TJ Gas Tank 1" Lift and Skid Plate

I recently installed a Mountain Offroad 1" body lift and 1" engine lift on my TJ to correct my driveline angles and to get some extra clearance for the oil pan. For those that don't know, a 1" engine lift will allow you to run at least a 3" suspension lift without having to install a slip yoke eliminator or a transfer case drop kit to reduce driveline vibrations.

Brett from AFM told me one day that his supplier was working on a 1" gas tank lift to go with a 1" or more body lift. Of course I was interested! We placed the order the very next day.

Since my skid plate was a "first run" version, it did not come with instructions. To be honest with you, you don't need them. The installation was very straight forward, pretty much remove the stock unit and install this one exactly where the stocker came off.


Before

The above picture shows my TJ before the installation of the new skid plate. Note that my TJ had a Tomken gas tank skid plate installed at the time the new skid plate arrived. The Tomken unit is very sturdy and installs over your existing gas tank skid plate. This is a bonus for strength, but a bad thing when it comes to clearance. With the Tomken installed, I had 15.75" of clearance from the skid to the floor. With the Tomken skid off and the factory skid plate still installed, I was at 16.5" of clearance.


After

Above you can see my TJ with the new AFM supplied 1" lift plate. With this installed I now have 17.5" of clearance. Exactly 1" more than stock, and almost 2" more than with the Tomken plate.

The installation was very easy. The only suggestion I have is to remove the gas tank filler screws and also remove the black plastic around the filler. This makes it much easier to lower and reinstall the gas tank.

This skid plate is very strong and fits well with the goals I have in mind for my TJ. I only plan on running 33's and the current lift is plenty to clear these tires. Brett (AFM) has also supplied me with rocker skids that were custom made for my 1" body lift. I effectively have much more clearance than what I would normally achieve with a 3" suspension and 1" body lift. This allows me the clearance of a 4" suspension lift (or more) without moving my center of gravity any higher.

The cost of the skid plate from AFM is $199.00. That's only about $30 more than the Tomken unit.

You can read more about my TJ by clicking here.

Contacts:

  • AFM Enterprises
  • Mountain Offroad
  • Tomken

    More Pictures

    The two Jeeps shown have exactly the same lift and tires. The one on the left has the Tomken skid plate, the one on the right is my converted TJ. This is not a trick photo, it was one picture that we cropped to fit better and show the difference better.