skids and mud question

Bullet · **Posted:** Mon Mar 13, 2006 5:54 pm

I have a "girl" question... :oops:

If I put skids on, then doesnt the mud get up under them?? Do I have to take them off and clean under them? I don't know how they mount or even how they look underneath of there. Also, if I put skids on, do I have to take them off to get a new muffler installed? Does anyone have a pic of the bottom of the Jeep with and w/o skids??

JJsTJ · **Posted:** Mon Mar 13, 2006 6:06 pm

No on taking them off to install a muffler. As for taking them off to clean, I have found that I can get Most mud out by just spraying from underneath or through the various access holes. Of course I generally try to avoid most mud....ugh, nasty stuff. Gimme rocks!

Se7enLC · **Posted:** Mon Mar 13, 2006 6:29 pm

Muffler doesn't have any skids protecting it, so you won't need to remove the skids to get to it. Yes, they will cake up with lots of mud. You can spray them with a high-pressure hose to clean them out usually. If you get REALLY muddy, it might be a good idea to drop the skids to clean out (but it's a much more difficult job than it seems, those skids are unweildy to hold up while bolting in)

Not sure about the front skids, but if they are the same size as the rear skids, it takes an 18mm socket to pull them off, and it's a slightly non-standard size, so make sure you have it before you start.

Bakerkj · **Posted:** Mon Mar 13, 2006 6:57 pm

The lazy way would be to park bullet over a sprinkler to remove the mud.

white04kj · **Posted:** Mon Mar 13, 2006 6:57 pm

Se7enLC wrote:

If you get REALLY muddy, it might be a good idea to drop the skids to clean out (but it's a much more difficult job than it seems, those skids are unweildy to hold up while bolting in)

What he said. The factory skids are fairly light, but using a floor jack to hold the skid up while you get the bolts started helps, as does an extra set of hands. I personally wouldn't worry too much about getting the mud out, if I remember right there aren't really any moving parts that the mud, gravel, whatever could damage. I think I'm gonna have to drop the front and tranny skid to change my oil next time I do it though, so I'll probably end up cleaning 'em off then.

CaKJFreedom · **Posted:** Mon Mar 13, 2006 7:17 pm

Rinsing will usually work. If you have smaller hands you can get them up in there to get rid of the bigger clumps of mud and smaller rocks.

The rear bumper holds a ton of mud too. Like tons of mud.

Bullet · **Posted:** Mon Mar 13, 2006 7:50 pm

Quote:

I think I'm gonna have to drop the front and tranny skid to change my oil next time I do it though, so I'll probably end up cleaning 'em off then.

So will they have to take the skids off everytime they change the oil? I have lifetime oil changes at my local dealer....

So...if the mud gets up under the skids and all i do is hose it out, won't it get nasty and eventually rust? I really wish I could see a pic of the bottom side with and w/o skids....then maybe I would get how they work. My thing is that I don't want to buy skids if it is going to be hard to clean them after mudding. I already have to work my tail off without skids.

white04kj · **Posted:** Mon Mar 13, 2006 7:57 pm

Bullet wrote:

Quote:

I think I'm gonna have to drop the front and tranny skid to change my oil next time I do it though, so I'll probably end up cleaning 'em off then.

So will they have to take the skids off everytime they change the oil? I have lifetime oil changes at my local dealer....

So...if the mud gets up under the skids and all i do is hose it out, won't it get nasty and eventually rust? I really wish I could see a pic of the bottom side with and w/o skids....then maybe I would get how they work. My thing is that I don't want to buy skids if it is going to be hard to clean them after mudding. I already have to work my tail off without skids.

If you've got a tranny skid, they may have to remove it. There's a hole under the drain plug designed to let the oil out, but I don't think I trust myself to try and let it drain through there, it's bound to make a mess. I'm not sure about the design of the Mopar tranny skid though. Hosing it out won't cause rust, as the skids are painted. The only time you'll really have to worry about rust is the bottom of the skids - the rock rash will eventually rust, unless you touch the paint up every time you go out. I wouldn't worry about that too much though, mine are rusting a bit, and every picture I've seen of people's skids are the same as mine.

raceinfan · **Posted:** Mon Mar 13, 2006 7:58 pm

they won't have to take it off for an oil chng. now when it's time to do the diffs,transfer case,& tranny it would be best to remove before hand to save them work & expense to you,it's ALWAYS better to have protection ( no pun intended ) under there cause you never know it only takes 1 rock to ruin your day,you could even jack up the front to make it a little easier to get a hose in there

meduncan · **Posted:** Mon Mar 13, 2006 8:08 pm

Don't know if these will help but I just ran out and took some pictures of my Renegade's Mopar skids. Because it was dark and it was about 2 seconds from pouring down I couldn't get any really good shots but maybe this will help.

This is of the engine skid

Gas tank skid

Transfer case skid (this is the less than ideal shot):

Bullet · **Posted:** Mon Mar 13, 2006 8:56 pm

Between your pics and the '06 Libby brocure that has a pic of the bottom, I get the concept a little better, but ...... more questions.

The '06 brocure says that a transfer case skid plate is standard on all 4x4 models....is this a new thing or did my '04 come with one as well?? Does anyone know how to look up which parts my KJ has? I think you can do it by VIN, but don't know what site to go to in order to decipher the numbers. The more I learn, the more I learn that I need to learn.....or something like that. :wink:

white04kj · **Posted:** Mon Mar 13, 2006 9:03 pm

From what I've read, the t-case skid is standard on all 4x4 models, although it couldn't hurt to check. Just take a peek underneath your KJ, more or less directly under the driver's seat and see if you see something like what was posted in the picture above. Keep in mind the pic above was taken from the front passenger side, so you'll be looking at it in reverse. It's kinda triangle-shaped. Hope this helps.

EDIT: You'd be surpised by how much you can learn about your KJ spending 5-10 minutes underneath taking a look around.

OBX KJ · **Posted:** Mon Mar 13, 2006 9:06 pm

Bullet wrote:

Between your pics and the '06 Libby brocure that has a pic of the bottom, I get the concept a little better, but ...... more questions.

The '06 brocure says that a transfer case skid plate is standard on all 4x4 models....is this a new thing or did my '04 come with one as well?? Does anyone know how to look up which parts my KJ has? I think you can do it by VIN, but don't know what site to go to in order to decipher the numbers. The more I learn, the more I learn that I need to learn.....or something like that. :wink:

Your dealer can give you a print out from the VIN. I've seen them as long as getting onto a third page! It's a great thing to have & keep for reference. It's much harder to access this info as the years go by. If you are having a difficult time getting someone to understand what you want @ the dealer, pm me and I'll ask my sales guy what the print out is called.

Guyute1210 · **Posted:** Mon Mar 13, 2006 9:15 pm

OBX KJ wrote:

If you are having a difficult time getting someone to understand what you want @ the dealer, pm me and I'll ask my sales guy what the print out is called.

It's called a build sheet.

I got mine from the Jeep website. Just submitted a customer question with my last 8 numbers of the VIN, and 2 days later, I had a copy in my inbox

05kjrenny · **Posted:** Mon Mar 13, 2006 9:18 pm

i think somebody said this but when we get really muddy we just put the lawn sprinkler under the jeep and let it go back and forth for about a hour
this really works good if the mud is still wet, usually we drive around in the rain and get it wet then turn on sprinkler and it does most of the workbecause that close to the bottem of the jeep it really has a good amount of pressure hittin on it
we usually spray most off first with hose,also got to make sure big clumps dont fall on sprinkler or it will get stuck, this also cleans the whole underside pretty good not just skids!!

Bullet · **Posted:** Mon Mar 13, 2006 9:36 pm

Quote:

It's called a build sheet.

I got mine from the Jeep website. Just submitted a customer question with my last 8 numbers of the VIN, and 2 days later, I had a copy in my inbox

Would that be the Daimler Chrysler website?

priell3 · **Posted:** Mon Mar 13, 2006 9:38 pm

http://www.jeep.com/owners/index.html
http://www.daimlerchrysler.com/

m0th · **Posted:** Tue Mar 14, 2006 2:44 am

See the Rig of the Month forum for my Jeep in a mud hole. When I got home I took it to the carwash and kept feeding toonies into the machine forever. Then I went home and tried the sprinkler trick. Then I left it for a few days to harden a bit. Then I pulled the rest out by crawling under and digging it out with a trowel and my hands:

Remember, it's not just the skids. The bumper is a huge empty void just waiting to suck up mud if you reverse.

0311_DoC · **Posted:** Tue Mar 14, 2006 2:59 am

Well all I know is my 06 didnt some with any skids, except for the engine skid.

PCTim · **Posted:** Tue Mar 14, 2006 10:51 am

My 04 came with no skids. I installed the 3 factory ones (tranny is not available on 02-04). Anyways, after my first trip out, I had a bit of cleaning to do. This was after going through the car wash (do it yourself type, so I tried to get underneath).

It's really only the front skid that acts like a shovel. It's only 4 bolts, so it's not that bad. I leave them on when changing the oil too.

Hope this helps!

skids and mud question

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