Removing skidplate mounting hardware?

Diesel Fumes

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I'm not sure what brand of skidplate this is. I'll post a picture here:


Does anyone have any tips for removing these? I basically need to remove this skidplate from one of my cars and put it in another. I assume its attached from above somewhere?

The skidplate itself comes off no problem. But not sure how to get those pipe shaped things off 😃
 

mittzlepick

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union maine
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2004 jetta wagon (365k)2001 wagon tire burner 6spd 2003 wagon(417k)
Maybe a stud into a rivet nut. Just unscrew? I think its an evolution skidplate thor model. Mine is a dieselgeek which have steel plates and bolts. Never saw the top one the one i examined as the lower bolts were fused. Evolution should have an online install guide.
 

Rrusse11

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Undo the bolts, the mounts should drop off. A wobble extension on the ratchet will help get to them. You will need new rivnuts to remount on another vehicle. Ebay has 'em, lots of You Tube videos on how to install. Just be sure to get the right size/thread, M10s likely.
 

zslnk

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I have two Mk4's that share a skid plate. I bought a bag of rivnuts on Amazon and that aluminum post just unscrews from the rivnut and I transfer the system over to the other car when I change over. It looks like an evolution plate and the rivnuts are cheap. Put some channel locks on the aluminum post and unscrew it.
 

Diesel Fumes

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Dec 30, 2008
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Creston, bc
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2003 alh tdi 5 speed
I have two Mk4's that share a skid plate. I bought a bag of rivnuts on Amazon and that aluminum post just unscrews from the rivnut and I transfer the system over to the other car when I change over. It looks like an evolution plate and the rivnuts are cheap. Put some channel locks on the aluminum post and unscrew it.
Thanks for the replies. Do you know what specs these rivnuts are by chance? https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B07VC452PP/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_glt_i_3TYKMWPPS2M6JYVQKH87

Should I just buy this kit?

I'll remove the skidplate eventually. Car is RIP and I won't make it out for a while to remove the plate.
 
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Diesel Fumes

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2003 alh tdi 5 speed
Those mounting tubes or pipes or whatever you want to call them won't come out. They just turn. I can't even find this style of mounting hardware for sale online. I think skid plate isn't an evolution because they list a blue bracket to use instead of the pipe.

How do I do this without buying a new skidplate kit?
 

Rob Mayercik

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Evolution's mounts have changed over the years - I bought my Atlas back in 2006, and the two front mounts look like what I think I see in your picture. The "blue bracket" must be a later/evolved/updated version. I'm guessing this plate's around the same age as mine then.

If yours is just spinning, then the nutsert is loose and spinning in the frame hole it's in when you turn the "pipe". Have you tried turning the "tube" while simultaneously pushing it to the side (in order to tilt the nutsert a little to try and get it to grip?

If all else fails, since you said the car is "RIP", what about getting up in there with a sawzall and cutting the frame around the mount, then hand-unscrewing the nutsert once it's all out of the car?
 

Johhny04

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Markham, Ontario
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2003 Jetta TDi
Those mounting tubes or pipes or whatever you want to call them won't come out. They just turn. I can't even find this style of mounting hardware for sale online. I think skid plate isn't an evolution because they list a blue bracket to use instead of the pipe.

How do I do this without buying a new skidplate kit?
You have to find a way to stop the top rivnut from spinning. As suggested try tilting the tube/pipe to the side and spin off. Move it left and right. When ready to mount the plate to another car, you're going to need new rivnuts anyways.
 

Diesel Fumes

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2003 alh tdi 5 speed
You have to find a way to stop the top rivnut from spinning. As suggested try tilting the tube/pipe to the side and spin off. Move it left and right. When ready to mount the plate to another car, you're going to need new rivnuts anyways.
I tried these but didn't seem to want to come out. Maybe I can just wiggle it until it gives. Or hammer. If I break it I'll buy more hardware I guess 😄
 

Andyinchville1

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2003 Jetta TDI wagon, 5 sp, 226K miles
From the bottom where the bolt head is you could try taking a grinder and carefully removing a bolt head by grinding It Off

Once the bolt head is gone the pan should be able to drop down and you should be able to save the cylindrical portion tubing spacer as well

Obviously wear safety glasses and hearing protection

Good luck it's not super hard but it's hard if you want to keep from nicking up the skid plate although I suppose if you put the skid plate on with some cuts on it from the grinder you could always use a fender washer or something to hide the Scars.

A Dremel tool with the proper Cutters could also work and it may actually leave fewer scars than a big grinder possibly if used with precision
 
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Diesel Fumes

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2003 alh tdi 5 speed
From the bottom where the bolt head is you could try taking a grinder and carefully removing a bolt head by grinding It Off

Once the bolt head is gone the pan should be able to drop down and you should be able to save the cylindrical portion tubing spacer as well

Obviously wear safety glasses and hearing protection

Good luck it's not super hard but it's hard if you want to keep from nicking up the skid plate although I suppose if you put the skid plate on with some cuts on it from the grinder you could always use a fender washer or something to hide the Scars.

A Dremel tool with the proper Cutters could also work and it may actually leave fewer scars than a big grinder possibly if used with precision
The plate itself came off easily. It's basically the two cylinder mounting tubes on the front that are an issue
 

KrashDH

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Washington
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The plate itself came off easily. It's basically the two cylinder mounting tubes on the front that are an issue
Is there ANY gap between the tubes and the frame? If so I'd try wedging a flat blade screwdriver in there and pry and put some pressure on the rivnut face to keep it from spinning while you try and unthread the post at the same time.
 

Rob Mayercik

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If you ever manage to get the things, out, make sure you coat the studs with antisieze before putting them into the rivnuts on the "new" car you're transferring the plate into. This may be part of the reason why they went to steel front brackets instead of the aluminum bar with the stud at the top end, come to think of it...

If all else fails, you may have to contact Evolution and inquire about buying a new mounting bracket/HW set . Someone above called it a "Thor", but according to their website, their MKIV plate was and still is called "Atlas". Also, if this is an Evolution plate, their website is probably engraved into the plate somewhere (on mine, it's on the front bumper end of the plate, but it's there).
 

Andyinchville1

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The plate itself came off easily. It's basically the two cylinder mounting tubes on the front that are an issue
OK .... I would still try grinding the head off the bolt (I am assuming that is what is holding the piece on)...

if the part spins too easily to grind effectively , you can take an old "L" shaped hex wrench and spot weld the non "L" side to the center of the bolt ...

Then hold the "L" side of the wrench (maybe use vice grips) and grind off the head that way ( a helper may make this easier) or at least make the bolt head small enough that the tube can slip off.

In theory you could always bend the hex wrench back and forth to break it free if you need to later or you can cut of the hex wrench off with the grinding wheel at the end.

hope this helps...

Andrew
 

Rob Mayercik

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Andy, I think you're misunderstanding what he's dealing with:

This is an old Evolution design (my Atlas plate is vintage 2006, and has the same mounts). The tube has a threaded stud at one end, and a threaded insert at the other. You put one nutsert into the frame of the car, and then screw the stud end of the tube into it until it's tight against the frame (then repeat on the other side). Then you lift the plate into position, which aligns holes in the plate with the threaded insert at the bottom of the tube. A bolt (with washer) then passes through the hole in the plate and threads into the insert in the tube to secure the plate. If memory serves (I installed my plate 15 years ago, so I'm working from OLD memory here), the stud appeared to be pressed into the tube, so you can't just unscrew the tube from the stud either - for good or ill, the tube and stud are one assembly and will NOT come apart easily.

The "tube" to body/frame is a blind attachment - the stud connecting the tube to the frame is completely hidden by the tube, and there's no access into the frame cavity to get pliers on the nutsert unless he starts cutting into the car's frame around where tube is attached.

The problem the O/P is having is not getting the plate off the bottom of the tube (which your "grinding off the head of the bolt" suggestion applies to), it's that when he tries to unscrew the tube from the nutsert in the frame, the nutsert is spinning instead of gripping the frame metal and allowing the tube (and, more importantly, the stud installed in the tube) to spin within the nutsert. This is why I and a couple others have suggested trying to put sideways pressure on the tube (as if you were trying to bend the bit of the frame it's connected to) in order to try and force the nutsert to bite enough to let him get the two apart. If he's unable to immobilize the nutsert via sideways pressure/prying while unscrewing, there's only one other option - cut out the bit of the car's frame where the nutsert is, and unscrew it once the whole thing's out of the car.

To the O/P you referred to the car you're taking the plate from as "RIP" - is cutting into it to allow access to the nutsert directly (or to cut around it so the bit the nutsert is installed in drops completely out of the car, leaving a hole) an option?
 

Diesel Fumes

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Creston, bc
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2003 alh tdi 5 speed
Andy, I think you're misunderstanding what he's dealing with:

This is an old Evolution design (my Atlas plate is vintage 2006, and has the same mounts). The tube has a threaded stud at one end, and a threaded insert at the other. You put one nutsert into the frame of the car, and then screw the stud end of the tube into it until it's tight against the frame (then repeat on the other side). Then you lift the plate into position, which aligns holes in the plate with the threaded insert at the bottom of the tube. A bolt (with washer) then passes through the hole in the plate and threads into the insert in the tube to secure the plate. If memory serves (I installed my plate 15 years ago, so I'm working from OLD memory here), the stud appeared to be pressed into the tube, so you can't just unscrew the tube from the stud either - for good or ill, the tube and stud are one assembly and will NOT come apart easily.

The "tube" to body/frame is a blind attachment - the stud connecting the tube to the frame is completely hidden by the tube, and there's no access into the frame cavity to get pliers on the nutsert unless he starts cutting into the car's frame around where tube is attached.

The problem the O/P is having is not getting the plate off the bottom of the tube (which your "grinding off the head of the bolt" suggestion applies to), it's that when he tries to unscrew the tube from the nutsert in the frame, the nutsert is spinning instead of gripping the frame metal and allowing the tube (and, more importantly, the stud installed in the tube) to spin within the nutsert. This is why I and a couple others have suggested trying to put sideways pressure on the tube (as if you were trying to bend the bit of the frame it's connected to) in order to try and force the nutsert to bite enough to let him get the two apart. If he's unable to immobilize the nutsert via sideways pressure/prying while unscrewing, there's only one other option - cut out the bit of the car's frame where the nutsert is, and unscrew it once the whole thing's out of the car.

To the O/P you referred to the car you're taking the plate from as "RIP" - is cutting into it to allow access to the nutsert directly (or to cut around it so the bit the nutsert is installed in drops completely out of the car, leaving a hole) an option?
Appreciate the reply. The car is sort of rip. I damaged the oil pan (skid plate didn't help this time), lost all the oil and the body of the car is rusted bad enough. I did jb weld the oil pan and filled it up and seems to run fine. It's a parts car now though. So I suppose I could hack the frame up. Compared to the new mk4 I bought, the old one looks like it belongs in a scrapyard.

I'll keep trying to get it out without cutting the frame. The cars not parked at home and need to work on it as I find time to go do it.
 

Andyinchville1

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Appreciate the reply. The car is sort of rip. I damaged the oil pan (skid plate didn't help this time), lost all the oil and the body of the car is rusted bad enough. I did jb weld the oil pan and filled it up and seems to run fine. It's a parts car now though. So I suppose I could hack the frame up. Compared to the new mk4 I bought, the old one looks like it belongs in a scrapyard.

I'll keep trying to get it out without cutting the frame. The cars not parked at home and need to work on it as I find time to go do it.
Aha ... now I see (or can imagine) .... I originally thought it was simply a long bolt holding the plate on and running through the tube into the nutsert .... I was scratching my head why the plate came off and not the other part (the tube) but now I understand.... Thanks for explaining that.

Depending on what tools / equipment the OP has ... my guess is it would be kinda hard to cut the frame where the tube is (I have a skid plate but not the same one but seeing where my stuff mounts up I would hate trying to cut the frame up to get stuff free where it is (maybe if lots of stuff were gone already it may be easier tho) .... maybe consider going to Lowes (or other plumbing / store that sells pipe , long bolts washers etc and simply fab up new mounting hardware ? ... With the few materials needed it should not cost too much and I think it would save a fair amount of time and struggle trying to free up the existing pieces.

If you want to mimic the factory set up you would need to be able to weld a bit BUT maybe you could simply run a long bolt through a pipe and use that as the new attaching method (that way if bad things happen you can simply grind the head off the bolt and everything comes free .... pipe and all). (fabbing up seems faster/ safer since OP mentioned the car was away and may take awhile to get to , all the while running without a skidplate).

Side note : if fabbing things up maybe figure a way to attach the plate in a stronger way ? I have a skid plate and while it seems "beefy" it is really only held on by 4 bolts (even tho my front mounting brackets are larger than just pipes) ...

In any case , when you get it all figured out, be sure to use antiseize when putting everthing back together.

Good luck

Andrew
 
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Rob Mayercik

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That's why I suggested he contact Evolution to see about maybe just buying a full "installation brackets and hardware" set if cutting it free doesn't work out (I too was unsure of the access he would have to it), especially since the mounts are a bit different now for the Atlas plate...
 

BobnOH

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central Ohio
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Just leave the old stuff in place. Get the right installation kit (you may just need rivnuts) to fit your plate. I would not fool with Amazon or ebay stuff. The stuff linked in post #4 may be just what you need. The picture does not include the front things, but they are listed.
2x Steel Front Brackets.
 

Diesel Fumes

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Creston, bc
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2003 alh tdi 5 speed
Just leave the old stuff in place. Get the right installation kit (you may just need rivnuts) to fit your plate. I would not fool with Amazon or ebay stuff. The stuff linked in post #4 may be just what you need. The picture does not include the front things, but they are listed.
2x Steel Front Brackets.
They can provide me new mounting hardware. I did email them. My old plate has evolutionimport and atlas stamped on it but can barely see it due to all the abuse this skidplate has taken over the years! Get a damn skidplate 😄

 
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