WK2 Sump Protection Plate

BobT said:

No one can accuse you of not listenning to the voice of the customer. Anyway, since I might now be morally sucked in to buying a pair of chrome hooks, you might be morally obliged to offer me a modest discount for the suggestion.

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BobT,

LOL! I think I can manage that. I always enjoy getting good suggestions and feedback from customers.

Although I still need to find a supplier and verify costing, before I can say for sure we'll be offering it as an option.

Cheers,
Bill

BobT said:

No one can accuse you of not listenning to the voice of the customer. Anyway, since I might now be morally sucked in to buying a pair of chrome hooks, you might be morally obliged to offer me a modest discount for the suggestion.

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Hi BobT,

I've contacted a few suppliers and it sounds like the price will be too high ($100+ per hook) for us to offer this as a regular option. Apparently there is a good deal of labor in prepping and polishing the hook so it has a nice smooth blemish free finish. If somebody really wanted them chromed, I might be persuaded to do a one off, but I think the price is too high to offer this as a regular option unfortunately.

Cheers,
Bill

We've finalised the design for this product (WK2 Sump Protection Plate) and are conducting a test fitting to verify fitment on various WK2 models. If you'd like to participate, please see this thread.

Cheers,
Bill

Hey!

We did a test fitting for Chief Products Recovery Hooks, Recovery Points & Sump Protection Plate yesterday on various model WK2s. Everything bolted up exactly as it should on all models tested. Installation was extremely easy. I'm sure everyone following this thread will be happy to know, we start production next week.

If you'd like to know more or see a few photos, check out this thread (http://www.jeepgarage.org/f190/need-wk2s-for-product-test-fitting-gold-coast-and-brisbane-70549.html).

Cheers,
Bill

It has taken a bit of time to get everything ready, but the moment is finally here. On March 1st, Chief Products is doing a pre-launch of our new website. It will include full info and pricing for our WK2 Sump Protection Plate, as well as several other products. The website will be fully functional and ready to go, but I wanted to give the passionate WK2 owners that have been following us since the beginning a chance to get in there first.

I updated the Chief Products website today to confirm fitment with ARB Bull Bars (2011 - 2013). I also posted an article in the support section of the website with photos and notes from the installation, (link). Feel free to check it out if you're curious.

Cheers,
Bill

RocketRod said:

Fitted my "Chief Products" sump protection plate over Easter couldn't be happier with the end result and ease of installation.
Love the idea of the bolt head protection washers.
Fantastic product well done...

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Hi RocketRod,

Thanks for the great review. It's always great to hear from happy customers.

If you get a chance, please hop onto our website and leave us a product review, (bottom of the product page). Every review we get helps!

Cheers,
Bill

BobT said:

I haven't been off road yet and I didn't hit anything but as you know I had issues with two of the screws. It was a case of possibly over tightening and a batch of screws where the thread was not fully formed adjacent to the unthreaded portion. This should not be an issue with the 5mm plate. I think you might be using full length threaded screws now anyway. In desperation I put helicoils in all three holes but it appears one worked loose with vibration. I'm not surprised. I'll put in the nutserts which kindly provided. There are a few good ideas for home made nutsert/rivnut tools on the web.

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BobT,

Ahh... I see. Bummer the helicoils didn't work. You're right, once you drill out the holes there's not much there to work with. The nutserts should provide a very durable long term solution.

If you don't mind me delaying your M6 Bolt Head Protector order a few days, I'd be happy to include a nutsert tool for you to use free of charge, if you're willing to ship it back when you're done?

Cheers,
Bill

BobT said:

It would also make a nice bulldozer.

Yes I did use locktite but with the nord-lock washers, I don't think the screw backed out. I suspect I made things worse by drilling out the holes for the helicoils. Any meat that was there was reduced to the thickness of the plate. I expect it just pulled out with vibration and body flex. Helicoils are are a godsend but pretty useless on plate.

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I would advise against using Locktite, otherwise removing the sump plate to change your oil will become a bit more difficult. Once the nutserts are installed, the NordLock washers should be sufficient to guard against loosening from vibration and flex.

Cheers,
Bill

Red PeeKay said:

My 3mm Chief bash plate has arrived at Prestige Offroad..... sadly my car has not..yet!! Now waiting arrival of said car and they will fit the ECB bar and then the bash plate. Will let you know how they get on!!:sleepy:

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Red PeeKay,

I'm glad your WK2 Sump Protection Plate arrived safely. I'm pretty sure everything will fit together fine with your ECB Bar, but I look forward to hearing about your progress.

Cheers,
Bill

Benn0 said:

Oh yeah, didn't think about oil changes. Not sure I trust the wrench monkeys at jeep to be gentle with the threads on these bolts... might have to remove it before taking it in.....

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Hey Benn0,

I just took mine in for the 48k service and although they only did half of it and I need to go back... Grrrrr... They had no problems with the plate and the bolts. I think this is because the stock 'Belly Pan' attaches the very same way and is just as susceptible to over-tightening.

If you look closely, Jeep has already included nutserts in these holes from the factory, they sadly just aren't very long. On a positive note, I did notice during our last test fitting that 2014 models seemed to have slightly longer nutserts in this area.

Our main concern during engineering of the plate was whether the OEM nutserts were strong enough to handle the forces that might be encountered when the middle of the plate was hit hard and wanted to pull away from the sub-frame. This was something Jeep didn't need to plan for with a plastic 'Belly Pan'. Based on our computer models, the OEM nutserts were 2x stronger than needed for everything except catastrophic failure.

Cheers,
Bill

BobT said:

There is no need to remove the sump plate, at least not with the CRD. There is a generous access hole to the sump plug and the oil filter is accessed from above.

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If you get the chance, can you post some photos? I can't remember where the sump plug is on the CRD.

Cheers,
Bill

Benn0 said:

ok, I think I found it, makes sense they left access to that.

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Thanks for the photo. I always wondered what that hole was for! LOL! On the 5.7L the sump plug is not positioned there, so the hole just seems arbitrary.

Cheers,
Bill

BobT said:

That's weird, it's not like the CRD is their big seller. Maybe they thought it would be the engine most likely to go with an Off-road Adventure pack. Bill, are you going to cut a hole for your sump plug?

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I can't say for sure, but I think the 3.6L might be accessible in the same spot, making the 5.7L the odd man out. Can anyone confirm?

No need to cut a hole, it's easy enough to remove the sump plate. I think Jeep decided the same, since all of the new 'Belly Pans' are one piece without a hole.

Cheers,
Bill

BobT said:

The knee is better. Got the nutserts in and the plate is good to go. I used my home made tool to set the nutserts. It wasn't as straightforward as I thought. The problem is stopping the nutsert from rotating as one tightens the bolt to set the them. There is too much friction between the bolt thread and the nutsert thread and not enough friction holding the nutsert in. Some grease on the thread and a nordlock washer up against the nutsert helped but a proper tool would have been better. Yes, it was so much easier putting the rear M8 bolts in first. I did it the other way around before and it was a pain getting the M8s to catch.

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Hey Bob,

I'm glad to hear the knee is feeling better!

I'm also glad to hear you got the nutserts installed. It sounds like you found a very clever way. I bet you would be a good guy to have around if something broke down in the bush!

Cheers,
Bill