- May 25, 2022
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- Current Ride
- 2022 Bronco Raptor
- Current Ride #2
- 2023 Land Rover Defender 110
Part 2 is the actual install of the skids.
The install was kind of a pain (for me) figuring out what to do but it actually wasn’t really difficult to actually do once I figured it out. The pain arose from the old instructions which refer to parts which aren’t provided or used for the Raptor, unclear on how much I actually need to loosen/drop the gas tank skid and that I am a crappy mechanic and hesitant to take a chance at creating further complications in the face of uncertainty. However throughout the process Greg Foutz and team were responsive and helpful.
As i referred to above the previous instructions were not helpful and actually impeded progress at several points. I’m a terrible mechanic, so I need good instructions to follow. So I’ll try to lay out things as detailed as possible below for others like me. This wasn’t hard once I knew I had the right hardware, where it was intended to go and what I needed to do to get the passenger skid on.
the instructions have been improved since I started, but there are still some quirks.
Hardware: You should receive a driver and passenger skid, four bolts and two nut plates which install on the drivers skid and a bolt, washer and my lock nut which are used on the passenger skid. See pic below.
Tools: The Foutz hardware is all 1/2“ so you’ll need a ratchet and combo wrench in that size. You’ll need a breaker bar and/or ratchet, 12” extension with 18mm socket for the gas tank skid bolts and 24 mm socket for the rear link bolts. Also an adjustable wrench for the nut on the rear link. A hammer to encourage the pivot bolt to move may be required. A hacksaw or sawzall with blade to cut the flag on both pivot bolts.
A pair of needle nose vise grips to hold the inside drivers nut plate in place while you thread the bolts in was very handy. See pic below.
T25 bit to remove the passenger side bolt cover (The smaller the better, limited room on one bolt). I taped my T25 bit inside a 1/4” box end wrench to be as low profile as possible. See pic below.
A small standard screwdriver to remove and replace the shock controller cover on the passenger side.
If you have a lift, congrats. If not, a jack and jack stands tall enough to get the rear tire(s) in full droop. I did one at a time, but I think it might work better getting both rear wheels in full droop simultaneously.
And finally a transmission stand if your using a lift or a floor jack and some wood (or other support) to support the gas tank and tank skid on the passenger side install.
Drivers side install:
1. Get the driver side or both tires fully drooped with jack and stands. No need to remove the tire.
2. Loosen the rear link nut using 24mm socket and adjustable wrench until it’s almost off.
3. Push (or encourage with the hammer) the Rear link bolt inward until the nut stops progress. I found that this was MUCH easier to push in full droop vs. less than full droop.
4. Using your hacksaw/sawzall cut part of the flag end off the rear link bolt so that the bolt can be rotated and there is enough flag left to still function as intended once rotated out of the way of where the skid bracket will mount. Rotate the flag out of the way. There is a picture of this in the instructions
5. Tighten the rear link bolt to mfg torque specifications taking care to ensure the flag stays in the correct spot as you tighten
6. Fit the skid in place. I put a couple of bolts/washers through the holes on the back to hold the skid in place while inserted the outer nut plate and threaded the two bolts into it. The nut plate has a “handle” making this fairly easy. Tighten the bolts.
7. The nut plate that goes inside the bracket on the inside of the frame was a little more challenging. I locked the “handle” in my needle nose vise grips to hold the plate while I threaded the bolts/washers. Tighten the bolts
8. You’re done on this side. Yes, there is nothing that bolts the leading “tongue“ on the bracket to the frame. See pic below.
9. You’re done on the easy side. Not too bad.
Passenger side install:
1. Get the driver side or both tires fully drooped with jack and stands. No need to remove the tire.
2. Using the T25 bit remove both bolts holding the rear link bolt cover on. You can use a ratchet on the first one, but I needed my custom taped together wrench and bit to remove the tougher one. This will not be used again.
2. Loosen the rear link nut using 24 mm socket and adjustable wrench until it’s almost off.
3. Push (or encourage, using the hammer) the Rear link bolt in until the nut stops progress. I found that this was MUCH easier to push in full droop vs. less than full droop.
4. Using your hacksaw/sawzall cut the flag end off the rear link bolt so that the bolt can be rotated and there is enough flag left to still function as intended once it is rotated out of the way of where the skid bracket will mount. Rotate it out of the way of the skid bracket. Note: Foutz instructions picture shows the flag rotated, but they removed the bolt and reversed its direction previously. Yours won't look like this.
5. Tighten the rear link bolt to mfg torque specifications
6. Remove the plastic cover over the shock controller using the small screwdriver to gently release the clips. This cover removes easily.
7. Now you are going to partially drop the tank and tank skid to put the skid on. After getting supports set up 4“ to 5" below the rear of the gas tank skid and getting the floor jack supporting the tank skid, use the 18 mm socket to remove all but the two front bolts on the gas tank skid. Loosen those two bolts as much as possible without removing them. This keeps the gas tank and skid up at that end, but allows the tank skid to allow more room for the installation.
8. Lower the floor jack just enough to allow you to slide the skid "tongue" between the frame and the gas tank skid while also slipping it over the frame bracket. You'll need about 4" to 5" separation between the gas tank skid and frame to accomplish this. Don't drop the tank too far!! If you drop it too far it may result in issues with filler hose and other equipment
9. Once you have the skid in place install the provided bolt, washer and nylock nut using a 1/2" socket and 1/2" wrench. Orientation and location is pretty obvious.
10. Raise the tank and tank skid close to its original height and reinstall all the bolts, then tighten them down. This will bolt down the "tongue" of the skid. Yes, there are only two pieces of hardware holding this on. However the fit on the skid and the gas tank skid hold this in place surprisingly well
11. Reinstall the plastic shock controller cover. Use the screwdriver to ensure clips are engaged.
12. Lower the vehicle. You're done.
I've captured all this from memory, so it might not be perfect. But this should be pretty complete and fairly accurate. Like I said it wasn't hard to do once knew what needed to get done.
this is all the hardware you should receive despite instructions…. It’s pretty obvious which nut plate goes where and the correct orientation. The new instructions have good drawings too.
New orientation of the flag on the drivers side
Using the vise grips to hold the nut plate while threading screws
The passenger side rear link bolt cover and the impromptu T25 wrench
The modification of the tongue to allow the drivers skid to lay flat on the frame next to my RCI slider bracket. This was not necessary on the passenger side.
The install was kind of a pain (for me) figuring out what to do but it actually wasn’t really difficult to actually do once I figured it out. The pain arose from the old instructions which refer to parts which aren’t provided or used for the Raptor, unclear on how much I actually need to loosen/drop the gas tank skid and that I am a crappy mechanic and hesitant to take a chance at creating further complications in the face of uncertainty. However throughout the process Greg Foutz and team were responsive and helpful.
As i referred to above the previous instructions were not helpful and actually impeded progress at several points. I’m a terrible mechanic, so I need good instructions to follow. So I’ll try to lay out things as detailed as possible below for others like me. This wasn’t hard once I knew I had the right hardware, where it was intended to go and what I needed to do to get the passenger skid on.
the instructions have been improved since I started, but there are still some quirks.
Hardware: You should receive a driver and passenger skid, four bolts and two nut plates which install on the drivers skid and a bolt, washer and my lock nut which are used on the passenger skid. See pic below.
Tools: The Foutz hardware is all 1/2“ so you’ll need a ratchet and combo wrench in that size. You’ll need a breaker bar and/or ratchet, 12” extension with 18mm socket for the gas tank skid bolts and 24 mm socket for the rear link bolts. Also an adjustable wrench for the nut on the rear link. A hammer to encourage the pivot bolt to move may be required. A hacksaw or sawzall with blade to cut the flag on both pivot bolts.
A pair of needle nose vise grips to hold the inside drivers nut plate in place while you thread the bolts in was very handy. See pic below.
T25 bit to remove the passenger side bolt cover (The smaller the better, limited room on one bolt). I taped my T25 bit inside a 1/4” box end wrench to be as low profile as possible. See pic below.
A small standard screwdriver to remove and replace the shock controller cover on the passenger side.
If you have a lift, congrats. If not, a jack and jack stands tall enough to get the rear tire(s) in full droop. I did one at a time, but I think it might work better getting both rear wheels in full droop simultaneously.
And finally a transmission stand if your using a lift or a floor jack and some wood (or other support) to support the gas tank and tank skid on the passenger side install.
Drivers side install:
1. Get the driver side or both tires fully drooped with jack and stands. No need to remove the tire.
2. Loosen the rear link nut using 24mm socket and adjustable wrench until it’s almost off.
3. Push (or encourage with the hammer) the Rear link bolt inward until the nut stops progress. I found that this was MUCH easier to push in full droop vs. less than full droop.
4. Using your hacksaw/sawzall cut part of the flag end off the rear link bolt so that the bolt can be rotated and there is enough flag left to still function as intended once rotated out of the way of where the skid bracket will mount. Rotate the flag out of the way. There is a picture of this in the instructions
5. Tighten the rear link bolt to mfg torque specifications taking care to ensure the flag stays in the correct spot as you tighten
6. Fit the skid in place. I put a couple of bolts/washers through the holes on the back to hold the skid in place while inserted the outer nut plate and threaded the two bolts into it. The nut plate has a “handle” making this fairly easy. Tighten the bolts.
7. The nut plate that goes inside the bracket on the inside of the frame was a little more challenging. I locked the “handle” in my needle nose vise grips to hold the plate while I threaded the bolts/washers. Tighten the bolts
8. You’re done on this side. Yes, there is nothing that bolts the leading “tongue“ on the bracket to the frame. See pic below.
9. You’re done on the easy side. Not too bad.
Passenger side install:
1. Get the driver side or both tires fully drooped with jack and stands. No need to remove the tire.
2. Using the T25 bit remove both bolts holding the rear link bolt cover on. You can use a ratchet on the first one, but I needed my custom taped together wrench and bit to remove the tougher one. This will not be used again.
2. Loosen the rear link nut using 24 mm socket and adjustable wrench until it’s almost off.
3. Push (or encourage, using the hammer) the Rear link bolt in until the nut stops progress. I found that this was MUCH easier to push in full droop vs. less than full droop.
4. Using your hacksaw/sawzall cut the flag end off the rear link bolt so that the bolt can be rotated and there is enough flag left to still function as intended once it is rotated out of the way of where the skid bracket will mount. Rotate it out of the way of the skid bracket. Note: Foutz instructions picture shows the flag rotated, but they removed the bolt and reversed its direction previously. Yours won't look like this.
5. Tighten the rear link bolt to mfg torque specifications
6. Remove the plastic cover over the shock controller using the small screwdriver to gently release the clips. This cover removes easily.
7. Now you are going to partially drop the tank and tank skid to put the skid on. After getting supports set up 4“ to 5" below the rear of the gas tank skid and getting the floor jack supporting the tank skid, use the 18 mm socket to remove all but the two front bolts on the gas tank skid. Loosen those two bolts as much as possible without removing them. This keeps the gas tank and skid up at that end, but allows the tank skid to allow more room for the installation.
8. Lower the floor jack just enough to allow you to slide the skid "tongue" between the frame and the gas tank skid while also slipping it over the frame bracket. You'll need about 4" to 5" separation between the gas tank skid and frame to accomplish this. Don't drop the tank too far!! If you drop it too far it may result in issues with filler hose and other equipment
9. Once you have the skid in place install the provided bolt, washer and nylock nut using a 1/2" socket and 1/2" wrench. Orientation and location is pretty obvious.
10. Raise the tank and tank skid close to its original height and reinstall all the bolts, then tighten them down. This will bolt down the "tongue" of the skid. Yes, there are only two pieces of hardware holding this on. However the fit on the skid and the gas tank skid hold this in place surprisingly well
11. Reinstall the plastic shock controller cover. Use the screwdriver to ensure clips are engaged.
12. Lower the vehicle. You're done.
I've captured all this from memory, so it might not be perfect. But this should be pretty complete and fairly accurate. Like I said it wasn't hard to do once knew what needed to get done.
this is all the hardware you should receive despite instructions…. It’s pretty obvious which nut plate goes where and the correct orientation. The new instructions have good drawings too.
New orientation of the flag on the drivers side
Using the vise grips to hold the nut plate while threading screws
The passenger side rear link bolt cover and the impromptu T25 wrench
The modification of the tongue to allow the drivers skid to lay flat on the frame next to my RCI slider bracket. This was not necessary on the passenger side.
