Check your skid plate, it is probably rusty

[Johnfromphilly]

I am posting this as a warning and heads up about skid plate rust. I have a 2001 TJ that lived it’s life in South Carolina. I did a heavy inspection and the frame is rust free on the outside and inside, checked with a borescope. When I bought it I asked what things I should do and the forum gave me a great maintenance list and one member recommended pulling the skid plate, cleaning it and painting it before reinstalling with anti seize on the bolts. That was this weekend’s project.

The warning comes as I found a bunch of hidden rust that if I left it would have probably led to rusted and locked bolts and needing to replace the nutserts. Plus the rust would have spread on the frame.

Below is what I found and the process I went through to address the rust and reinstall the skid plate. Thanks to forum members for help with the process.

Rust on skid plate:



Rust on my “rust free” frame:


wire wheel and tons of elbow grease cleaning rust area:



Rusty bolts:




Added chemical rust remover as the areas around the bolt holes would not come rust free




Power washed and dried plate then painted it with Rust Oleum Rust Reformer to prep for paint. I could not get all of the rust off so I used this product


I was concerned about bolt rust so I taped off the threads and painted with rust reformer and then a layer of frame paint


Painted frame with Rust reformer after cleaning, and grinding with wire wheel



waited 24 hours and then painted everything with frame paint

Added anti seize to nut threads as well as cone area that contacts the plate:

Finished product

 

[Dunkut88TJ]

Nicely done, I was always horrified to tackle my skid plate for fear of breaking the bolts. Had the Tcase drop removed last week with some other stuff done and they had no issue.

 

[JEEPCJTJ]

I'm glad to see that your rust wasn't too bad and what you've done to correct it looks pretty good. I don't know if you have any winter TJ driving planned or not but even if you don't I still suggest putting some Fluid Film or some other oil based stuff in between the skid plate and frame.

The early TJ skid plates look like the same design as the YJ where my son had some skid plate bolt holes rusted away completely. It also looks like you had far less frame/skid plate rust between the bolts than my 2006 "rust free" TJ had.

Here's the thickest of the 4 pieces I removed. It's just about 1/16" and I almost had a heart attack.


I felt somewhat better when I noticed that it came from both the frame and skid plate and that both were still strong enough when I beat them with a hammer.

 

[Chris]

Even on the cleanest most rust free TJs, the skid plates in this area are usually rusted. This has been the case with all of my TJs. The good news is that this rust is usually very easy to fix with a wire wheel and some paint.

 

[Johnfromphilly]

I'm glad to see that your rust wasn't too bad and what you've done to correct it looks pretty good. I don't know if you have any winter TJ driving planned or not but even if you don't I still suggest putting some Fluid Film or some other oil based stuff in between the skid plate and frame.

The early TJ skid plates look like the same design as the YJ where my son had some skid plate bolt holes rusted away completely. It also looks like you had far less frame/skid plate rust between the bolts than my 2006 "rust free" TJ had.

Here's the thickest of the 4 pieces I removed. It's just about 1/16" and I almost had a heart attack.
View attachment 238950

I felt somewhat better when I noticed that it came from both the frame and skid plate and that both were still strong enough when I beat them with a hammer.

View attachment 238949

My TJ is garage kept at this point as I live in PA and the rain, snow, salt combo is a bad mix. I have Fluid Film and plan on treating the frame and underside in the next few weeks. As for the skid plate area I used frame paint on both surfaces before putting it all back together. I also hit it with WD-40 as that was what I had at the time before I bolted everything tight. I plan on inspecting this somewhat regularly. Probably look again after niext winter just to see how it held up. Thanks!

 

[Johnfromphilly]

Even on the cleanest most rust free TJs, the skid plates in this area are usually rusted. This has been the case with all of my TJs. The good news is that this rust is usually very easy to fix with a wire wheel and some paint.

@Chris I actually did this project at your suggestion. When I got the TJ you mentioned that it would be a good item to add to the initial maintenance and checklist. I was just waiting for warm weather so I could paint. I am glad I did this and that is why I posted this thread as a heads up and warning for others with "rust free" frames. Thanks as always!

 

[Chris]

@Chris I actually did this project at your suggestion. When I got the TJ you mentioned that it would be a good item to add to the initial maintenance and checklist. I was just waiting for warm weather so I could paint. I am glad I did this and that is why I posted this thread as a heads up and warning for others with "rust free" frames. Thanks as always!

No problem! Everyone should do this project since everyone has rust under there, I can basically guarantee it.

 

[Cheetokps]

I'm really scared to do mine, my bolts are stuck on but I'm going to try and deal with mine once I cut them off. It does not look nice under there

 

[jjvw]

I just checked. My skid plate is aluminum. Phew...

 

[Mac]

I am posting this as a warning and heads up about skid plate rust. I have a 2001 TJ that lived it’s life in South Carolina. I did a heavy inspection and the frame is rust free on the outside and inside, checked with a borescope. When I bought it I asked what things I should do and the forum gave me a great maintenance list and one member recommended pulling the skid plate, cleaning it and painting it before reinstalling with anti seize on the bolts. That was this weekend’s project.

The warning comes as I found a bunch of hidden rust that if I left it would have probably led to rusted and locked bolts and needing to replace the nutserts. Plus the rust would have spread on the frame.

Below is what I found and the process I went through to address the rust and reinstall the skid plate. Thanks to forum members for help with the process.

Rust on skid plate:
View attachment 238379
View attachment 238390

Rust on my “rust free” frame:
View attachment 238391

wire wheel and tons of elbow grease cleaning rust area:

View attachment 238380

Rusty bolts:
View attachment 238381



Added chemical rust remover as the areas around the bolt holes would not come rust free


View attachment 238382

Power washed and dried plate then painted it with Rust Oleum Rust Reformer to prep for paint. I could not get all of the rust off so I used this product

View attachment 238383
I was concerned about bolt rust so I taped off the threads and painted with rust reformer and then a layer of frame paint
View attachment 238385

Painted frame with Rust reformer after cleaning, and grinding with wire wheel

View attachment 238386

waited 24 hours and then painted everything with frame paint
View attachment 238387
Added anti seize to nut threads as well as cone area that contacts the plate:
View attachment 238388
Finished product

View attachment 238392

View attachment 238384

View attachment 238389

Extremely WELL DONE! Now all I have to do is GET STARTED!

 

[Jorge Bolivar]

I just checked. My skid plate is aluminum. Phew...

Aluminum frame too?

 

[jjvw]

Aluminum frame too?

I didn't check that.

 

[IrishWake]

I discovered a little bit of rust when I changed my gas tank skid

 

[Jamison C]

I found similar on my last jeep. The outside had very light surface rust but no rot, but the section between the frame and the skid plate was a mess. Cleaned it up like you did.

 

[TheBoogieman]

A couple of washers between the skid and frame lets the water out. Zero rust and no painting needed.

 

[Irun]

I discovered a little bit of rust when I changed my gas tank skid
View attachment 239176

I'd say you were overdue for a skid replacement!

 

[Irun]

Nicely done OP. This is one of those areas that people tend to ignore, until it's too late!

 

[CharlesHS]

No problem! Everyone should do this project since everyone has rust under there, I can basically guarantee it.

When I lowered the transfercase skid plate to install the tcase drop; I found a similar situation with mild rust. I wire brushed the affected area on the frame and used Eastwood Rust treatment. I also wire brushed the skidplate and found there was no rust, but treated the surface anyway.

 

[mxz800]

I was surprised how little rust was on the skidplate, cleaned it up then painted it.

The only rust I had to deal with was from the windshield, and a small spot behind the rear license plate. How a Jeep in Maine didn't rust out is a mystery.

 

[TWiG01]

Nice job, unfortunately my TJ hit the point of no return in that area and I had it SafeT capped last year. I basically only had one bolt per side holding the skid up