Quadratec fuel skidplate installation not going well

[Moose95]

I'd appreciate if anyone with any experience with the fuel skidplate could provide some advice... or recommend a shop in the Northern Virginia area.

I purchased the aluminum engine, transfer case, and fuel tank skip plates from Quadratec, and installed the engine/trans and transfer case plates today without a hitch - they went on great, and seem to be sturdy. However, I had seen some installation videos of the fuel tank skidplate for the Wrangler, and several of them said it was really difficult to line up everything. I took out one screw from the existing skidplate to see how it would go, and the hole for the skidplate immediately shifted a quarter inch, making it impossible to put the screw back in.

I have basic handyman skills, enough to install simple mods, but I do not have a shop or sophisticated tools, and now I am concerned about going any further. The instructions say to remove almost all the bolts in order to bolt the new skidplate on top of the existing one, so now I wonder if the one bolt hole shifted because I didn't loosen all of them, and if this is normal for installing this item.

So, at this point I either go "all in" tomorrow and loosen the rest of the bolts and then try to put it all back together, or I try to find a professional shop to do the installation. Has anyone installed this fuel tank skidplate on their Gladiator? The only installation videos I can find on youtube are for the Wrangler, which is similar, but not identical. Thanks!

Sponsored

 

[bd100]

I'd recommend you first loosen all the bolts and see if you can get that first one back in. If so, see if you can get the new skid plate to go on as well. Then tighten everything up last.

For a control arm skid I had to loosen the fuel tank skid bolts to shift it over slightly before I could install the control arm skid.

 

[bd100]

And I agree that the Quadratec engine and transfer skids seem nice, especially the sturdy cross bars. I just wish they didn't take away so much ground clearance.

 

[Lrowe]

As far as shops in Northern VA, I highly recommend Ryan at OTRAMM. This shop is south of Nokesville in the Bealeton area and Ryan is the smartest mechanic I have ever met- does great work and charges a fair price. I am not affiliated with the shop, so this recommendation is simply From a customer's perspective. (540) 316-8677

 

[Moose95]

Success today! I decided to go for it and loosen all the other bolts on the tank, but before I did it, I used a ratchet strap going under the existing skid plate from one frame rail to the other to hold up the tank. As I cranked the strap tight, the one bolt hole where I took the bolt out adjusted back into place, and as I took out the other bolts, everything stayed lined up!

Installing the skid plate over the existing one went MUCH better than I thought, and there was no more drama. After everything was snugged down, I was able to undo the ratchet strap from the ratchet and pull it out from between the two skid plates easily.

If anyone decides to get the Quadratec aluminum fuel tank skid plate, I strongly recommend using a ratchet strap to hold the tank firmly in place before loosening any bolts. All three skid plates went on without any problem, and they look pretty sturdy. Thanks for the advice everyone!

Sponsored