Fuel skid pain in butt

[flippedrover]

Got Dave's stainless fuel skid yesterday and started soaking the bolts that hold the old one in place in oil. Got the two bolts up under the bumper loose with little problem. The four that sit on the bottom are a different story. Won't budge. I did manage to break a socket trying to get them off. So any ideas? I'm soaking them in more oil right now and am going to try again later this afternoon.

Thanks

[dmarchand]

This may be a silly question. Did you run your fuel level down as close to empty as possible? A full or even half tank is going to put a lot of weight on those bolts.

[flippedrover]

it's about half. I have the tank supported by straps.

[Bowtracer]

Do yourself a flavor use PB Blaster it is the best penetrant on the market or Busty. Make sure you get fluid on both sides of the bolt if possible. Also, try an impact driver with a socket & go in both directions that should do it.[ use a big hammer ] At the least break it loose.

[flippedrover]

Almost used a full can of PB Blaster. Wish I had air tools. Might be a reason to get some.

Thanks

[Mike Hippert]

Tyler, I think Peter is talking about actual IMPACT drivers, you hit it with a hammer and it turns the bolt like 1/8 turn or something. They only cost like $20 and then you only need a matching impact socket. You can always drain your tank like Pete did at Paragon:grin .

[TwisteD90]

Almost used a full can of PB Blaster. Wish I had air tools. Might be a reason to get some.

Thanks

Yes it's time to get some air tools. I had the same problem with the bolts and used my impact gun and they came off easy.

[J4hand]

I had the same problem with those bolts too. Soaked them for a while with the PB. I broke three off with a long box ended wrench and a ratchet. Although offering more torque to start it turning, those put too much side stress on the bolt on its way out and snapped it off. Don't go there. They need upward pressure - impact driver, impact wrench, etc.

James

[OCD90]

Thanks for posting this. I was about to do it this weekend with hand tools. With no access to air tools, maybe I'll just hand this one over to a friendly/cheap shop I know...

[flippedrover]

Ok after using an entire can of PB I have managed to get 4 out of the 6 to budge. I'm going to let the stuborn 2 soak untill tomorrow before I try again. If all else fails I'll rip the skid off since its so rusty and stick some wood under it as a temporary fix then get some air tools.

[Bowtracer]

Tyler, try an impact DRIVER. This is not air operated & is struck with a hammer. They are usually used for philips or slotted screws. Pull the end off & place a socket on the end. Spend the doe for one of these u will use it more than you could imagine. They are cheeeep. BUT handy!!! You could also try some eletrical contact cleaner then back to the PB. The electrical cleaner might help it is thiner & will help the penetrant work better.
Peter

[andys]

yeah I broke a few off as well, get yourself a good set of sharp drill bits and some cutting oil, I drilled em out with no problem, used a tap to clean out the treads a bit...
andy

[flippedrover]

Thanks. I'll probably get the impact driver just incase. I assume I can get them at a Home Depot type place.

[dave_lucas]

Tyler,

You might want to consider cleaning out the holes with a tap before reinstalling the new bolts that came with the skid plate.

The bolts can be a bit of a pain (understatement of the year) :stick I am constantly amazed at how bad stuff rusts on Land Rovers.

Would you mind taking a picture of your stock gas tank skid plate when you get it removed? I have wanted to see what one from the east coast looks like, I know mine was really bad and my 90 was in Texas and Colorado most of its life.

Torrence,

You might get lucky since your truck is from the west coast ;)

Might as well soak the bolts with some WD-40 or PB blaster and see if they are easy to remove. You can take them out one at a time and see how it goes then decide if it is worth paying someone else.

Just a thought :)

[flippedrover]

Sure thing Dave. I will say it's not pretty.

[flippedrover]

Finaly got the damn thing off. Only broke one of the bolts too. Now for the fun part. Putting the new one on. Here are some pictures of my old skid.

Follow-up Post:

And some others.

[dmarchand]

Holy cow. That is rot!

[Glenn_Guinto]

What a waste... you could've probably gotten at least another 10 years on that.... LOL :demented :lol

[kiefffff]

WOW! Wonder what mine will look like? I'll try and post pics.

[flippedrover]

;) I'll be more than happy to ship it up to ya Glenn if you want to add it to your truck

[OCD90]

Oh, mine isn't FROM the West Coast...it's from the Midwest, and it is littered with rust spots...If I could get my hands on one of the Brit metallurgists that have plagued us with these issues... :cuss

I'm sure I'll need lost of penetrant...

[Glenn_Guinto]

;) I'll be more than happy to ship it up to ya Glenn if you want to add it to your truck

LOL :)

[norros]

Luckily my originals don't look as bad as James.

I stupidly left about 3/4 tank in there so I'm probably not going to install this puppy today.
Would the extra weight make it 'that more' difficult ?

Nicholas

[rover4x4]

holy shit. what did it look like from the side facing down....

[flippedrover]

Nope. I had 3/4 to 1/2 in it. Use rachet straps and get them tight. Yeah a lot of oil. I had to hammer a 13mm impact socket onto the bottom four bolts. They had taken a few hits and infact the rear most left bolt was bent. Hmmm...wonder how I did that.

[dave_lucas]

:eek: :crazy :wow

WOW! That is amazing!

Would you mind if I use the pictures on my site?

[flippedrover]

Go ahead.

[norros]

Quick Question to those who have installed this skid plate:

If I don't have 'rachet straps' can I use a jack to hold the tank up ?

I have a little less than half a tank right now, which in reality is probably about 1/3 tank so I may venture out and do it.

Thanks,

Nicholas

Follow-up Post:

Bad idea.

Thanks for the call Dave.

:)

Nicholas

Last Update:

PIECE OF CAKE! Took 15minutes, if that. Bolts came right off without a hitch, sprayed some PB Blaster on them about 5 minutes prior... Looks great too... Thanks again DAVE!

Nicholas

[Davis]

I put mine on with a full tank--the tank is wedged in pretty good. I put a floor jack under the skid and lowered it slowly till it wedged and then all the way--put the new one in place, raised the jack and hammered on it till the holes were aligned. No biggie. I do have air tools, though. YOU CANNOT GET AIR TOOLS QUICK ENOUGH IF YOU DON'T HAVE THEM! TRUST ME! Bite the bullet, take the lumps, till your spouse "sorry", but get them! Best place? Pawn Shops.

[kiefffff]

Finally had a chance to try and attach the new skid plate. Got some questions. I have already sheared off two bolts. The others won't budge. Sprayed A LOT of WD-40 on the bolts already. Will the impact driver, wrench be my best bet to get these bolts off? What happens if all bolts are sheared off? Drill them out? Lose the sway bar or re-attach?

[chrisvonc]

WD-40 is good as a lubricant but is really a Water Displacement lubricant. Try a super penetrate like Nut buster (I think its called) or other "Liquid Wrench" type products. Soak them good and then soak them again. I would assume that an impact would work best. I just had dealership lossen mine for me while the 90 was in for something else so I can swap my fuel skid when it gets here.

[flippedrover]

Ues a lot of PB blaster. I went through a can of it on mine. I guess you are stuck with drilling the sheared bolts out. I bought one of those bolt out kits and tried it on the one that I shered off. Didn't work unfortunatly but then again I mounted the skid without that one bolt.

[BarryO]

Hey, I joined the club!

The sway bar bracket bolts and the forward 4 bolts for the pan have threads that are accessible, so I was able to douse them in Liquid Wrench on Saturday. Next day they came off pretty easily.

Couldn't get any oil on the thread for the back two, however. Was turning them with a 2-foot breaker bar, but man they were complaining about it. Broke one clear off. 'drilled a hole in it and put in a cheap screw extractor I got at Harbor Freight, and that broke off, too. 'hope the Chinese steel it's made of is as easy to drill through as the bolt!

I got the other most of the way out, but the hex head's rounded off now. 'doesn't help that one of the bars of the hitch is in the way, and prevents a straight shot with the socket extension. So I'm off to Sears today to pick up some of those sockets that bite into damaged hex heads. In the mean time, I tried soaking the bolt in more Liquid Wrench, although I don't think that's very effective when done from below.

[zed111]

Dave,

Can I still use the rear sway bar and factory step & tow rear bumper with your skid plate?

Also, when will you have more in stock?

Thanks

[kiefffff]

Zed - The new skids only have the sway bar holes drilled, no threads in skid. The factory skid was threaded for the sway bar bolts. To re-attach the sway bar, had to use lock nuts with new bolts and lock washers. Works fine.

Tyler - I only attached 5 of the 6 skid bolts too. Tried the easy outs to remove broken factory bolt and broke the easy out!

[dave_lucas]

Zed,

Keith is correct,

The sway bar holes are there, you just need to use a bolt and nylock nut to hold it in place.

"Also, when will you have more in stock"
I have been having a hard time keeping them in stock, but I will start on more soon. Email me if you would like more info so we do not take the thread any further off topic :)

[chrisvonc]

After breaking one of the bolts and spending about an hour working lube into another one so as not to break it, and then figuring out exactly how to strap up the gas tank once I was able to drop it a little, the skid plate is now on. My old one was a lot worse off than I though once it semi-cleaned it off.

Thanks Dave! Ready to drop my ass on the rocks again. :)

[BarryO]

Tried the easy outs to remove broken factory bolt and broke the easy out!

Yea, me too. Plus, the high-carbon steel on the EasyOut is impossible to drill through. This is what I did; maybe it can help others in the same situation: I got a small carbide cutter for my Dremel tool (looks like a miniature milling bit). It worked surprisingly well. With this, I was able to mill out the piece of the EasyOut that ended up in the bolt.

I didn't try the EasyOut route again. Instead I got a 5/16" aircraft drill bit ('needed the length because of the hitch tube that was in the way), and drilled out most of the bolt. What little was left of the bolt broke loose from the threads when I hit it with a hammer and a punch. 'cleaned up the threads with an M10 tap and was good to go. I use new stainless steel bolts all around.

[mhansen]

Well I finally had time to put Dave's Bomber Skid Plate on.

It took me a whole hour! :grin

I was hoping that it would take longer, because I really like wrenching on the ol' 90.

I tried to make it last longer. I inflated 2 basketballs for my kids, took their bikes down from the hooks on the ceiling, and made a run to ACE for some new bolts and nuts for my sway bar.

The best part was teaching my 6 year old to use the floor jack so I could hold the skid plate in position while he raised it up. :proud

[dave_lucas]

"It took me a whole hour!"

Show off :lol

[rover4x4]

I am guessing yall didnt take off the rear bumper, what did yall use to support the gas tank, please mind my asking... I am going to embark on this endeavour this week I think..

[mlw911]

I used a nylon dog leash to support the fuel tank. Worked like a charm. I think pretty much anything will work to hold it up. I also supported from the underside with a jack stand as a backup.

Michael

[chrisvonc]

I used 2 ratchet straps. One across the back, one run in between the old skid and the tank up front.

[rover4x4]

cool thanks. I got the bolts undone it was a breeze, I was expecting it a be a bitch from yalls horror stories, long live the PB

[zed111]

Dave,

I finally got around to installing your gas tank skid plate and I am extremely impressed with the quality. It is such a major upgrade over the piece of $%*& that was there.

After a bottle of PB I was able to get the bolts off without much of a problem, even though the old skid plate disentegrated. I have attached pictures of the old skid plate, it is amazing that it was able to hold the tank in place. It took me about 2 hours because I cleaned up the surface rust and installed the rear seat belt bracket that sits above the tank.

Thanks again!

[dave_lucas]

WOW!!! :eek: :crazy

Skid plate? I don’t see a skid plate in your pictures, just a pile of rust scale :hmm

Glad you are enjoying you new skid plate

[Dfndr90]

After all these "horror" Stories I went out and looked under the rover, not a lick of rust on the skid plate. My 90 spent all of its first life in Arizona, now that it is in Ohio, should I just be proactive and replace in now, how fast do these things rust out. I just got a case of waxoyl, should I spray the shit out of it and not worry about it for a couple of years. Is nayone elses skid plate in great shape?


Matt...

[rover4x4]

I read all this and decided to take mine off and inspect, all was well I sanded and painted with undercoating (3M) and rustoleum since I am poor and couldnt muster the funds for the stainless. If you can I say go for the stainless it is worth it.

[zed111]

After all these "horror" Stories I went out and looked under the rover, not a lick of rust on the skid plate. My 90 spent all of its first life in Arizona, now that it is in Ohio, should I just be proactive and replace in now, how fast do these things rust out. I just got a case of waxoyl, should I spray the shit out of it and not worry about it for a couple of years. Is nayone elses skid plate in great shape?


Matt...
If you can I would change it before it gets in too bad shape, it makes it much more difficult to change later. I have a low mileage D-90 that has only minor surface rust on the axle and I was shocked at how bad the skid plate was. The previous owner only used it to get too work in the winter in the Northeast.

Dave's is also much higher quality and gives better protection then the stock one.

[Kimos]

Well, now this one is my issue too now . . . .

What of Daves skid plate? Details?

I have air rachet. Will I need impact?

And once I get skid any last minute advice before I start my hellish battle of replacement.

[dave_lucas]

“I have air rachet. Will I need impact?”
Hand tools or air tools should be all you need for the bolts. You will also need a ratcheting strap (or 2) to hold the tank in place. Possibly a drill and tap if you bust a bolt.

Well… that and a bunch of PB blaster :rofl

“And once I get skid any last minute advice before I start my hellish battle of replacement.”
1. Run the fuel down some so the tank is not as heavy.
2. Pressure wash the area
3. Soak the bolts with PB blaster
4. Soak the bolts with PB blaster
5. Soak the bolts with a little more PB blaster
6. Clean and paint any areas that may be rusty while you have the skid off.

:cool:

[BarryO]

Clean any dirt and girt off the threads of the bolt that are accessible (all but the rear). And soak them. That'll make the front ones easier to take off.

Unfortunatelty, the back two are inaccessible. So when you try to unscrew them, you may end up drawing dirt and grit into the threads, at which point they'll seize up.

[rover4x4]

I had no issues with getting access to any of hte bolts on my 95?? fwiw

[Kimos]

Thanks!

I guess uh . . . I need some PB Blaster :grin

Oh, and one of them skid plate things too

Hopefully the air rachet will do the trick then

[flippedrover]

Air tools will help i managed to get mine off with hand tools and a can of PB Blaster and Liquid wrench. And a lot of colorful language.

[rover4x4]

did some mention PB Blaster??

[dave_lucas]

"And a lot of colorful language"

:lol

I will have to add that to the list of required tools :)

[flippedrover]

I find it comes in very handy when you need to scare the parts off. :)

[BarryO]

I had no issues with getting access to any of hte bolts on my 95?? fwiw

The bolt heads are easy to get to. But on my 97 at least, the threads on the rear bolts are not accessible. Spraying lubricant on the threads works the best.

[Kimos]

Dave, sorry for the delay, been at the &*^%&*% auction trying to get the spouse a benz. I received your mail and will be in touch re skid once I get my interior buttoned up this week