor plating. :JEEPIN:

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Last edited by wecwbe on Fri Mar 05, 2010 12:46 am, edited 1 time in total.

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 Post subject: Re: KK Gas Tank Skid Plate Installation
PostPosted: Fri Mar 05, 2010 12:41 am 
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cool thanks
I dont plan on doing any major teeder tottering on rocks. But you never know.

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 Post subject: Re: KK Gas Tank Skid Plate Installation
PostPosted: Fri Mar 05, 2010 1:41 am 
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Great write up, thanks for the pics and good write up, will make it a lot easier to follow.

Digger looks like we need a copy of this in the How to... Section

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 Post subject: Re: KK Gas Tank Skid Plate Installation
PostPosted: Fri Mar 05, 2010 3:01 am 
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Will do on the copy :P

I'd do the skid..... I have done a lot of wheeling, and it comes down to the line that you run. I myself like to run driver side lines when I know I'm going to hit a rock or something because I don't want it to take out the exhaust............

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