Yeah, mine has the factory tow package so there were 6 bolts mounting that. When the hitch broke off, so did what was left of the shield, mainly just the 2 sides. Oddly, the tank straps look good.

 

I did the t/c mod that awg posted. With my XJ having a 231 t/c and not being dropped 1" as is in awg's link I didn't need the spacers mentioned. It tucks the skid plate up nicely.

 

I'm not surprised mine has this part already.... I bought my XJ when I was still in Colorado a few years ago... and when having a service done that I didn't have the tools to do myself at the time.... I took it to a 4x4 shop that specialised in working on nothing but Jeeps of every vintage. They pulled the build sheet on mine and said out of all of the ones they've done, mine had one of the most unusual (in a good way) factory build sheets they had ever seen. It's like my XJ was ordered to be built a bit more on the beefy side (probably for service use)... so it has the extra goodies... which I'm totally cool with

 

I read that that's true for the front skid plates too. I put what the seller said was a late model front skid plate on my old '95 XJ and it went on fine. He might have been wrong re what he had or what I read could have been wrong. Does anyone know if there's a difference ... early vs. late?

 

Never heard that they would not fit.
But do know that the part numbers were different.
Since mine was brand new and still had the label on it I looked around for the part number.
Cause I would recognize it if I saw it.
Was 82200613. Looks like that part number is '96 and down.
Technically the part number for my '00 is 52018009AB.
The online Mopar site I checked on said the 82200613 would not fit '00.
But it did so.......

 

Maybe it's that the newer front skid plates also fit the early XJ's but the older ones don't fit the newer XJ's. I don't know what the differences are (2 part nos.) but it would make sense that if they continued to make them they would want them to fit the new and old models. The part number isn't stamped into the one I have. The seller said he took it of of a newer XJ and the good news is that it fits my older XJ.

 

The difference could be a simple matter of missing or relocated bolt holes or something similar. That would change the part number and aftermarket companies think it won't fit because of a simple part number change.

Also the change to 10 digits from 8 shows the Chrysler redid their inventory system.

 

supplier change....

 

motivated me to grab mine out of the back yard in the weather

'96 pre update, from a Limited

weight 10kg (22lb)..metal thickness 1/8" ...has pressed ribbing and a welded angle section

Once I have completed my suspension work (soon), I will install it on my DD sport

It was already painted blue, so I cleaned it all up, and repainted it

 

I am looking for information on the OE bolt sizes for the transfer case skid plate. This applies to a 1991 XJ. If anyone has front skid plate fastener info that would be handy also. I picked up a new OE front skid plate P/N 52018009 from Team Cherokee some time ago for $35 plus shipping (I believe they are sold out now). It looks like the one awg shows in post #39. I found an OE transfer case skid plate in a salvage yard in Colorado for $8. Both are uncommon finds in salvage yards from my experience.

Similar to what Ralph77 noted in post #27 my transmission cross member has two holes and the unibody side rail has one hole that lines up with holes in the skid plate. The skid plate has two holes in the end that mounts to the unibody. Not sure why two holes in skid plate compared to one in the unibody. The unibody and cross member have no factory inserts or welded nuts in place. The holes measure approximately 0.490” or 12.5 mm. Does anyone know what was installed from the factory that the bolts threaded into? I assume it was nutserts / rivet nuts of some type. Bolt size? I expect it could be M10 or 3/8-16 bolts. If anyone found an insert that fit properly into the existing holes I would appreciate knowing what that was and source. I will enlarge the holes slightly if necessary but would like to find something that fits the factory holes if possible. My research has found lots of differences in rivet nut required hole size for various M8, M10 and 3/8” rivet nuts and want to get a proper type and fit to minimize the chance for pull-out.

Once I figure out the best solution I will post details in my build thread.

 

I'm with you. My transfer plate is only fastened at the crossmember. The unibody end came to me with two self tappers that had pulled out. When I figure out the rivnut I'll post about it, but my 400k engine gave up, so you may very well get to it before me.

 

Transfer case skid plate I can't help with, I had to cut all 3 bolts from my donor. I'm 99% certain that the front skid plate used M10 bolts at the sides and M8 at the front.

 

OK so I tried to go back in my files to see if I could figure out what bolts I used but I can't.
I can tell you this much though. If the holes, one in the uni-body and 2 in the crossmember, are
.490" then I used a 5/16-18 bolt and the rivnut to match in all 3.
Plus some washers and lock washers. But I could not tell you the length.
The reason I know this is cause .490" is close to .5".
And that is the required hole size for a 5/16-18 rivnut so...........
And it looks like in my '00 parts catalog they used an M8X1.25X20 for the transfer case skid.

 

I figured out appropriate nutserts and fasteners for the transfer skid plate and now have it mounted on my '91. I posted useful info in my build thread located at this link: https://www.cherokeeforum.com/f46/19...256001/index4/

I will be doing the front skid plate before long and will post details in my build thread as time allows. I found rivet nut type studs that I plan to use for mounting the front of the skid plate to the lower radiator support. This should eliminate the requirement to get tools on both bolt and nut at the front, not the most convenient especially if you have to drop the skid plate to work on a lower radiator hose or alternator on the road or trail.