I dented my gas skid (97 doesn't wrap around the side) pretty badly in calico over the weekend and will be getting a kilby skid (hopefully one day this week). What I'm wondering is if the dent in the tank will come out when it's removed from the stock skid?

I don't have a picture, but can hopefully get one tonight!

I dented my gas skid (97 doesn't wrap around the side) pretty badly in calico over the weekend and will be getting a kilby skid (hopefully one day this week). What I'm wondering is if the dent in the tank will come out when it's removed from the stock skid?

I don't have a picture, but can hopefully get one tonight!

You got it pretty good, huh?! I'm told that once you take the skid plate off of it'll pop back to it's original shape, since it's plastic. You may have to drop the tank and pop it out from the inside.

Also, you may want to verify, but I'm pretty sure that the Kilby gas tank skid may require a 1" body lift (can't remember if you have that or not).

Also, you may want to verify, but I'm pretty sure that the Kilby gas tank skid may require a 1" body lift (can't remember if you have that or not).

Thanks for the heads up, but if I remember correctly, on a 97 no body lift is needed, and it actually raises the tank up 1"... I'll do a little more reading!

This Trail Boss Gas Tank Skid Plate will fit 1997-2002 TJs and 2005 and 2006 LJs without a body lift, with only slight modification to the tank straps.
SOURCE: http://www.kilbyenterprises.com/trail-boss.htm

I was correct in remembering :) Although it does look as I'll need to mess w/ the tank straps.

Ehh so you lose like a gallon of capacity:yay:
But to say I rolled Calico Stock! And here, and here and here, and here are my dents to prove it! YEAh stockers!!!!!!!!!

You got it pretty good, huh?! I'm told that once you take the skid plate off of it'll pop back to it's original shape, since it's plastic. You may have to drop the tank and pop it out from the inside.

The plastic tanks can be popped back out, like steelman said, skid plate has to come off, take the FP out and pop the thing out.

Thanks for the replies everybody! I'll post before and after pictures!

Tell kilby to keep his poorly designed skid. Check out the following: http://www.genright.com/ProductInfo.aspx?productid=SKP-2001

trust me.

Tell kilby to keep his poorly designed skid. Check out the following: http://www.genright.com/ProductInfo.aspx?productid=SKP-2001

trust me.

Ho hum.... what's so bad about the kilby?

When is your skid coming out? I'll trail test a prototype ;). I was pretty set on the kilby, but now I have decisions again... What's a good place to get the genright? directly from them?

Tell kilby to keep his poorly designed skid. Check out the following: http://www.genright.com/ProductInfo.aspx?productid=SKP-2001

trust me.

care to back up that statement? Brad is a really cool guy and doesn't deserve to be slammed without an explination. They're both made out of 3/16"...so what is the difference?

FWIW- i don't have either skid...i picked up a warn for cheap:no:

Well, I ordered the genright, seems comparable, but with a "dip" to "properly hold" the tank. I will take tons of before and after (and hopefully I'll remember during) pictures of when I install the skid.

Here's a couple pictures of the stocker that I took at night. Pics don't do the dents justice, and I'm afraid the tank itself might have problems if I roll around w/ this dented up skid now... What do you all think? (even though it doesn't matter and I've already ordered a beefy gen-right) :).

http://jeep.matandtiff.com/images/dsc03372.jpg
http://jeep.matandtiff.com/images/dsc03380.jpg

EDIT:
http://jeep.matandtiff.com/images/dsc03383.jpg

mine was about the same. i wheeled on it for about 6 months :)

is it me...or are the stock YJ skids seemingly beefier...cause mine looks a bit tougher than yours.

mine was about the same. i wheeled on it for about 6 months :)

Nice! Call me a wuss then... I'm afraid to drive around w/ it like that, let alone wheel!!! :no:

Nice! Call me a wuss then... I'm afraid to drive around w/ it like that, let alone wheel!!! :no:

I think mine might be a little worse, honestly. I haven't taken it off to repair yet. In fact, I've got a cheapo Tomken (sp?) skid that fits over the existing skid on there (it was a freebie hand-me-down!).

Call me a wuss then

Wuss :P

I'm glad to hear that everything else under there was OK.

Wuss :P

I'm glad to hear that everything else under there was OK.

Yeah, everything else seems fine so far :) Thanks again Doug, and Russ for the spotting!

care to back up that statement? Brad is a really cool guy and doesn't deserve to be slammed without an explination. They're both made out of 3/16"...so what is the difference?

FWIW- i don't have either skid...i picked up a warn for cheap:no:

The difference is the nice little dip in the middle to allow the pump sump to drop into. The problem with flat gas skids like kilbys is that the push up on the bottom of the pump, causing the seal at the top to be comprimised thus causing a lovely EVAP. Now that was my reasoning behind saying he can keep his poorly designed skid. Material thickness does not a skid plate make.

The difference is the nice little dip in the middle to allow the pump sump to drop into. The problem with flat gas skids like kilbys is that the push up on the bottom of the pump, causing the seal at the top to be comprimised thus causing a lovely EVAP. Now that was my reasoning behind saying he can keep his poorly designed skid. Material thickness does not a skid plate make.

BTW, Thanks again for the info! Tam verified the dip for the pump, as I suspected when I read genright's info. What would I do w/o MJR?

The difference is the nice little dip in the middle to allow the pump sump to drop into. The problem with flat gas skids like kilbys is that the push up on the bottom of the pump, causing the seal at the top to be comprimised thus causing a lovely EVAP. Now that was my reasoning behind saying he can keep his poorly designed skid. Material thickness does not a skid plate make.

intresting...i'll let everyone know if i have that same problem

What would I do w/o MJR?

Work?:no: :yay:

Work?:no: :yay:

Haha, that might be a good idea...

Now that I'll be dropping my tank, I figured I might try the "15 to 19 gallon mod"... has anybody done this or have any insight? There's a couple thread on JF about it, and I wondered if anybody here has attempted it. I've heard there's certain tanks which are truely 15 gallon and this mod won't work on, but can never get any definite answers or part numbers.

http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=325596

What I'm wondering is if the dent in the tank will come out when it's removed from the stock skid?


Mr. Materdaddy,

The gas tank is made from thin gauge polycarbonate material and dents quite easily as you have found out.

The good news is it can also be popped back out with relative ease by several methods.

1) Open the gas door and remove the gas cap. Lite a match and throw it down the filler tube and quickly replace the cap and tighten. The gasoline will ignite but since you quickly put the cap back on, it will *POP* the dent right out! :yay:

The other option if mommy won't let you play with matches...

2) Open the gas door and remove the gas cap. Place your mouth over the filler tube and exhale rapidly and repeatedly until the dent *POPS* out. :yay:



Be sure and set-up a video camera to document the process so you can post it on the intraweb and take credit for the miracle "Gas Tank dent removal method"

You're welcome!



Ride'on,

~CRASH!~

My entire tank has been pushed up about 3 inches for years. the center is pushed up even further. my tank only holds 12 gallons, but I do not have any evap problems or any other problems with it. I suspect that the folks with evap problems after the kilby skid are not properly connecting/disconnecting the high pressure fuel lines because I just cant see the little dimple cause more trouble than the 4 inches my tank is pushed up.

My entire tank has been pushed up about 3 inches for years. the center is pushed up even further. my tank only holds 12 gallons, but I do not have any evap problems or any other problems with it. I suspect that the folks with evap problems after the kilby skid are not properly connecting/disconnecting the high pressure fuel lines because I just cant see the little dimple cause more trouble than the 4 inches my tank is pushed up.

Dang, 4 inches, wow? How'd you get your tank pushed up 5 inches? If my tank were pushed up 6 inches like yours, I'd be worried? It must be almost flat!!

(Sorry, I couldn't help but notice that from when you started your reply to when you ended it, somebody bashed in your tank another inch!!!)

Dang, 4 inches, wow? How'd you get your tank pushed up 5 inches? If my tank were pushed up 6 inches like yours, I'd be worried? It must be almost flat!!

(Sorry, I couldn't help but notice that from when you started your reply to when you ended it, somebody bashed in your tank another inch!!!)

actually I said the entire tank was pushed up 3 inches and further in the center. If you must argue, I should have clarified that it's pushed up nearly 4" in the middle.

Chris' tank has been mashed flat to become even with the bottom of his bumper. It's actually amazing that it has held up as long as it has. We have a brand new tank sitting in the rafters waiting to go in, but at this point his gas tank has become one of those weird science projects to see just how far something can be pushed.

As for me, I have a Kilby Skid, and have been running it for years with ZERO issues. I love how beefy it is. The Warn skid is just a rip-off of Kilby's skid. Put the two side by side and the only difference you'll see is the Warn name laser cut into it instead of Kilby's. Putting a 1" BL eliminates any issues that someone MIGHT have with this skid, and if you want to run 35's with a 4" lift and not hack the crap out of your fenders, then you're going to be running a 1" BL anyway. Problem solved.

Also, when I put the Kilby Skid on I just left the dent in the tank. I have never noticed any issues with this. Maybe someday when I have to drive my TJ cross-country I might miss the one or two gallons capacity I lost, but otherwise, who cares? It's not leaking, so no worries.

The "big issue" with the Kilby skids must be a TJ thing, as I have the _second_ YJ skid he built (installed the day before 9-11), and have had zero problems.

How about a heat gun on that dent in your plastic tank Mat? I've popped out a few dents in plastic bumpers with careful use of a heat gun. Just don't hold it on one spot too long as a heat gun set on High can melt plastic if you're not careful. :)

How about a heat gun on that dent in your plastic tank Mat? I've popped out a few dents in plastic bumpers with careful use of a heat gun. Just don't hold it on one spot too long as a heat gun set on High can melt plastic if you're not careful. :)

May wanna make sure the tank is empty too! ;)

meh. small details.

Let us know when you get it Mat :) Im interested to see it...If you come up here, Ill help you install it:)

And I bet the dent will pop itself out.


Tam

May wanna make sure the tank is empty too! ;)Actually, I'd make sure the tank was full which would help insure the plastic wouldn't melt, plus the weight of the gasoline would probably assist in pushing the dent out. Reasonable care with the heat gun is all that's needed. :)

Well, I installed it (with the jeep up on a lift!) yesterday, and I just pulled the pump out and stuck my hand in to pop it out... Worked like a charm! I was going to stick my hand in to cut the vent hose thing for the '15 to 19 gallon' mod, but there was only MAYBE an inch of hose to cut off, so I left it alone. Either that mod is bogus for a TJ, or I got one of the "true" 15 gallon tanks. My tank was ALMOST empty (less than an inch of gas at the bottom) and I put in 13.8 gallons...

New skid looks great! I already put some scratches on it too! (I lifted it up to the Jeep w/ the use of a tranny jack that scratched it).

Thanks again Chris for the recommendation! My only problem is that at full flex (and when the Jeep is on a lift) my track bar hits the skid! Oh well... guess I need an aftermarket one that will hopefully be out of the way!

FYI I put a new genright skid on for ejs (my old pos tomken was hammered) Fit up nice, didn't hit it though so I am not exactly sure how strong it is.

btw, years ago I popped a dent out of my tank with compressed air. Seal the vents and filler and go for it.

Well, I installed it (with the jeep up on a lift!) yesterday, and I just pulled the pump out and stuck my hand in to pop it out... Worked like a charm! I was going to stick my hand in to cut the vent hose thing for the '15 to 19 gallon' mod, but there was only MAYBE an inch of hose to cut off, so I left it alone. Either that mod is bogus for a TJ, or I got one of the "true" 15 gallon tanks. My tank was ALMOST empty (less than an inch of gas at the bottom) and I put in 13.8 gallons...

New skid looks great! I already put some scratches on it too! (I lifted it up to the Jeep w/ the use of a tranny jack that scratched it).

Thanks again Chris for the recommendation! My only problem is that at full flex (and when the Jeep is on a lift) my track bar hits the skid! Oh well... guess I need an aftermarket one that will hopefully be out of the way!


What...no pics??? ;)

What...no pics??? ;)

Yeah... about that... I forgot the camera inside the Jeep and wasn't going to lower it from the lift just to get the camera... :( I do have "after" pics though :)

It definitely has an extra inch of clearance, now the poor exhaust hangs down all by itself! I also like how in addition to the actual inch gained, the end also ramps up! This skid is beefy!

Side Shot:
http://jeep.matandtiff.com/images/dsc03391.jpg
Back/Clearance Shot:
http://jeep.matandtiff.com/images/dsc03392.jpg

Cool man! I see that you still have your skid plate/trailer hitch on there for ultimate protection! :D

Cool man! I see that you still have your skid plate/trailer hitch on there for ultimate protection! :D

In fact... it was a little bit in the way for removing the old, and installing the new skid. I thought about busting out the grinder, but I already had gas everywhere from pulling the lines , so I passed. I need the hitch, so it stays until I buy a bumper with an integrated hitch!