Can I avoid dropping the skid to install a Savvy cable shifter?

[Cooper Smith]

Hey guys. I have about a 1-1.5" TC drop on my 2003, which means it didn't have 4lo when I bought it, and recently lost neutral after the bracket bolts that mount to the tub snapped after 20 years in the salt (those bolts are tiny...) I just ordered a Savvy cable shifter, and my question is, can I avoid dropping the skid? My hopes are that the extra inch or so of drop should allow me to get the nuts off on the bracket. I want to avoid any potential spinning rivnuts as much as possible. Any special tricks on the top bolt?

 

[P man]

I know it sucks but drop the skid..ive tried working up there with the skid in place and after getting very annoyed ended up dropping the skid anyways

 

[JuanTJ]

It's a really tight spot and I had to drop the skid in order to get better access to the OEM linkage. However, you can always try it without dropping the skid.

 

[06lj]

It can be done without dropping the skid. I didn't bother to drop mine. It is made significantly easier if you remove the center console and gain access from the top. I did this on mine and it was a simple install that was completed in an evening.

 

[Cooper Smith]

It's a really tight spot and I had to drop the skid in order to get better access to the OEM linkage. However, you can always try it without dropping the skid.

I really hope so. My frame is solid, even at a southern or western standard. The bolts on the skid I did try for shits and giggles did turn without spinning out a rivnut, so worst case scenario ill just grab a floor jack and hold the trans and drop the plate and do it right so my flashlight holder doesn't find a new taste in guys with less colorful vocabulary...

 

[Cooper Smith]

It can be done without dropping the skid. I didn't bother to drop mine. It is made significantly easier if you remove the center console and gain access from the top. I did this on mine and it was a simple install that was completed in an evening.

This is what I was looking for! Thanks! Someone said something about taking the console out before (months ago when i lost neutral) but I forgot what that's it was and couldn't put my finger on it...

 

[06lj]

Here's a picture of the access with the console out. The top nut seems to be a source of frustration for a lot of people. With the console out it is easily removed.

 

[Chris]

Why? Dropping the skid is easy.

 

[zackcj7]

Why? Dropping the skid is easy.

Check his location. Nothing is easy on vehicles in the rust belt

 

[CreepinDeth]

Check his location. Nothing is easy on vehicles in the rust belt

Im in Chicagoland

Its easy no matter where you are with the right tools
Pretty sure most guys with a Jeep own a jack

Theres no snow on the ground last several weeks
Even with snow, I do my oil changes outside

 

[Cooper Smith]

Why? Dropping the skid is easy.

Ohio is why. I have a rivnut kit for my frame laying around somewhere in case my plate ever HAS to come out. Seems easy enough with the right install tool setup. I'd give anything for a southwest Jeep. The brine up here is no joke.

 

[Cooper Smith]

Im in Chicagoland

Its easy no matter where you are with the right tools
Pretty sure most guys with a Jeep own a jack

Theres no snow on the ground last several weeks
Even with snow, I do my oil changes outside

Yup. Right tools does wonders. That said, I don't want to drop the skid if I can avoid it, and it seems I can. I've had the center console out before, I can get it out in no time. Everything's been soaked in blaster twice already since about a week ago and I ordered it about an hour ago.

 

[Cooper Smith]

Check his location. Nothing is easy on vehicles in the rust belt

I miss my 1990 Silverado sometimes. It was an Atlanta truck it's whole life until 2019. Now I stay armed with a MIG welder and a LOT of easy outs

 

[06TJ35's]

I’m going to drop the stock skid plate then install savvy crossmember then install the cable shifter.

 

[NashvilleTJ]

Ohio is why. I have a rivnut kit for my frame laying around somewhere in case my plate ever HAS to come out. Seems easy enough with the right install tool setup. I'd give anything for a southwest Jeep. The brine up here is no joke.

If your rivnuts are a problem, than it’s also a problem that needs to be fixed. If you already have a kit, do it now when you can do it on your terms, and when you choose to do it. Don’t wait until you have another problem which requires you to drop the skid to get the rig running - and then you have two problems to fix.

And yes, dropping the skid makes adding the cable shifter much easier.

 

[Rut Row]

I'm getting ready to install a Savvy shift cable as well. I fear dropping the skid. The way my luck has been going lately, the plugs for the Rubicon air lockers will break, then the rivnuts will need replacing, then my OCD will kick in and I'll thoroughly clean the plate which usually leads to a visit to the powder coating shop ... and of course since it would be off, I might as well install a tummy tuck which brings a whole slew of other things ... no, removing the skid is a bad idea. I will remove the console and front drive shaft.

 

[97JadeTJ]

It may not be the right way to do it but I’ve never had a problem… I don’t remove mine, I rotate it out of the way… support the transmission with a bottle jack and take out the transmission mount bolts out then take the bolts out of 1 side of the skid and only the front 2 on the other side… as you loosen the rear bolt rotate the skid it out of the way…

 

[RobertJ]

Why? Dropping the skid is easy.

Says our esteemed administrator from Arizona!

I dropped my skid to install it, but I had also just capped the frame rails in that section. It can definitely be done without dropping the skid, but it's going to make the job a little more difficult.

 

[Chris]

Says our esteemed administrator from Arizona!

I dropped my skid to install it, but I had also just capped the frame rails in that section. It can definitely be done without dropping the skid, but it's going to make the job a little more difficult.

I am by no means a highly skilled mechanic but I’ve dropped that skid so many times that all it ever really was to me was a few bolts and a jack stand or two. I tried it without removing the skid and it would have just added more time than it was worth.

 

[P man]

I am by no means a highly skilled mechanic but I’ve dropped that skid so many times that all it ever really was to me was a few bolts and a jack stand or two. I tried it without removing the skid and it would have just added more time than it was worth.

I think all of us recommending skid removal have been stubborn and tried to do work with the skid installed before giving in and dropping it. You can save time and headache (granted I am a west coast rust snob and have rarely worried about bolts spinning etc)