[KyFJGuy]

I just spent nearly 3 hours trying to get the 3 slotted bolt holes to line
up on my gas tank skid. No dice. If i installed the 3 short bolts first, and raised the skid to line up the 4 gas tank bolts, i could only get the front tank bolts to align. The rears are way off, about a bolt diameter. If i line it up so the 4 gas tank bolts are lined up, then the slotted holes for the other 3 bolts are almost 3/4 of a slot off to one side.

It's mounted now but only by the 4 factory gas tank bolts.

Anyone ever run across this before??

KyFJGuy

 

[football751]

I just spent nearly 3 hours trying to get the 3 slotted bolt holes to line
up on my gas tank skid. No dice. If i installed the 3 short bolts first, and raised the skid to line up the 4 gas tank bolts, i could only get the front tank bolts to align. The rears are way off, about a bolt diameter. If i line it up so the 4 gas tank bolts are lined up, then the slotted holes for the other 3 bolts are almost 3/4 of a slot off to one side.

It's mounted now but only by the 4 factory gas tank bolts.

Anyone ever run across this before??

KyFJGuy

Does BudBuilt make a different tank skid for 07-09 and 10+? Maybe give him a call and make sure you got the right one, if they're different.

 

[ShakyPuddin]

I remember I had difficulty of lining up the skids, but that's because I tightened them down as I installed them. You should loosen up all the skids and try to get the holes to line up.

 

[syncitizen]

I had a similar issue trying to get my ricochet gas skid mounted up too.

Loosen the tank straps up. Then there should then be plenty of slop to move the mounting studs where you need them to be. Retighten the straps and You should be good to go.

 

[KyFJGuy]

I managed to get the 3 bolts on tonight. Used the "screwdriver in the hole and pry" method of aligning the holes. I loosened up the other 4 nuts on the tank skid and all 7 of the bolts that hold the trans skid, but it didn't seem to make a difference Holes were off between 1/8-1/4". There is a little of side tension on the gastank skid now. Hopefully it won't matter. Just strange because all the other skids aligned flawlessly.

KyFJGuy

 

[mad_mechanix]

I'd hit the Old boy up with A phone call or Email.. those things are CNC cut. I used to run a CNC machine, They operate @.0001 Varence. ANd that was with a Blade cutter. (cut Fiberglass cloth patterns for Yaht Manufacture)
TO have it that hard or that far off alignemnt Im going with the Comment football751 said about being a difference between 07-09 and 2010 on... You mighta got the wrong one by mistake.

 

[uphill]

No matter what, call Bud. He's a great guy and I'm sure that HE would want to know what the problem is. X2 on the 09/10 difference possibility.

 

[ShakyPuddin]

No matter what, call Bud. He's a great guy and I'm sure that HE would want to know what the problem is. X2 on the 09/10 difference possibility.

X2. Bud is a great guy.

 

[FJ_explorer]

I just spent nearly 3 hours trying to get the 3 slotted bolt holes to line
up on my gas tank skid. No dice. If i installed the 3 short bolts first, and raised the skid to line up the 4 gas tank bolts, i could only get the front tank bolts to align. The rears are way off, about a bolt diameter. If i line it up so the 4 gas tank bolts are lined up, then the slotted holes for the other 3 bolts are almost 3/4 of a slot off to one side.

It's mounted now but only by the 4 factory gas tank bolts.

Anyone ever run across this before??

KyFJGuy

Did you ever solve your problem? Can you post your solutions?

I am having the same issue. I cannot connect the transmission skid plate to the gas tank skid plate. The holes are off to the side. I also noticed the transmission skid plate is bumping up against the transfer case, which I don't think should happen. I am thinking I probably have a wrong plate or cross member. What did you do to fix your problem? Please post your solutions.

I will try to call Bud tomorrow. So far, I have not had good luck getting a call back. I have left him a voice mail message and sent him and email this week (for a different problem), and have not got a response.

 

[shopsaw]

FJ Explorer,

I too had this alignment issue. Ended up re-drilling the transmission plate to get the skid to line up...then I called Bud. He said what I needed to do was to loosen up the tank strap first, then line up both plates. After everything is lined up, tighten the whole shebang.

Wish some instructions were included to outline this process.

I also suggested to Bud that perhaps it would be easier to just machine the forward slots on the gas tank skid side-to-side. He said that he has been considering that.

Other than this small fitment issue, I have been extremely happy with these skids. Bud is a top notch guy to deal with as well.

 

[BacktoFutureToyota]

I too had the same issue and immediately called bud for guidance and it turned out to be simple.....wait until your gas tank was low so that the straps loosen up a little! It all becomes a moving target when it's not static.

 

[FJ_explorer]

Thanks for the help.

Did you guys have problem with Bud's transmission skid plate bumping up against the bottom of the transfer case. It's so tight there that when I try to to tighten the skid plate to the cross member, the plate actually pushes up on the transfer case. That was not the case looking at the pictures in the installation instructions. There was plenty of clearance under the transfer case in the picture, so I wonder if I had gotten the wrong plate.

Thanks,

 

[VT_RainMan]

Every year I take my skids off for winter and remount them in the spring.. Every year they fit differently. And takes me hours to get them back on. Metal flexes, expands, and bends. The frame on our FJ's is all over the place!

 

[arkie]

I too had problems with the tank skid on a 2010. First I received the wrong crossmember which Bud replaced [it had too much drop]. Second, the tank skid was so tight at the front of the tank that the skid was against the front of the tank and the back had to be forced up to get it to bolt up. I straigtened the tank skid at the front to get clearance between the skid and tank as well as mounting the skid below the trans skid. This gave me about 1/2" clearance and made installation easy. I too had problems getting the holes and studs to align at the rear before making the aforementioned changes.

FJ Explorer, the directions don't say to, so I'll ask- Did you remove the factory transfer case skid? I initially didn't and the skids touched.

 

[FJ_explorer]

I too had problems with the tank skid on a 2010. First I received the wrong crossmember which Bud replaced [it had too much drop]. Second, the tank skid was so tight at the front of the tank that the skid was against the front of the tank and the back had to be forced up to get it to bolt up. I straigtened the tank skid at the front to get clearance between the skid and tank as well as mounting the skid below the trans skid. This gave me about 1/2" clearance and made installation easy. I too had problems getting the holes and studs to align at the rear before making the aforementioned changes.

FJ Explorer, the directions don't say to, so I'll ask- Did you remove the factory transfer case skid? I initially didn't and the skids touched.

The factory transfer case skid was the problem. I did speak to Bud, and he said just that. So I finally completed the install today. Thank you all for your help.