2nd Gen Skid Plates, Under Body Protection
In stock (can be backordered)
*UPDATE – May 23rd, 2023* 2nd Generation Aluminum Under Body Protection Skid Plates are in stock and ready to ship. Pictures coming soon.
Slide over rocks and through the mud without getting stuck, with these 1/4 inch thick 2ng gen skid plates. These aftermarket skid plates extend beyond the factory H3 Hummer Under Body Protection 4-foot long and 2-foot wide. Completely protecting the transmission and transfer case from damage. The skid plates come powder coated black, and with brackets for mounting. Huge, flat, and smooth, these skid plates truly shine in the deep mud or snow helping you to easily slide on down the trail, when the 35″ tire just can’t quite reach the ground.
Complete Parts List Includes
- Transmission Skid Plate (Quantity 1) ~45lb.
- Transfer Case Skid Plate (Quantity 1) ~40lb.
- Flanged Hex Head, 1/2″-13 Thread Size, 3-1/2″ Long, Grade 8, Black-Phosphate, Steel Bolt (Quantity 3)
- Flanged Hex Nut, 1/2″-13 Thread Size, Grade 8, Black-Phosphate, Steel Nut (Quantity 3)
Required Tools
- Drill / Screw Gun
- Nickel Anti-Seize
- PB Blaster
- 1/2 Inch Drill Bit
- Large Crescent Wrench
- 3/4-Inch 6-Sided Socket and Wrench
- A car jack, the one in the rear tailgate will work
Installation
- Not all of the factory gas tank skid plate bolts need to be removed.
- The rearward skid plate, or “Transfer Case Skid Plate” goes between the gas tank and the gas tank skid plate.
- Before removing any bolt, apply plenty of PB Blaster before removing. Especially, the factory gas tank skid plate bolts. I didn’t, and I sheered the head off one of those bolts making this a much bigger project than it needed to be.
- Apply Anti-Size to each and every bolt before starting to thread it in. I didn’t do this and had to angle grind the head of a couple of bolts off which destroy a skid plate set in the process.
- A day or two prior to installation, spraying down the factory skid plate bolts with PB Blaster. Specifically, the gas tank skid plate bolts. Do what it takes to get PB Blaster on those threads.
- Start by dropping the factory differential skid plate and transfer case skid plate. They’re the color black and made of steel.
- Very carefully and slowly back out only the front half gas tank skid plate bolts. I recommend only backing them out 1-3 complete turns at a time. Apply some PB Blaster. Ratchet those bolts back in all the way. Repeat this process, slowly going further each and every time.
- Now we need to bolt up the “Transmission Skid Plate” and “Transfer Case Skid Plate” using the factory bolts that on the H3 Hummer so that we can find three holes to drill out. I recommend using a car jack to help support one skid plate at a time in the air while starting threading the factory bolts. It helps to not ratchet the factory bolt all the way down until all 5 of the factory bolts are threaded in at least 4 complete turns.
- Once the “Transmission Skid Plate” and “Transfer Case Skid Plate” are aligned correctly and bolted tightly to the frame using the factory bolts you’ll have three bolt holes that need to be drilled out. The three holes are labeled with laser etched text on the skid plates “Drill 1/2” marking where to drill all the way through the top of the cross-members.
- Ensure that the “Transfer Case Skid Plate” sitting tight against the frame before drilling. It may need to be bent slightly up using a car jack to ensure a proper fit.
- With the “1/2 Inch Drill Bit” and a “Screw Gun”, drill those three holes using the skid plates as guides so that the perfect hole is drilled.
- Apply a small bit of Nickel Anti-Seize to the inside threads of the three Flanged Hex Nuts. This will make the removal of the skid plates much easier in the future.
- Insert the Flanged Hex Head Bolts so the threads are pointed up to the Hummer’s body and tighten down using the Flanged Hex Nuts to about 80-Foot/LBs. Having the threads pointed up towards the sky will reduce the potential snag hazard off-road.
- Finally, tighten all the factory skid plate bolts down approximately 30-40 ft./lb of torque. Then go through and double-check every bolt once again for the proper amount of torque.
If you’re having trouble understanding the installation steps, send an email so that I can fix any mistakes.