P500 UHMW skid plate installed

[Twitch]

Got the skid plate installed. Only 1/4" thick but have enough out of a 4'x10' sheet to do this, my roof and A arm guards. Short a few washer, they'll be in Monday. Went with longer bolts and lock washers because the factory bolts are pain, now that it's one piece, to install by yourself. Even reinstalled the louver plate on top of the skid. Gonna try some polynuts in the frame where I drilled new holes under the floorboard. Stripped one already. The round tubing is not very thick...

 

[Admin]

 

[rocmar]

Kool...
Bro.
great job...looks tits

 

[William]

Kool...
Bro.
great job...looks tits

Yes great work!
Rocmar what does looks "tits" mean? Got me interested in what lingo it is!

 

[Twitch]

Thanks guys. Well most tits look good so I'ma go with looks good...

 

[rocmar]

Yes great work!
Rocmar what does looks "tits" mean? Got me interested in what lingo it is!

Well...to most guys
tits....look great
soooo.....there
ya go...

 

[William]

I do love tits... LOL!!!

 

[Montecresto]

Yes great work!
Rocmar what does looks "tits" mean? Got me interested in what lingo it is!

William????????

 

[Twitch]

Well got the polynuts installed first thing this morning. Couldn't wait any longer. I am curious about how the 0.375" thick UHMW plates, you see for sale, fit up in the gas tank area. Not real happy with the waves in mine where the angle bracket is welded to the roll bar. I also didn't drill the new holes in the outside roll bar at your feet. I drilled mine in the bars that connect back to the main frame. Mines not horrible, I'm just picky and I guess it'll serve its purpose.... Guess that's why I had to go with polynuts instead of just tapping the frame itself. Now as long as the other washers come in tomorrow, I'll be done and can move on to the next project.... A arm guards...

 

[Montecresto]

Well got the polynuts installed first thing this morning. Couldn't wait any longer. I am curious about how the 0.375" thick UHMW plates, you see for sale, fit up in the gas tank area. Not real happy with the waves in mine where the angle bracket is welded to the roll bar. I also didn't drill the new holes in the outside roll bar at your feet. I drilled mine in the bars that connect back to the main frame. Mines not horrible, I'm just picky and I guess it'll serve its purpose.... Guess that's why I had to go with polynuts instead of just tapping the frame itself. Now as long as the other washers come in tomorrow, I'll be done and can move on to the next project.... A arm guards...

What are poly nuts Twitch, and how do they work?

 

[Twitch]

What are poly nuts Twitch, and how do they work?

They're used on thin sheet metal so you can have more threads than just through the thickness of the metal, without having to weld on a nut. You drill the required sized whole. Thread the polynut onto the stud of the install gun. It works off of air. Stick the nut into the drilled hole once it's installed on the gun, pull the trigger and the "crushable" part of the nut sandwiches down on the material. Pull the bottom part of the trigger amd it unscrews the stud out of the newly installed nut. They may have another name but that's what we call them at work. Kinda long winded there but hope you understood what I meant. I don't have any pictures of them currently..

 

[JCart]

The other option is to use nut serts. They are a steal insert like a hollow rivet with threads in the center of the rivet. You drop them in a hole in the frame and tighten them down and the rivet part crushes to the frame and the threaded internal part of the insert becomes you nut. They work awesome, I used them on my Lexan roof on my P5. If I ever strip the frame threads on the skid plate that is what I'll use for repair. They work great where you can't get a nut on the backside of the material.

j

 

[Twitch]

The other option is to use nut serts. They are a steal insert like a hollow rivet with threads in the center of the rivet. You drop them in a hole in the frame and tighten them down and the rivet part crushes to the frame and the threaded internal part of the insert becomes you nut. They work awesome, I used them on my Lexan roof on my P5. If I ever strip the frame threads on the skid plate that is what I'll use for repair. They work great where you can't get a nut on the backside of the material.

j

Polynut=nutsert. Jcart explained it better. The gun we have that installs them just makes it easier than screwing a bolt in and trying to tighten it down. The air pulls the threads back and crushes it onto the metal.

 

[Montecresto]

Polynut=nutsert. Jcart explained it better. The gun we have that installs them just makes it easier than screwing a bolt in and trying to tighten it down. The air pulls the threads back and crushes it onto the metal.

Oh ok, so he did. Thank you Twitch. Is this something that can be obtained from a regular hardware store, or is it a specialty item. Also, what size would be appropriate for the skids? Thanks?

 

[JCart]

Polynut=nutsert. Jcart explained it better. The gun we have that installs them just makes it easier than screwing a bolt in and trying to tighten it down. The air pulls the threads back and crushes it onto the metal.

Cool Twitch... If I had the industrial gun I'd do the whole frame to attach the skid plate. The frame wall thickness is pretty thin, ideal for Polynutserts....heh heh. BTW nice job on the skid too looks awesome. I installed the vent hole shroud like you, rear diff and engine oil drain holes is all. The downside of no drain holes is a build up of mud and other flammable keerap... Thankful for a 3000 psi pressure washer.

Suggest checking the tightness of your skid bolts as mine (some) worked out a little over time.

In my sig link have some pix for ideas on stix stopper CV guard that I made with 3mm thick UHMW.

j

 

[Montecresto]

Cool Twitch... If I had the industrial gun I'd do the whole frame to attach the skid plate. The frame wall thickness is pretty thin, ideal for Polynutserts....heh heh. BTW nice job on the skid too looks awesome. I installed the vent hole shroud like you, rear diff and engine oil drain holes is all. The downside of no drain holes is a build up of mud and other flammable keerap... Thankful for a 3000 psi pressure washer.

Suggest checking the tightness of your skid bolts as mine (some) worked out a little over time.

In my sig link have some pix for ideas on stix stopper CV guard that I made with 3mm thick UHMW.

j

So how do you install these if you don't have this "gun"?

 

[JCart]

Oh ok, so he did. Thank you Twitch. Is this something that can be obtained from a regular hardware store, or is it a specialty item. Also, what size would be appropriate for the skids? Thanks?

If it where me I'd take one of the metric skid bolts into a specialty store and get a Polynutsert whereby the internal threads match and get the steel ones, they come in aluminum too but steel is more robust. My skid material was 9.5mm thick so I counter sunk the stock washers so they fit flush in the skid and was able to use the stock bolts. My concern was mashing tearing out the bolts by hooking the washes on a rock so far have drug the belly on a host of stuff and no major misadventures.

 

[Montecresto]

If it where me I'd take one of the metric skid bolts into a specialty store and get a Polynutsert whereby the internal threads match and get the steel ones, they come in aluminum too but steel is more robust. My skid material was 9.5mm thick so I counter sunk the stock washers so they fit flush in the skid and was able to use the stock bolts. My concern was mashing tearing out the bolts by hooking the washes on a rock so far have drug the belly on a host of stuff and no major misadventures.

Thanks jrc. This sounds a little intimidating. I still don't understand how the nutsert is installed into the frame if you don't have that gun. Otherwise I'll take the stock bolts with me to get a thread matching ns. Do these come with instructions for what size hole to drill? Seems like a difficult operation to be doing somewhat upside down!!!

 

[Twitch]

Oh ok, so he did. Thank you Twitch. Is this something that can be obtained from a regular hardware store, or is it a specialty item. Also, what size would be appropriate for the skids? Thanks?

I'm really not sure if a regular hardware store would have them. We have a "nuts and bolts" place locally that stocks them. I followed suit and did m6's(factory size)just so I wouldn't have to have different size sockets when taking the skid off. Which I replaced all the factory bolts with longer stainless steel m6's. Those short ones are pain now that my skid is all one piece. The shorty's won't the easiest with the factory configured skids...

 

[JCart]

So how do you install these if you don't have this "gun"?

The kit I have comes with an Allan cap crew the size of the internal threads, a spacer nut (which is none threaded) and the Polynutserts. So drill a hole exact outside dia of the sert. Push sert into hole thread in Allan head, first through spacer nut then into sert. The order is sert, material, spacer nut, Allan cap screw. I used a 3/8" drive socket/Allen head driver and 1/2" open ended wrench to hold the spacer nut. Tighten up the Allen cap screw and it will pull the spacer against the top of the sert crushing internal rivet part of the sert against your material, 1/2" wrench prevents the spacer and sert from spinning. The top or external of the sert has a small flange, (this is what the spacer nut rests on), when the internal rivet part crushes, it pinches material between internal rivet collar against external flange. I've got pix I'll put up as its way less complicated than it sounds...

I also tried my 1/4" 18 volt impact gun rather then the 3/8 ratchet, what I found is the impact is too strong and will strip out the sert if not careful.

j

 

[Twitch]

Cool Twitch... If I had the industrial gun I'd do the whole frame to attach the skid plate. The frame wall thickness is pretty thin, ideal for Polynutserts....heh heh. BTW nice job on the skid too looks awesome. I installed the vent hole shroud like you, rear diff and engine oil drain holes is all. The downside of no drain holes is a build up of mud and other flammable keerap... Thankful for a 3000 psi pressure washer.

Suggest checking the tightness of your skid bolts as mine (some) worked out a little over time.

In my sig link have some pix for ideas on stix stopper CV guard that I made with 3mm thick UHMW.

j

Thanks. Yeah, the bolts working loose is the reason my skid is all one piece now. Got high centered and bent part of the factory skid down. I'm glad I added all the holes to keep the mud from building up as bad. Which I cut mine on a water jet so won't like I was drilling them all by hand. I hope to get back to stick guard project soon. I made a couple stainless steel versions of them but haven't gotten around to checking for clearance issues. Have had a couple other "hobbies" that have taken priority to them. I started reloading ammo a while back and trying to work up a new load for my latest 6.5 grendel AR build. I'm really liking this gun but that's a whole other forum and subject...