MKIV Panzer Plate Install Instructions

 

This is the install procedure for installing the Dieselgeek.com MKIV Panzer Plate Skid Plate Kits. These instructions are for all 1999 1/2 through mid-2005 Jetta IV, all 1999 1/2 through mid-2006 MK4 Golf IV, GTI and 2004 R32, and all 1998 through 2008 New Beetles, regardless of engine type, transmission type or body type (sedan, wagon or hatchback). These instructions only apply to MK4 Panzer Plate kits bought from Dieselgeek.com. 

Parts List

One aluminum skid plate

Two identical black powder-coated steel posts with a two-hole flanged foot.

Nine 1.4" long bolts (17mm heads, 10mm thread x 30mm long with a 1.5mm thread pitch)

Ten 1.25 inch diameter 10mm THICK washers for all of the bolts above (one washer acts as a spacer for the rear center skid plate bolt.).

One 10 inch long aluminum rivnut tool

Eight gold rivnuts  (All 2008 Panzer kits shipped after December 31st, 2007 include eight gold rivnuts. If you have a 2007 kit with black rivnuts, please use these instructions.

Two 1.5 inch long Phillips head sheetmetal screws with stainless fender washers for the front side skirt holes

Two OE Torx T25 screws for rear side skirt holes

 

Tools Required:

Torx T25 screwdriver

17mm socket and socket wrench (longer handles are better)

12 inch extension bar for socket wrench

Flat-bladed screwdriver

Phillips screwdriver

Torque wrench for accurate rivnut setting

Car jack and heavy jack stands and/or car ramps

Any automotive grease

A hack saw is useful for modifying your stock side skirts for skid plate use.

Getting a safe start:

First, jack up the car and place the car on ramps or sturdy jack stands. For manual shift cars, set the handbrake and put the car in gear. For automatics, make sure the handbrake is set and make sure the car is in the "Park" position. Use the floor jack as a third "safety" jack stand in the middle of the subframe. You can also do the install on a vehicle lift if you have access to one. Once the car is safely raised into the air, remove your center factory plastic air deflector/sound deadening plate by removing all of the Torx T25 screws. Next, remove the engine bay side skirts by either simply pulling them downward or by unthreading the flat star speed nuts with a long screwdriver (two per side) by placing a flat bladed screwdriver in one of the star nut's radial slots and turning the nut counterclockwise. On turbocharged cars and especially the TDI, it may be easier to remove the passenger side skirt after the hose leading into the lower part of the intercooler is removed or the 6mm nut holding the rear of the intercooler hose is removed. Be careful to save all hardware and reattach the hose at the end of the install. 

The rivnuts are the anchors for the skid plate and provide the super strong and secure attachment points for the skid plate. During this procedure, you will install seven rivnuts into preexisting 13mm holes on the car's subframe (picture 1, 2, 3) and on the underside of the driver side and passenger side frame rails on either side of the engine bay. (The subframe is below and behind the engine and has the steering rack and sway bar mounted on top of it.) It is best to install the first three rivnuts into the subframe since access is the best and you can get the knack of installing them without any obstructions. 

To prepare to install all of the rivnuts, grease the threads of all nine 10mm x 30mm bolts and place one 10mm washer on each one. Insert one of these greased bolts with washer through the offset or centered hole in the rivnut tool and into a rivnut. Tighten the bolt slightly so that it is snug only. By using the rivnut tool as a handle, insert the rivnut into one of the rear outer subframe holes until its head is completely flush with the bottom of the subframe. Using a 17mm socket and ratchet, start tightening the 10mm bolt while counter holding with the aluminum rivnut tool. Maintain a gentle but steady upward pressure on the rivnut as you are tightening the bolt to ensure that it is butted up against the subframe. As you are turning the 17mm bolt, the center section of the rivnut will slowly mushroom out/expand to lock the rivnut into the subframe hole (The mushrooming action takes place inside the subframe and cannot be seen.). Once the rivnut is tight enough to completely stop turning in the subframe hole, finish tightening it with a torque wrench to 35 lb. /ft to fully lock the rivnut in place. Once this torque has been achieved, reverse the ratchet and remove the 10mm bolt and rivnut tool from the rivnut. Repeat the procedure using a second rivnut and install it into the remaining outside subframe hole and torque it to 35 ft.-lbs. After these first two rivnuts have been successfully installed in the rear outside subframe holes, repeat the process for the last subframe rivnut by using only the offset hole of the rivnut tool. Install this rivnut into the rear center hole of the subframe and torque it down to 35 ft.-lbs. Next, take a break and read the following steps carefully.

To install the four remaining rivnuts into the underside of the frame rails you have two options. The first option is to use the aluminum rivnut tool exactly as you have for the first three rivnuts. The second option for installing the last four rivnuts is to install them by using the black mounting posts as holding/installation tools. It turns out that the mounting posts make very effective and convenient counter-holding devices. To prepare the passenger side mounting post for installation, push two rivnuts through the 13mm holes in the bottom of the frame rail meant for the rivnuts. Next, place the mounting post up against the two rivnuts making sure that you orient it to where the post angles slightly forward in the car (the post is not welded perpendicular to the base plate). Next, thread one of the greased bolts through a hole in the mounting post and into one of the two rivnuts. Hold the post up against the rivnuts to make absolutely sure both rivnuts are flush against the underside of the frame rail. Once you are sure that the rivnuts are completely flush against the underside of the frame rail, tighten the 10mm bolt to 35 ft.-lbs with a ratchet, 17mm socket and 12 inch extension bar. Repeat with another greased bolt and rivnut. After both bolts have been properly torqued to 35 ft.-lbs slightly loosen them to aid skid plate mounting/alignment. You will be able to tighten the bolts fully after the plate has been mounted.

On the driver side of the car, install the second mounting post using two of the remaining rivnuts, greased 10mm bolts and 10mm washers. On the driver side of the car it is helpful to attach the rivnuts and greased bolts to the mounting post before pushing the rivnuts into their holes. Once you are sure that the rivnuts are completely flush against the underside of the frame rail, tighten both of the 10mm bolts to 35 ft.-lbs with a ratchet, 17mm socket and 12 inch extension bar. After both bolts have been properly torqued, slightly loosen them to aid skid plate mounting/alignment. You will be able to tighten the bolts fully after the plate has been mounted.

After all the rivnuts are installed and torqued, both skid plate mounting posts should be loosely bolted to the underside of the frame rails with their legs jutting forward in the car as the skid plate will not fit otherwise. The four mounting post bolts should not be tight at this time as the slack will be used to align the plate when is mounted. You will tighten all of the bolts fully only after the plate has been mounted.

Once all seven of the rivnuts have been installed, the vertical plastic engine bay side panels or side skirts should be installed:

We always highly recommend reuse of your existing side skirts to reduce the demand for more plastic in the world. Even if your side skirts are damaged, they can be reused if the screw mounting points are still intact. The plastic side skirts that are used with our replacement side skirt kits are the same original plastic Volkswagen parts that your car was equipped with from the factory. The side skirts provide absolutely no other function than to keep water and dirt out of the engine bay and to reduce engine noise. They are not structural at all when used with the Panzer Plate. The Panzer Plate provides all of the structure and load bearing capacity for striking any obstructions in the roadway. Furthermore, the required modifications to allow use of your existing side skirts are very easy to do and should take at the most 15 minutes by simply cutting them with a hack saw.

Modification of your original equipment engine bay side panels or side skirts: To modify your existing side skirts, there are a total of five cuts required per side skirt. The first four cuts will remove the yellow shaded area in this picture. Cut A should be the first cut made with a hack saw. It is 2 inches beyond and parallel to the last gusset (marked with D in the picture). Cut B should be the second cut made with a hack saw. To make cut B, simply cut right down the 90 degree crease in the skirt to the point 2 inches beyond the last gusset which is also the end point of cut A. The last two cuts C and D are simply to finish removing the gussets. It is not necessary to cut them very close to the side of the side skirt. The finished product of the first four cuts looks like this. The final cut is simply removing the tail section as shown here. Repeat the five cuts for the other side skirt.

If you purchased a pair of replacement engine bay side panels from us, install the new plastic side skirts by sliding the front rounded edge into the slot in the radiator support and then pushing their star nuts onto the threaded stud on the bottom side of the frame rail. You can tighten the star nuts further by placing a flat bladed screwdriver in one of the star nuts radial slots and turning the nut clockwise. On turbocharged cars and especially the TDI, it can be slightly tricky to install the side skirt on the passenger side of the car with the lower intercooler hose rear mount still attached to the frame rail (with a 6mm nut). Removing the hose mount does make it a little easier to install the side skirt but it is not absolutely necessary to do so. Personally, I have never removed the intercooler hose or mount during a skid plate install. Your needs may differ and that is fine.

Install the side skirts by sliding the front rounded edge into the slot in the radiator support and then pushing their star nuts onto the threaded stud on the bottom side of the frame rail. You can tighten the star nuts further by placing a flat bladed screwdriver in one of the star nut's radial slots and turning the nut clockwise. On turbocharged cars and especially the TDI, it can be slightly tricky to install the side skirt on the passenger side of the car with the lower intercooler hose rear mount still attached to the frame rail (with a 6mm nut). Removing the hose mount does make it a little easier to install the side skirt but it is not absolutely necessary to do so. Personally, I have never removed the intercooler hose or mount during a skid plate install. Your needs may differ and that is fine.

Adding an Optional Oil Drain Hole to Your Skid plate:

All Panzer Plates are manufactured with a trapezoidal keystone shaped cutout for draining your oil through the bottom of the car. This cutout is meant for four cylinder cars only and is marked as such on the skid plate. Cars with the 1.8T gas turbo engine or the 2.0 liter gas engine will still need to remove the skid plate to remove the oil filter. TDI owners who elect to remove the keystone cutout will not need to remove the skid plate to change the oil since the filter housing is at the top of the engine bay.

If you have a four cylinder car and wish to remove the keystone cutout you will need to obtain a loose hack saw blade (shown wrapped with paper towels) or an inexpensive $5.00 Home Depot, Lowes, Ace Hardware, etc. keyhole saw to remove the keystone cutout like this picture shows. Cutting the two connecting webs of aluminum takes a couple of minutes apiece. The trapezoidal hole left in the plate will work perfectly to drain the oil without removing the skid plate. Just put a 19mm or three quarter inch box end wrench or socket on the drain plug to loosen the drain plug.

Installing the Plate:

Before you lift the plate into place, make sure that the remaining five 10mm bolts with thick washers are placed within reach under the engine bay. To install the plate, center the plate on your chest and lift the skid plate up into place and while supporting the center of the skid plate. Loosely thread two of the 10mm bolts into opposite corners to hold up the skid plate. These two bolts will hold up the skid plate while you are installing the three remaining 10mm bolts. Next, install the last extra washer supplied with the kit as it acts a spacer between the skid plate and the rear center bolt hole. After the spacer washer is in place, thread a bolt through this skid plate hole and into the center rear rivnut. Finish threading the remaining three bolts. After all of the bolts have been threaded a few turns each to make sure they are threaded correctly, finish tightening them with a 17mm socket and torque them to 35 ft.-lbs. The passenger rear of the skid plate will distort slightly as you tighten the passenger rear bolt. This is o.k.! Next, finish tightening all four of the mounting post bolts to 35 ft.-lbs using your 12 inch long extension and 17mm socket. Once all nine of the 10mm skid plate bolts are fully tightened, attach the side skirts to the skid plate with the two long Phillips head screws and black T25 Torx screws provided with the kit. The long Phillips screws are for the front side skirt holes. Use the standard Torx screws for the rear side skirt holes. After a day or so you can replace the Phillips screws with Torx screws as the side skirts will be molded to the new skid plate.

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