Picked up a 2001 grand Cherokee limited last night. Was crawling around and noticed the gas tank shield was completely rusted out. I'm thinking this is a safety issue. Do you have to drop the gas tank to install a new shield?

 

Yes. The shield holds the tank in place. There are no separate straps underneath it.

 

If thats rusted bad i would look around under it more see if you got more rust to deal with.

 

Those shield mounting bolts have weld-nut in the frame and the reason they are so big is because they mount a trailer hitch as well if you get one. Sometimes the weld-nuts will tear out of the frame when you try to remove them if they are rusted enough. One thing I've seen done on a ZJ is remove the carpet from the cargo area and drill holes up thru the floor, using long bolts with big washers on them to remount the tank. Not the best idea, but effective. NOT for a trailer hitch either!

Mopar makes 2 types of tank shields, a "brushguard" and a "skidplate." The brushguard is .040" thick and the skidplate is .125" thick. They discontinued the brushguard, but you can find an aftermaket one on the web. Clue; they are $190 and $542 from Mopar. Check wjjeeps.com for part numbers.

Someone mentioned you can drill tiny holes in the frame sideways alongside the bolts and spray PB Blaster thru the holes to lube the top part of the bolts. IDK because I've never done it.