Modify Shrockworks Rad Skid For Easier Access / Removal?

outback97

Wheeling
Supporting Member
Location
SLC, Utah
I had to pull off my Shrock radiator skid this weekend and I had forgotten how annoying it is to remove. The slots on the front to access the lower sway bar busing bolts are only big enough for an extension. You have to find your shallowest socket, and fish it into place. Then, when you loosen the lower bolts, the socket gets backed against the skid plate and you can't remove it to loosen the other side. So you have to tighten it back in enough to get the socket out but not too much so that it's too tight to slide the skid down later.

I thought of a couple options to make this easier.

Option 1 would be to cut the access holes larger. This would slightly compromise the strength of the skid plate, and would allow more debris to get in there, but if the hole were large enough you could just get a socket on it from the front.

Option 2 would be to use a different fastener that didn't require a socket. Hex drive, square drive, torx, other? I need to figure out the size and thread pitch on the bolts to see what's available. Oddly enough 3/4 of mine have a 17mm head and the fourth is 19mm IIRC.

I was wondering if anyone else had modified this, or has any other suggestions.

IMG_1139.jpg
larger-access-hole.jpg
fastener-options.jpg

Edited to add: Stock bumper. No interest in removing front sway bar since this has become my wife's daily driver most of the time.
 
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IM1RU

Skid Plates
Supporting Member
Location
SLC, UT
Must be a different version of the Rad skid than I have. Mine has a totally separate mounting plate that is bolted behind the (now permanently removed) sway bar mounts. 6 Bolts and its off... easy.

Wonder why they are different.
 

outback97

Wheeling
Supporting Member
Location
SLC, Utah
Must be a different version of the Rad skid than I have. Mine has a totally separate mounting plate that is bolted behind the (now permanently removed) sway bar mounts. 6 Bolts and its off... easy.

Wonder why they are different.

Hmmm that's odd. It's surprisingly hard to find a good photo showing the mounting "fingers" on the rear of the radiator skid plate. This is the best I could find. The uninstalled pic is swiped from tnx; the other one is mine and yes I just bought some new sway bar bushings!

Is your rad skid different from this one Rob?

EDIT: Yes it's very different, just checked your build thread. Totally different because bumper. I just have the stock plastic bumper not a Shrock one.
 

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outback97

Wheeling
Supporting Member
Location
SLC, Utah
Finally got around to embiggening the holes in my Shrockworks radiator skid. I figured I should update this since I don't like leaving unresolved threads. Let me just say this was a hack job and not my finest work. I'm sure there would have been better ways of doing this, and to be honest I got impatient and rushed things a bit, which never leads to the best results.

I had a drill press, a jigsaw, and a reciprocating saw to work with. I thought I'd be able to find some decent metal cutting blades for my old U-shank jigsaw, but everything I could find locally was t-shank, so I made do with some cheapo blades meant for thinner metal. I ended up drilling some holes outside of the existing slots, then using the jigsaw to cut between them. Once it was opened up enough to get the reciprocating saw blade in there, I used that to make additional cuts where possible.

IMG_1355-larger-rad-skid-hole.jpg

Here's a pic with a 17mm socket and 1/2" extension placed on the bolt. This larger hole definitely makes it easier to get at that bolt. So, mission accomplished, though it's not exactly pretty.
 
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