I decided to document the install of the Savvy modular under armor on my 2005 LJ Rubicon to show the issues I ran into and how I worked them out. This write-up is not intended to be an instruction manual: the install of the MUA is pretty straight forward. As a result of the install, several other items are likely going to need addressed.
Before starting the install I relocated the locker pumps to here:
I installed the Savvy mml, 1 ¼” bl and the Novak shifter cable before the MUA. Savvy recommends these additions and I personally do not know how a person could install the MUA without them unless you plan to do major tub modification. I don’t have any pictures of the mml, bl or shifter install.
The MUA arrived with the cross member and attaching hardware in unpainted steel. Living in Pennsylvania, I obviously wanted to paint the steel before installation. The cross member has many nooks and crannies on the inside that would be impossible to cover with spray paint. To paint the inside I taped all the openings on the cross member except the very top. I poured approximately 1 pint of black krylon paint into the cross member and sloshed it around to coat the inside of the cross member. Here are a couple of pictures of the taped up cross member:
After I drained the excess paint from the cross member and let the paint dry, I proceeded to paint the outside and all the other steel parts. I sprayed one coat of krylon primer and two coats of krylon satin black on all the parts. Here are all parts painted:
Now it is almost time to start the install. I supported the transmission with a jack stand. I removed the four transmission mount nuts that hold the mount to the skid. I used a floor jack to support the skid plate and removed the six bolts that hold the skid to the frame. I lowered the floor jack and removed the skid. Just as I expected, there was rust on the frame rails where the skid contacts the rails. I have owned a 2005 TJ and this 2005 LJ and both have had extremely clean frames (for Pennsylvania) but both have had rust in this area. This is just a warning to expect to have to deal with some rust in this area. Here is a picture of the rust on the frame rail:
I used a welder’s hammer to remove the scale:
I then used a wire brush on a drill to clean up the frame rails:
Finally I painted the rusted areas with por-15:
Now I finally get to move on to the actual install. The first step is to install the outer c’s. This requires that the center body mount be removed. I loosened all the body mounts and jacked up one side of the body and then slipped the outer “c” over the frame rail and over the middle body mount location. Here is a pic of the installed outer “c”:
Next the existing transmission mount and exhaust hanger was removed. Here is picture of the existing mount:
The rubber thimble in the existing exhaust hanger needs to be removed and installed in the new hanger. The thimble is shown here:
Here is the new hanger with the rubber thimble ready to install (it just pushes in fairly easy):
Next the new exhaust hanger was loosely bolted to the trans. mount and the mount was bolted to the transmission. I first tried to install the inner “c’s” on to the outer “c’s” before I installed the cross member but I didn’t have room to get the cross member in place. I had to remove the inner “c’s” and install the cross member first and then slide the inner “c’s” in place. Once the cross member and “c’s” were in place, they were all bolted down. Here is a picture of the installed inner “c”:
Here is a picture of the installed cross member:
I jacked up the trans./transfer case until the trans. mount holes lined up with the holes in the cross member. The transfer case was contacting the tub in two places shown here:
I happened to have this nut in my garage. It is a 1” lock nut that had a rounded top:
I placed the nut on top of the transfer case where the case was contacting the tub and jacked the transfer case into the tub. Here is a picture of the placement of the nut:
It did make a dimple in the tub but the transfer case wanted to slide towards the tunnel when I jacked it up due to the slope of the tub. I lowered the case back down and installed a ratchet strap from the transmission mount to the frame rail so that the transfer case could not slide towards the tunnel. Here is a picture of the ratchet strap placement:
I replaced the nut and this time I wedged a crow bar above the other contact point and jacked the transfer case into the tub again. Here is picture of the crow bar location:
This time all went well and I had good clearance at both points (approximately 3/8”)
The next issue I had to deal with was the exhaust. The tail pipe was hitting the frame rail shown here:
I removed the tail pipe and muffler from the cat. I had a piece of exhaust pipe bent with a 2” vertical offset to be installed between the muffler and the first hanger on the tail pipe. Here is a picture of the original exhaust:
Here is a picture of the new piece of pipe installed on the existing tail pipe:
Here is a picture of the new pipe installed on the jeep:
As a result, here is the clearance that was gained between the tail pipe and the frame rail:
At this point I took the jeep for a test ride and everything seemed good with no thumps or contact.
Finally, I was now able to install the aluminum skid. Before installing the skid I treated it with two coats of Sharkhide aluminum protectant. I wanted to keep the raw aluminum appearance. I have no experience with Sharkhide so the jury is still out on how it will hold up. Here are pictures of the installed skid:
And this is what the final results look like:
I ended up not having any vibes with original driveshaft. I am planning to get a new double cardan driveshaft because the yokes on the upper u-joint look pretty close and I am afraid they may hit at full droop. I did not purchase or install the Savvy transmission/oil pan skid. I had a Rusty’s transmission/oil pan skid that I was able to modify to fit on the Savvy transfer case skid. One final note: I used anti-seize on just about all the threads. Anti-seize is your friend if you live in the northern climate.
In the end I ended up gaining 2 ¾“ additional ground clearance at the skid. I would say the Savvy module under armor is a very well designed and constructed product. I would highly recommend it to anyone who is considering a tummy tuck. I hope this write-up will help someone who is installing or considering this product.
Before starting the install I relocated the locker pumps to here:
I installed the Savvy mml, 1 ¼” bl and the Novak shifter cable before the MUA. Savvy recommends these additions and I personally do not know how a person could install the MUA without them unless you plan to do major tub modification. I don’t have any pictures of the mml, bl or shifter install.
The MUA arrived with the cross member and attaching hardware in unpainted steel. Living in Pennsylvania, I obviously wanted to paint the steel before installation. The cross member has many nooks and crannies on the inside that would be impossible to cover with spray paint. To paint the inside I taped all the openings on the cross member except the very top. I poured approximately 1 pint of black krylon paint into the cross member and sloshed it around to coat the inside of the cross member. Here are a couple of pictures of the taped up cross member:
After I drained the excess paint from the cross member and let the paint dry, I proceeded to paint the outside and all the other steel parts. I sprayed one coat of krylon primer and two coats of krylon satin black on all the parts. Here are all parts painted:
Now it is almost time to start the install. I supported the transmission with a jack stand. I removed the four transmission mount nuts that hold the mount to the skid. I used a floor jack to support the skid plate and removed the six bolts that hold the skid to the frame. I lowered the floor jack and removed the skid. Just as I expected, there was rust on the frame rails where the skid contacts the rails. I have owned a 2005 TJ and this 2005 LJ and both have had extremely clean frames (for Pennsylvania) but both have had rust in this area. This is just a warning to expect to have to deal with some rust in this area. Here is a picture of the rust on the frame rail:
I used a welder’s hammer to remove the scale:
I then used a wire brush on a drill to clean up the frame rails:
Finally I painted the rusted areas with por-15:
Now I finally get to move on to the actual install. The first step is to install the outer c’s. This requires that the center body mount be removed. I loosened all the body mounts and jacked up one side of the body and then slipped the outer “c” over the frame rail and over the middle body mount location. Here is a pic of the installed outer “c”:
Next the existing transmission mount and exhaust hanger was removed. Here is picture of the existing mount:
The rubber thimble in the existing exhaust hanger needs to be removed and installed in the new hanger. The thimble is shown here:
Here is the new hanger with the rubber thimble ready to install (it just pushes in fairly easy):
Next the new exhaust hanger was loosely bolted to the trans. mount and the mount was bolted to the transmission. I first tried to install the inner “c’s” on to the outer “c’s” before I installed the cross member but I didn’t have room to get the cross member in place. I had to remove the inner “c’s” and install the cross member first and then slide the inner “c’s” in place. Once the cross member and “c’s” were in place, they were all bolted down. Here is a picture of the installed inner “c”:
Here is a picture of the installed cross member:
I jacked up the trans./transfer case until the trans. mount holes lined up with the holes in the cross member. The transfer case was contacting the tub in two places shown here:
I happened to have this nut in my garage. It is a 1” lock nut that had a rounded top:
I placed the nut on top of the transfer case where the case was contacting the tub and jacked the transfer case into the tub. Here is a picture of the placement of the nut:
It did make a dimple in the tub but the transfer case wanted to slide towards the tunnel when I jacked it up due to the slope of the tub. I lowered the case back down and installed a ratchet strap from the transmission mount to the frame rail so that the transfer case could not slide towards the tunnel. Here is a picture of the ratchet strap placement:
I replaced the nut and this time I wedged a crow bar above the other contact point and jacked the transfer case into the tub again. Here is picture of the crow bar location:
This time all went well and I had good clearance at both points (approximately 3/8”)
The next issue I had to deal with was the exhaust. The tail pipe was hitting the frame rail shown here:
I removed the tail pipe and muffler from the cat. I had a piece of exhaust pipe bent with a 2” vertical offset to be installed between the muffler and the first hanger on the tail pipe. Here is a picture of the original exhaust:
Here is a picture of the new piece of pipe installed on the existing tail pipe:
Here is a picture of the new pipe installed on the jeep:
As a result, here is the clearance that was gained between the tail pipe and the frame rail:
At this point I took the jeep for a test ride and everything seemed good with no thumps or contact.
Finally, I was now able to install the aluminum skid. Before installing the skid I treated it with two coats of Sharkhide aluminum protectant. I wanted to keep the raw aluminum appearance. I have no experience with Sharkhide so the jury is still out on how it will hold up. Here are pictures of the installed skid:
And this is what the final results look like:
I ended up not having any vibes with original driveshaft. I am planning to get a new double cardan driveshaft because the yokes on the upper u-joint look pretty close and I am afraid they may hit at full droop. I did not purchase or install the Savvy transmission/oil pan skid. I had a Rusty’s transmission/oil pan skid that I was able to modify to fit on the Savvy transfer case skid. One final note: I used anti-seize on just about all the threads. Anti-seize is your friend if you live in the northern climate.
In the end I ended up gaining 2 ¾“ additional ground clearance at the skid. I would say the Savvy module under armor is a very well designed and constructed product. I would highly recommend it to anyone who is considering a tummy tuck. I hope this write-up will help someone who is installing or considering this product.
