I was recently sent this nifty holiday price list from Rubicon Express, and in it was a pic of the 5.5 extreme duty TJ kit, but I noticed it had a new T case skid. It appears they addressed the common complaint that everyone had about working on drivetrain without droping the suspension. It had the norrmal skid in a 3 piece design. Has anyone seen this new skid and know exactly how this works, I mean it seams obvious, but I just thought someone on here might have some picts of it or something.
Thanks,
Alex:beer:

I've been running it for about 6 mos. It is GREAT! No more dropping the suspension BS in order to service the Jeep.

Basically, its about 20 flush mounted bolts that attach to 2 'wings' that support the suspension.

The center section drops out.

Seth

Yea I saw it back in April. Very cool. Like stated above, there are a bunch of threaded inserts that look to be pressed in and hold the 3 piece member together. Looks beefy.

I wish I could say I was running mine, but at least it's on. It seems to work pretty good since I installed the suspension and then started putting in the 700R4 tranny. I welded a couple of 5/8" nuts on the stock RE tranny support plate to bolt on an AA tranny mount for the 700R4. My only complaint is that the center section is a little tight going in and out due to torsion on the frame from the weight of the vehicle. This might not hold true with all Jeeps since they all have different little quarks from manufacturing. I have to start a couple of bolts on one side and use a BFScrewdriver to pry it into place. I then need to start as many bolts as possible and tighten them down all together to try and center it. Other than that, I like it.

This is all new to me I guess then. I was debating on replacing my 4" tera short arm kit with the rockkrawler kit or the rubicon one and was dissapointed at first that I couldnt really work on the drivetrain with ease on the RE kit. But I am happy to see them address this problem. It seams to be the only real problem with the kit that I saw. I wouldn't mind getting rid of the trac bar in the back, but I hear its not as much of a problem in the long arm kits as it is in the short arm ones.

Hey Jim,

when I installed my R/E skid I ground a good 1/8" off the edges of the skid to make it fit better.

I think every jeep is abit different in width.

- Dan

I have the old RE skid. Does the new one fit using the existing holes in the frame?

RE wants a lot for the new skid, but it might be worth it???

It fits into the existing holes, but you have to add two 1" holes to each side fo rthe skid. Then three 1" holes on each side for the cross member bracket. THey give you all of the hardware.

You just need a drill. Also has tranny mounts for Auto and Manual. No need to fab anything

Very nice product and easy to install. Did mine last weekend.:smokin:

codyc's question was does the new RE skid work with the holes from the OLD RE skid, not the stock skid. Answer is yes - as long as you don't have an early proto like I do.

Paul

does anyone have a picture of this new skid?

Here you go:

http://wsphotofews.excite.com/020/HI/Gl/it/js41655.jpg


http://wsphotofews.excite.com/009/Vg/Ob/tq/jy98955.jpg

HTH

whoa.hey....now that thing is pretty darn manly if you ask me!
I'm sold.

how much $?

I think that it is around $450.00!! Yep, just checked my invoice, $449.50:D

That looks pretty cool.
I was concerned about fabbing a tranny mount in the right location for the Atlas, I'll be putting the lift in by myself in about 10 months or so. Looks like I can just unbolt the tranny mount from the RE skid, bolt it up to the poly mount under the Atlas, raise the RE skid into place, bolt it there, and reach in and mark where it rests. I could then unbolt everything and working on the floor put the RE tranny mount on the RE skid where I marked, tack it there, double check by rasing it into position, take it back off and finish welding it, drill pilot holes down though the RE skid using the tranny mount I just welded on as a template, and hole saw out those holes so I can access the tranny mount bolts from underneath.
Maybe add some angle iron here and there to gusset.
Sound like a plan?

Originally posted by Lucy's Driver
That looks pretty cool.
I was concerned about fabbing a tranny mount in the right location for the Atlas, I'll be putting the lift in by myself in about 10 months or so. Looks like I can just unbolt the tranny mount from the RE skid, bolt it up to the poly mount under the Atlas, raise the RE skid into place, bolt it there, and reach in and mark where it rests. I could then unbolt everything and working on the floor put the RE tranny mount on the RE skid where I marked, tack it there, double check by rasing it into position, take it back off and finish welding it, drill pilot holes down though the RE skid using the tranny mount I just welded on as a template, and hole saw out those holes so I can access the tranny mount bolts from underneath.
Maybe add some angle iron here and there to gusset.
Sound like a plan?

Sounds like it could work, but I had real problems with mine fitting. SOme people I've talked to haven't had a problem. I had clearence problems even with a 2" body lift. The stock tranny mount was absolutely squashed and I didn't see any way it was going to hold up. I had the Atlas clocked as flat as it would go (about 7 degrees). I was looking into making a new mount for the AX-15 when I thought I might as well put in my 700-R4 now and make one mount instead of two. All I ended up doing is getting the AA tranny mount for the 700-R4 and it sat right on top of the stock RE tranny plate in the back hole section that was intended for the AX-15. I welded a couple of 5/8" heavy duty nuts to the plate between the skid and the tranny plate and the 5/8" bolts go through the poly bushings into the welded on nuts. Sorry I don't have my pictures of this developed yet.

20 Bolts to drop your skid plate! It's pretty easy to fab up brackets that attach to you FRAME or even bolt on the frame before your stock style skidplate. Doesn't 20 bolts seem like a waste of time to anyone?

Now come on....you already have 6 bolts to a stock skid, so is 14 more that big of a deal? I would bust out the air tools if I was doing something like that anyway.:beer:

Originally posted by orbitcat


Sounds like it could work, but I had real problems with mine fitting. SOme people I've talked to haven't had a problem. I had clearence problems even with a 2" body lift. The stock tranny mount was absolutely squashed and I didn't see any way it was going to hold up. I had the Atlas clocked as flat as it would go (about 7 degrees). I was looking into making a new mount for the AX-15 when I thought I might as well put in my 700-R4 now and make one mount instead of two. All I ended up doing is getting the AA tranny mount for the 700-R4 and it sat right on top of the stock RE tranny plate in the back hole section that was intended for the AX-15. I welded a couple of 5/8" heavy duty nuts to the plate between the skid and the tranny plate and the 5/8" bolts go through the poly bushings into the welded on nuts. Sorry I don't have my pictures of this developed yet.

Right now the Atlas sits on a belly up style skid that gains me about and inch and a half over stock - its not flush, it sits down off the frame rails maybe and inch, inch and a quarter.
I have a one inch body lift, clocked the Atlas as flat as possible, and did a lot of tub bashing to make it fit.