JCR skidplate to driveline clearance issue

[Speedy_RCW]

:thinking: I dont see how that drain plug hole could be correct. :naw: I have been thinking about getting one of their bumpers for my project as well, but second guessing them more and more. :naw:

Seriously. I thought I'd swapped the front brackets or something. Nope. This is just how shitty it fit. I won't be buying any JCR products in the future. Called this morning and left a message. Still haven't heard anything so called again. Went to voicemail again. Awesome customer service.

Use a plumb bob to figure out the perfect angle hill to park on when changing your oil, then the oil will shoot right out of the hole. :crazy eyes:

Seriously, that sucks and I agree you shouldn't have to make major modifications to get something to fit right.

Haha. 21.3 degrees and I'm good. Shit I'm not a scientist man. Haha.

 

[Speedy_RCW]

So I got a response from tech support. They asked for pictures. Then the response was to loosen everything up, push the skid over as far as I can, tighten the crossmember bolts, then tighten the front brackets. By design of the piece, this would put the front brackets so far from being lined up its not even funny. If I'm going to use the provided brackets, I'm going to heat them up and bend them till they fit properly. Anyways, I basically said "are you kidding me". Keep you posted on responses.

 

[Jmjnewbold]

So I got a response from tech support. They asked for pictures. Then the response was to loosen everything up, push the skid over as far as I can, tighten the crossmember bolts, then tighten the front brackets. By design of the piece, this would put the front brackets so far from being lined up its not even funny. If I'm going to use the provided brackets, I'm going to heat them up and bend them till they fit properly. Anyways, I basically said "are you kidding me". Keep you posted on responses.

That's ridiculous! In all my time as a manufacturer trained dealership technician I've never seen a repair instruction say, "loosen everything and push on it really hard." If it's broken or misaligned you fix it! You make it right! Not blow your customers off.

 

[TFD]

Yea, my thoughts exactly. I mean a little fitting is no big deal but this is ridiculous. Here's a shot of how the drain plug lined up with the hole in the skid plate. Snapped this in the process of modifying the skid so I could actually change the oil without making a mess.
View attachment 202570

That's crazy. It looks like they designed the hole going In the wrong direction. Here's a pic of mine

 

[Speedy_RCW]

So, small update on this. Still fucked. I adjusted this thing as far over as it will go. It's not going any further unless I wallow out the crossmember bolt holes on the skid. Brackets fit like shit as it is. Flexed out today and the pinion flange still hits. Sent another email to JCR. I'm giving them the chance to make it right before I go cutting and bending on the brackets. Here's a couple pics. It would probably clear fine if I went to a standard pinion yoke instead of the flange but that's not the point. I don't like spending money on shit that doesn't work as advertised. Oh and get this, I tell the JCR guy about how the drain plug doesn't line up with the hole in the skid (i posted about that earlier) and he tells me it's designed to be offset so a long pointy rock won't stick through the hole and hit the drain plug. WTF? I said, why even put a hole there if that's the case.....so you offset the hole so this freak of a rock can hit the oil pan instead of the drain plug? He said, we did it that way based on past experience with it being centered under the drain plug. I call bullshit but whatever.

 

[Speedy_RCW]

That's crazy. It looks like they designed the hole going In the wrong direction. Here's a pic of mine View attachment 202686

This is a JCR skidplate? Did you have any fitment issues? Any rubbing at or near full flex?

 

[piginajeep]

So, small update on this. Still fucked. I adjusted this thing as far over as it will go. It's not going any further unless I wallow out the crossmember bolt holes on the skid. Brackets fit like shit as it is. Flexed out today and the pinion flange still hits. Sent another email to JCR. I'm giving them the chance to make it right before I go cutting and bending on the brackets. Here's a couple pics. It would probably clear fine if I went to a standard pinion yoke instead of the flange but that's not the point. I don't like spending money on shit that doesn't work as advertised. Oh and get this, I tell the JCR guy about how the drain plug doesn't line up with the hole in the skid (i posted about that earlier) and he tells me it's designed to be offset so a long pointy rock won't stick through the hole and hit the drain plug. WTF? I said, why evened put a hole there if that's the case.....so you offset the hole so this freak of a rock can hit the oil pan instead of the drain plug? He said, we did it that way based on past experience with it being centered under the drain plug. I call bullshit but whatever.

The easiest way to make clearance is to switch out the driveshaft flange for a yoke. When I worked at Purejeep we required this for our fuel tank skids. There's just not a lot of room. Or we adjusted the track bar enough to pull the away from the tank.

 

[Speedy_RCW]

UPDATE- JCR got back to me today and said that based on all the information we've been shooting back and forth they realized there is a design flaw in their current skid. They are now in the process of redesigning the skid and when finished will be shipping me a new one. They said it will be 2-3 weeks at the most. After being pretty dissatisfied with everything that was going on and thinking I was just getting passed off from tech to tech, it's nice to know they were actually taking everything I was saying into consideration. At this point they seem to be back on my good side. I'll keep you guys posted on what happens from here but they're telling me it will be a complete redesign and not just a redesigned bracket.

 

[WJCO]

UPDATE- JCR got back to me today and said that based on all the information we've been shooting back and forth they realized there is a design flaw in their current skid. They are now in the process of redesigning the skid and when finished will be shipping me a new one. They said it will be 2-3 weeks at the most. After being pretty dissatisfied with everything that was going on and thinking I was just getting passed off from tech to tech, it's nice to know they were actually taking everything I was saying into consideration. At this point they seem to be back on my good side. I'll keep you guys posted on what happens from here but they're telling me it will be a complete redesign and not just a redesigned bracket.

Good to hear. Hope it works out.

 

[wayoflife]

UPDATE- JCR got back to me today and said that based on all the information we've been shooting back and forth they realized there is a design flaw in their current skid. They are now in the process of redesigning the skid and when finished will be shipping me a new one. They said it will be 2-3 weeks at the most. After being pretty dissatisfied with everything that was going on and thinking I was just getting passed off from tech to tech, it's nice to know they were actually taking everything I was saying into consideration. At this point they seem to be back on my good side. I'll keep you guys posted on what happens from here but they're telling me it will be a complete redesign and not just a redesigned bracket.

Call me a cynic but more than likely, this thread got found their way over to them and so they're finally addressing it like they should have from the very beginning. Of course, time is money to me and even if they do get you a replacement, you're going to have to uninstall and then reinstall a new skid on your time and dime and all because of their "design flaw". But, if you're happy, that's all that really matters. :yup:

 

[Speedy_RCW]

Call me a cynic but more than likely, this thread got found their way over to them and so they're finally addressing it like they should have from the very beginning. Of course, time is money to me and even if they do get you a replacement, you're going to have to uninstall and then reinstall a new skid on your time and dime and all because of their "design flaw". But, if you're happy, that's all that really matters. :yup:

Oh yea, don't get me wrong, the whole thing sucks and time was definitely wasted on a product that didn't fit. But I am happy to have a resolution that isn't going to cost me any more money like it was going to. Well, let me rephrase....I WILL be happy if it is indeed a resolution. Time will tell. And I guess it will be a mystery if this thread is what lit the fire. But even if so, hopefully the redesign will help others that may purchase this skid in the future so they don't have the same problems I did.

 

[Speedy_RCW]

Well I received the replacement skid last week and finally got around to installing today. The "redesign" is they narrowed it down a couple inches and modified the brackets to fit. The fitment is much better this time around. The brackets actually fit together flat with the skid and the frame mounts, but the access hole still doesn't quite line up just like on the old skid. I mentioned that earlier in this thread about how the said its supposed to be that way. So I may modify this one like I did on the old one to make oil changes a little easier and less messy. But the biggest gain is that I no longer have clearance issues with the front pinion flange. Haven't wheeled it yet but grabbed the forklift and flexed each front tire up until I was against the bumpstops and there's plenty of clearance. So yeah it sucked to have to go through all that and waste time but at least I have a skid that fits now. Here's a pic of the old next to the new.