Only in the 97+ models. I believe there were a few things behind my kick panels but I just moved them slightly so it fit

 

not sure if anyone answered this yet but the hood release cable rubs right there when your motor mounts go bad and let the engine flex.

 

Awsome, thank you now I finaly have a logical conclusion to that confusing irritant

 

In fear of my liftless xj tearing of a t case my friend and i made this skid plate. First e took off the cross member measured 3 plates about 6x6 to make a U on each side of the frame. Useing a sawzall we cut the inner lip off the frame in order to have a tight fit. Then we mocked it up tacked it and welded the U brackets on top of the cross member to help reinforce it and protect it from side to side motion. If you do it right it should be snug. i used a maul hammer to pop it in and it held itself in place. Then drill...or use a torch and cut 2 holes in the frame and U brackets each and put in some heafty bolts and washers in when your done. For the plate. Using a tape from the front edge of the crossmember i measured back past the rear of the t case then bent it up a little at an angle and measured up. Then measure the width and add an inch or two to each side for bending.
Using 3/16 in steel fo all of it includingthe brackets. We cut to the deminsions and using the torch bent the main bend first. Then made a cut along the rear of the cross member where it dips down. Bent that to match. Then made the side bends cutting the plate in a small amount ftom the sides near the rear of the cross member. Then final cuts like 2 V's out of the rear corners of the plate to bend it up. Finally welded all cuts on both sides and welded it to the crosmember. (u have to take it off and weld both top and bottom. I have dropped all the weight of my xj on this on rocks logs and packed dirt and havent had it budge. I will be cutting a notch in it for draining it but i was in a hurry with it so i figured id cut it a different day. This took about 3 hours to do. We also made a nearly identical one on a grand cherokee with no fittment issues. Just be sure not to measure over the bolts that actually mount the t case to the cross member. And u will have to cut holes to match where the original holes were in the crossmember.

 

I'm not gonna quote that... but did you reinforce the rearmost portion? A rib along the length or something coming off the uni-body rail? It looks flat in the picture, but I believe you said something about adding a bunch of angled pieces so it is probably ok.

Overkill is highly underrated... :P

 

New catch phrase!

 

Jerry the jeep. the bends in the steel plate made it extremely strong. if you see in the picture to the left of the plate sandwiched between the crossmember and the unibody are the u brackets that I was talking about before. They are welded to the crossmember to thicken and stregnthen it so total the weight if the jeep can be literally dropped or high centered on it without it bending. Also the rear bend gives you a way to slide back if you need to without catching.

 

I was wondering what that was for :P good stuff dude, I've been looking into skids and other fab but without a welder, bench press or other shaping tools I'm kinda at a loss. One day though... one day....

 

Jerry the jeep. the bends in the steel plate made it extremely strong. if you see in the picture to the left of the plate sandwiched between the crossmember and the unibody are the u brackets that I was talking about before. They are welded to the crossmember to thicken and stregnthen it so total the weight if the jeep can be literally dropped or high centered on it without it bending. Also the rear bend gives you a way to slide back if you need to without catching.

 

Mesh Grill inserts made from Gutter guard. Bought them black, but put a fresh coat and 3 coats of clear after cutting to hopefully keep em in good shape. Total Cost with wire, paint, and gutter guard under $20.

First Mod to the new Jeep and first post on the site. Lovin all the homebrew mods on the site. As a new XJ owner I can say that this site is a lot of fun to cruise around and see what everyone does to get ideas.

Got a new bumper, but too cold to put on just yet

 

^^^That aerodynamic license plate is bad ***, where's the how-to?

 

Ohh thats an easy MOD.. Just hand your keys to your wife/gf and sit at home patiently will she smacks guard rails.

 

Hahahahaha.... nice.


How did u secure the mesh in there? Been thinking of doing something similar but I want to cutout the platic bars that are in there.

 

LOL

 

Sickest hatch on an XJ EVER!!!!!! Link me to the write up!