skid plate install turned engine mount install

Well i got a used but new skid plate and thought it would be a simple install. However i neglected to pay attention and i have spacers on my cross member. I also saw that the t-case was lower and hitting.






So i looked for what could be causing that and the trany support looks ok but this is what the driver side motor mount looks like. The pass. side is cracked all the way through.






Heres my questions.

Is it bad to drive it the way it is, with the engine mount and t-case the way they are?

What else would cause the t-case to drop like that?

and Is that skid plate not going to work?

Its not really "bad" unless its really annoying you and keeping you from installing your skid plate . The construction of the XJs motor mounts have then surrounded in metal so its not going to drop your engine on the ground like some motor mounts. I would change them anyway, theyre bad and theyre easy to change. It will make your jeep seem smoother too. I was putting in another thread that you can get both of them shipped for $20 from rock auto. Or you can get lift motor mounts from brown dog or someone else but its pretty espensive if u aks me.

you don't want to drive it like that. Basically all the weight, pushing towards the rear of the drivetrain, is all on the tranny mount. I would fix that before you do anything else.

whitneyj said:

you don't want to drive it like that. Basically all the weight, pushing towards the rear of the drivetrain, is all on the tranny mount. I would fix that before you do anything else.

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The driveline doesn't 'push' on the rear end at all. The only rear end movement you get is the up and down movement of the pinion from accel and decel. The engine and trans wants to twist, not push.

igotanxj said:

The driveline doesn't 'push' on the rear end at all. The only rear end movement you get is the up and down movement of the pinion from accel and decel. The engine and trans wants to twist, not push.

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thats good to know, but what do you think about the skid plat, can i still use it if i space it down? will the engine mount fix, fix the t-case angle?

Yes.

The drivetrain is angled upward toward the front of the vehicle. Gravity want's to pull it backward. I agree that it's the twisting motion that'll do the most damage, but as far as the tcase sitting farther back on the crossmember, I'd say it's definately from the motor mounts.

And fix the mounts. They are like $15 each and not very hard to replace.

pb_beaker said:

Heres my questions.

Is it bad to drive it the way it is, with the engine mount and t-case the way they are?

What else would cause the t-case to drop like that?

and Is that skid plate not going to work?

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Yes... you can put the clutch fan through the radiator should the engine shift forward (and before someone says it can't happen.... I know of someone that did it).... also trashed mounts like that will speed up the exhaust manifold cracks (though by now it's probably too late to save the latter).

It looks like you have a Renix. If I am correct, you will have to remove the oil filter adapter to change the motor mounts. Go ahead and get new o-rings so you can change them when you have the adapter off the block.

Jess said:

It looks like you have a Renix. If I am correct, you will have to remove the oil filter adapter to change the motor mounts. Go ahead and get new o-rings so you can change them when you have the adapter off the block.

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You still have to do that on some HO blocks also. It wasnt until 96(maybe) until they were sideways instead of upside down.

Jess said:

It looks like you have a Renix. If I am correct, you will have to remove the oil filter adapter to change the motor mounts. Go ahead and get new o-rings so you can change them when you have the adapter off the block.

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thats what your told but its not true

anyway yes replace the mounts i just did mine a month ago(looked like yours except what was left of the rubber on my driver side fell out on the ride home after hunting trip where i discovered the lack of motor mounts) and it improved everything drastically 90% of my vibes and noise disappeared and do yourself a favour and spend the extra on the aftermarket mount be it browndog or M.O.R.E(J600) i went with the MORE bombproof and they were easy to install aside from my incredibly scary wood blocks/planks holding the engine up

and back to my previous statement about the previous not being true the instructions say this and so will some people but thats if you tackle it from the top, when i did mine i unbolted from the fenders and the the brackets right off the block(from below) made it much easier and i didnt have to do the messy oil filter removal and do one side at a time start with the driver

BTW i am still running my 1" cross member drop only cause do to previous trailfixes and repairs drivers side is partially welded to my sub frame and has bolts coming through from the cab so its not coming of and i see no reason to as it hasnt caused any probs

i dont care what anyone says it was a pita ! on a renix you definatly need to remove the oil filter adpter. the orings are a dealer item . browndog is local for you btw and has aswome coustomer service. if you need some help give me a holler .

get a trans mount while you're at it

brown dog, definately the way to go. go for the rubber bushings.

great choice in skid plates too

chrslefty said:

i dont care what anyone says it was a pita ! on a renix you definatly need to remove the oil filter adpter. the orings are a dealer item . browndog is local for you btw and has aswome coustomer service. if you need some help give me a holler .

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no you dont have to remover the oil filter adapter if you go about it the way i explained i know this cause i too have a renix 4.0L and just did it a month ago

Here is what i did to accomadate my dropped crossmember. It is all bolt on so the skid can still be used after a sye install and drop removed.

Kejtar said:

Yes... you can put the clutch fan through the radiator should the engine shift forward (and before someone says it can't happen.... I know of someone that did it).... also trashed mounts like that will speed up the exhaust manifold cracks (though by now it's probably too late to save the latter).

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Is that someone me? Because it happened to me.

More likely with a 5-speed I think, but still possible with an automatic.

Buy some good mounts like MORE or Browndog and don't worry about doing them again.

mud-dog27 said:

no you dont have to remover the oil filter adapter if you go about it the way i explained i know this cause i too have a renix 4.0L and just did it a month ago

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my bad ! after rereading yes you can go that route . but the orings are not that expensive and in a lot of cases need to be redone anyways .

Turfzilla said:

Here is what i did to accomadate my dropped crossmember. It is all bolt on so the skid can still be used after a sye install and drop removed.

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thanks for the pic, thats what ill have to do, and that of course if the new tranny and motor mounts raise the t-case.

BTW. what do you mean "skid can still be used after a sye install and drop removed"? I am looking into doing the SYE and have not heard about removing the drop.

pb_beaker said:

thanks for the pic, thats what ill have to do, and that of course if the new tranny and motor mounts raise the t-case.

BTW. what do you mean "skid can still be used after a sye install and drop removed"? I am looking into doing the SYE and have not heard about removing the drop.

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I think he means the way he added on to the skid is removable so if you wanted to bolt the plate up the original way, you could.