I saw and ordered the oil pan protector offered by Rancho Suspension. I had seen protectors attached with sealants on older Jeeps before that have been on for ages so I thought I'd give this one a try however I have always felt that if it didn't bolt on it was suspect.... First, let me say that this piece by itself is of excellent construction, fits like a glove and the powdercoat is some of the best I've seen. That having been said let me tell you my experience. The piece comes with a tube of RTV silicone gasket sealer as the adhering agent. The instructions state to hold in place for some 16 hrs or so to set up. Well I did that however I forgot that floor jacks can lose pressure overnight and it did. My bad !!. In the morning I discovered it hanging loose. My fault but when I removed it and went to remove the silicone I noticed that it came off the oil pan and the protector very easily with the slight aid of a putty knife. I became concerned that if I used a silicone sealant I would have the protector falling off and damaging my vehicle let alone causing an accident for any vehicle behind me if it released on the freeway. I called Rancho tech support and was treated very well. They didnt have a sugggestion as to what to use other than what they had supplied and stated that they recommended the use of safety wire as a second line of defence. This wasn't mentioned anywhere in the install directions, however it is shown on the website's picture. (Missed that). What I ended up doing was to use a cutting wheel and removed all but an inch of wrap around on the sides and rear of the piece leaving the front and the bottom intact. They are not close enough to the oil pan to adhere to the protector anyway. This lightened weight (it's heavy) by a lot. I then mixed up a big ole pile of JB Weld and slopped 'er on. Left it supported on a sizzors jack for 15 hrs and it is not going anywhere (I hope). Then went to the local airport and had an A&P safety wire it. I predrilled 4 holes into the L&R side material that I had left on the piece to attach the wire. The A&P wired it to the engine mount on the rh side and the threaded bolt hole on the left. Be careful to clear the breaklines. Rancho recomended drilling holes into the outside top edge of the oil pan for the wire but I didn't find a comfortable amount of room available for that. Bottom line: If it doesn't bolt on don't use it. I'll be checking the JB on my pre and post inspections and if it comes off I'll throw it out. Too bad Jeep didnt plan on some sort of protection or provide mounting points for aftermarket providers. Kudos to Rancho for a great part but an iffy mounting solution.

 

Why didn't you go with a skid like SkidRow's that bolts on and uses the motor mount as one of it's attachment points?

 

i have skid row offroads skid plate for the oil pan. it mounts into both engine mounts and is a very strong piece. plus it is double 3/16 when it gets back to the part of plate that helps protect tranny and exhaust system( you know the part you always hit down on when going over rocks or dirt that are a little to tall for your for your jeep.)

 

I didnt see that one. I reviewed the Rock Hard one (looked good) but thought that the removal of the crossmember for the OEM protector might interfere with the installation of the shrockworks rockrails that I have on order. When I install the shrock I'll check it out. At present the JB weld seems to be doing the trick and if that continues I will be happy. I posted my experience mostly to alert anyone chosing the Rancho part to the fact that they might have problems with the silicone. Thanx for the replies.