Skid Row Transmission Skid: Does it fit?

dgeist · **Posted:** Sat Aug 29, 2009 11:20 am

So, my thoughtful wife got me Skid Row transmission and transfer case skids for my birthday a few weeks ago. Looking forward to a nice weekend morning to install them, I set out today. After sliding the front mounting lip up under the factory engine skid and attaching the side rail reinforcing hangar (all loosely with plenty of play, of course), I slide under the transmission crossmember to mark which holes to drill out and NONE of them line up. I can't even slide the skid around to make them line up. The CRD mounting holes are at least an inch wider than the ones in the skid and they're farther back on the driveline too.

Skid Row says the skids fit all models, including CRDs, but I can't see how. Does anyone have this skid and how in the world did you get it to fit?

P.S. since the tranny skid doesn't fit, I guess I should expect the mounting holes on the transfer case to ALSO not fit?

Dan

Pablo · **Joined:** Thu Feb 02, 2006 10:06 pm **Posts:** 1201

I have both skids. I had to drill out the side rail bracket and scoot the transmission skid forward about an inch to get the transmission skid to line up, the transfer case skid had no issues. I had no factory skids there, so I drilled the holes for all of them.

dgeist · **Posted:** Sun Aug 30, 2009 10:36 am

Pablo wrote:

I have both skids. I had to drill out the side rail bracket and scoot the transmission skid forward about an inch to get the transmission skid to line up, the transfer case skid had no issues. I had no factory skids there, so I drilled the holes for all of them.

Do you have a picture of which holes you were able to get lined up? I'm trying to do this with no lift by myself in the driveway (with an injured back) and it's a little hard to test fit by trial and error on something as heavy as the skid is...

Dan

Pablo · **Joined:** Thu Feb 02, 2006 10:06 pm **Posts:** 1201

dgeist wrote:

Pablo wrote:

I have both skids. I had to drill out the side rail bracket and scoot the transmission skid forward about an inch to get the transmission skid to line up, the transfer case skid had no issues. I had no factory skids there, so I drilled the holes for all of them.

Do you have a picture of which holes you were able to get lined up? I'm trying to do this with no lift by myself in the driveway (with an injured back) and it's a little hard to test fit by trial and error on something as heavy as the skid is...

Dan

Sorry, the camera is dead right now and on the charger.

You won't have holes drilled to mount the skids unless you had stock skids all the way around. All CRD's came with a flimsy front skid with sound insulation material in it. The front of your Skid Row transmission skid will line up with and bolt up under the back of the stock engine/suspension skid. The rear bolt holes are shared between the two skids.

See this link: http://skidplates.com/Images/Jeep/KJ/JP-4001_View_2.jpg

My vehicle had no other holes for skids, as I did not have stock skids. I had to drill them into the transmission crossmember. When you install the transfercase skid, it will bolt up under the rear of the transmission skid (also into the crossmember), sharing bolts between the transfercase and the transmission skid.

See this link: http://skidplates.com/Images/Jeep/KJ/JP-4001_View_3.jpg

If your vehicle had stock CRD skids, I don't know if the other holes will work with the SkidRow skids or not, but you can always drill new ones that will. I drilled my own. As per my previous post, the side of the transmission skid bolts into a nutplate up in the frame and I needed to extended it a bit, otherwise it would not line up with the nutplate sitting up in the frame. I drilled a new hole in the bracket where it needed to be. That was the only mod to the skids I had to make.

See:
http://skidplates.com/Images/Jeep/KJ/JP-4001_detail.jpg

I would love to take a picture of mine for you, but the transmission guy who changed the filters was a dip shiz and he lost the nutplate up inside the frame and the bolt too, so there is nothing much to see there now ( I will get replacements one day).

I also got tired of wrestling with the skids and went to Autozone late one night and got a cheap transmission stand jack adapter ($30). It is a POS, but is great for jacking the skid up and leaving it in place without hurting your back and having to hold it up by hand the whole time. It is also great for installing rock rails by yourself. It goes on top your floor jack, replacing the stock circle in it.

dgeist · **Posted:** Mon Aug 31, 2009 11:53 am

Pablo wrote:

dgeist wrote:

Pablo wrote:

I have both skids. I had to drill out the side rail bracket and scoot the transmission skid forward about an inch to get the transmission skid to line up, the transfer case skid had no issues. I had no factory skids there, so I drilled the holes for all of them.

Do you have a picture of which holes you were able to get lined up? I'm trying to do this with no lift by myself in the driveway (with an injured back) and it's a little hard to test fit by trial and error on something as heavy as the skid is...

Dan

Sorry, the camera is dead right now and on the charger.

You won't have holes drilled to mount the skids unless you had stock skids all the way around. All CRD's came with a flimsy front skid with sound insulation material in it. The front of your Skid Row transmission skid will line up with and bolt up under the back of the stock engine/suspension skid. The rear bolt holes are shared between the two skids.

See this link: http://skidplates.com/Images/Jeep/KJ/JP-4001_View_2.jpg

My vehicle had no other holes for skids, as I did not have stock skids. I had to drill them into the transmission crossmember. When you install the transfercase skid, it will bolt up under the rear of the transmission skid (also into the crossmember), sharing bolts between the transfercase and the transmission skid.

See this link: http://skidplates.com/Images/Jeep/KJ/JP-4001_View_3.jpg

If your vehicle had stock CRD skids, I don't know if the other holes will work with the SkidRow skids or not, but you can always drill new ones that will. I drilled my own. As per my previous post, the side of the transmission skid bolts into a nutplate up in the frame and I needed to extended it a bit, otherwise it would not line up with the nutplate sitting up in the frame. I drilled a new hole in the bracket where it needed to be. That was the only mod to the skids I had to make.

See:
http://skidplates.com/Images/Jeep/KJ/JP-4001_detail.jpg

I would love to take a picture of mine for you, but the transmission guy who changed the filters was a dip shiz and he lost the nutplate up inside the frame and the bolt too, so there is nothing much to see there now ( I will get replacements one day).

I also got tired of wrestling with the skids and went to Autozone late one night and got a cheap transmission stand jack adapter ($30). It is a POS, but is great for jacking the skid up and leaving it in place without hurting your back and having to hold it up by hand the whole time. It is also great for installing rock rails by yourself. It goes on top your floor jack, replacing the stock circle in it.

So, The orientation with the factory front skid plate, the reuse of mounting holes for the x-fer plate, the nutplate, etc. that all makes sense. According to the instructions, the only difference between the installation in "pre-installed" applications and "not-previously-installed" applications should be using a M10 bolt into a nutzert that's already there and using a 3/8" thru-bolt after drilling out the top side of the PRE-STAMPED hole in the crossmember.

The hex holes that accept the nutzerts in the crossmember and the side rail are all there (the ones I should just have to drill through the top of) . They just don't line up with the stamped slots on the skid (at all... not even close). Just so we're straight, here, you had to drill NEW holes through the bottom and top side of the transmission crossmember to make the skid mounting slots line up and also a new hole in the frame rail to make the nutplate mounting line up, right?

P.S. SFK emailed me this morning and said they're unaware or any difficulties of CRD owners installing the skids....

Dan

NJCRD · **Posted:** Mon Aug 31, 2009 1:04 pm

I have the Skid Row Engine/Trans skid plates. They fit with no drilling needed. Then again, I did have my mechanic install using his lift. I did help by holding things in place as the skid row pieces are some heavy duty stuff. I think if you can get access to a lift it would make life a lot easier with alignment issues.

Skid Row Transmission Skid: Does it fit?

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