Aluminum Belly Skids

Ray

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Joined
Dec 13, 2021
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Location
Braselton, GA
Current Rides
1986 CJ7, Coming Soon 2022 392 JL w/Extreme Recon
Looking for recommendations on adding a complete aluminum belly skid to our 2022 392 JL Rubicon with the Extreme Recon Package. Also thoughts on adding UHMW material to the aluminum skids?
 
I just installed the Next Venture Motorsports skids with UHMW. Weight savings is the big advantage.
 

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I’m waiting on the Artec Aluminum belly pan. They say it will be available Q1 22. Only adds 10bs over stock plates. Also plan on their frame mount premium rock sliders. They have a nice clean look. Should be all the added protection I will need for my purposes.
 

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I just installed the Next Venture Motorsports skids with UHMW. Weight savings is the big advantage.
How was the install process? Pics with UHMW look great. Happy with quality of the parts and process? Delivery time from NVM? They are a new name to me but very interested in their parts.
 
How was the install process? Pics with UHMW look great. Happy with quality of the parts and process? Delivery time from NVM? They are a new name to me but very interested in their parts.
Great product, I was one of the first to order back in July and received them in Nov. I think they are probably shipping faster now. Instructions need updated to reflect the 392 differences. Hardest part is replacing 2 of the engine mount bolts with longer bolts to support the Engine skid plate. The second thing is removing the factory fuel tank skid plate, you have to use 2 cargo straps to support the fuel tank while you remove the skid plate. I think it's a great light weight product.
 
I’m waiting on the Artec Aluminum belly pan. They say it will be available Q1 22. Only adds 10bs over stock plates. Also plan on their frame mount premium rock sliders. They have a nice clean look. Should be all the added protection I will need for my purposes.
I do not see the a part number for the 392 Hemi version. Did you talk with Artec?
 
I just installed the Next Venture Motorsports skids with UHMW. Weight savings is the big advantage.
Can you expand on UHMW and what that entails? Is that a plastic material added on top of the skids?
 
UHMW stands for Ultra High Molecular Weight. It's the 3/8" thick black cutting board like material that can be optioned onto these skids; it is more abrasion resistance than carbon steel, and it's fairly light weight. It helps to better distribute and absorb impacts, and keep you sliding along rather than getting stuck or hanging up on an obstacle since it's slippery and self lubricating.
 
I just installed the Next Venture Motorsports skids with UHMW. Weight savings is the big advantage.
I’ve got the same setup on order. What specifically made the engine mount bolts difficult to replace? I did body mount rock sliders last week and getting the red loctited front body mount bolts out after all the reports broken bolts was not fun.
 

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You have to remove 1 bolt from each motor mount, and do to the limited space you can only turn the bolt about a quarter of a turn with each click of the ratchet. The bolt moves hard due to all the paint in the threads from when the frame was painted at the factory. Once I got the bolts out I ran a tap through the threads prior to installing the longer bolts. Also you will need to remove the 2 aft body bolts just like the body mount rock sliders to hold the muffler skid plate on except these have to be removed all the way.
 
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After researching this same topic I decided to go with the Next Venture with UHMW option. I also ordered a set of their diff skids and diff covers.

I’m new to Jeep’s but have ran UHMW for years on RZR’s and love the stuff. Durable and slick on the rocks compared to metal. Diff skids and covers may be overkill but I’d rather drive my overkill home than have to be recovered.
 
I’ve got the same setup on order. What specifically made the engine mount bolts difficult to replace? I did body mount rock sliders last week and getting the red loctited front body mount bolts out after all the reports broken bolts was not fun.
Lol I’m going to need to remove the body mount bolts soon. Any tips you can share?
 
Looking for recommendations on adding a complete aluminum belly skid to our 2022 392 JL Rubicon with the Extreme Recon Package. Also thoughts on adding UHMW material to the aluminum skids?
Yes unfortunately aluminum is hit and stick (drag). Is there a UHMW kit available without the Aluminum
 
I do not see the a part number for the 392 Hemi version. Did you talk with Artec?
Yes I did and the said they had just completed the scans of the 392 underside. Design was in process with an expected release some time Q1 22.
 
Lol I’m going to need to remove the body mount bolts soon. Any tips you can share?
Get a big breaker bar and as you loosen the bolt, stop the minute it makes a popping sound. Then reverse direction of the bolt for about a full turn and just keep doing this until you get them out.
 
Lol I’m going to need to remove the body mount bolts soon. Any tips you can share?

twisty said:
Got is all done. Finally.

My method (YMMV):
Plumbers torch is the way to go. One full minute on the front ones. Wait about a minute, torch again for 15-20 seconds.
I used a 1/2 socket with extension, it's a mother but I wanted more control so I didnt break the bolt.
Loosen a few arcs, then tighten half as many. Torch 12 seconds
Loosen a few more arcs then the spot you stopped at, tighten half as many, Torch 12 seconds
Now loosen until it gets tight or sometimes makes a creaking noise STOP. TIghten again half as many, torch 12 seconds
Continue same method. As you progress the it will take a while before it tightens up.

I used the torch on the other 4 bolts just to loosen them but they cam out easily. Except for the capture washer, you have to pry them out with a large closed end wrench in a jerking motion. LiteBrite has a video on it using a screw driver, my method was better.

Putting them in is a PITA, but sometimes you get lucky. I ended up shining a flashlight in there and moving the capture ring out of the way. Real easy after that.

I torqued at 85, book says 92. Funny no one chimed in on this, guessin must just tighten them not knowing. I will put mine in spec once I get a better torque wrench. Also I didnt loctite them in but instead used antiseize. Not sure how smart that is but I did it on my old CJ and was fine.

One reason mine took so long is I also applied some adhesive protection where your foot MIGHT hit the body when using the step. Went on real nice but still time consuming. Looks pretty good too.

Hope this helps someone. The job still sucked but the TORCH is the way to go. YMMV




BradyW:
I used Twisty's method today to successfully remove the body bolts from my Oct 2021 JLU. The front bolts would turn notably easier after receiving their 12-15s warm-up burns from the torch so I'm a believer in that heat makes the job Iess risky. You aren't melting the Loctite but it doesn't appear to weaken it. I used a 250ft-lb capable torque wrench to Ioosen the bolts in order to have plenty of leverage for smooth and slow pulls. Using counter/stabilizing torque on the socket heads to prevent cross-loading on the bolt.

There is still red Loctite on the front bolts and blue on the rears. My bolts did not appear to have an excessive amount of Loctite on them like some people earlier in this thread.

I did break the spot welds that hold the retaining nut on 3 of the bolts. That pop and momentary loss of torque are TERRIFYING! Whenever the retaining nut breaks the spot weld it's best to use a drill or impact wrench to get the bolts started back on the tightening phase. Much, much easier than starting them by hand. The bolts that kept their retaining nuts welded in place were easy to start back by hand.

I was installing the Rock Hard 4X4 Patriot sliders so I used their included hardware instead of reusing the stock hardware. The Patriot bolts seem notably beefier and were confidence-inspiring compared to the OEM bolts. I torqued all 6 bolts to 95ft-lbs which feels less than whatever the OEM bolts were torqued to originally.
 
Bumping for more feedback.
 
I just installed the Next Venture Motorsports skids with UHMW. Weight savings is the big advantage.
Uhmw skids are amazing. I had them on the last RZR I had. Those things would just glide over rocks.
 

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