Hey all,

I thought I would document my fuel tank strap replacement on my 2003. As you can imagine I have some rust issues from being from Maine and recently I noticed my fuel tank strap was rusted through. So I ventured forth onto the interwebs and found TOYOTA was pretty proud of their straps so I took a gamble and I am pretty sure my aftermarket parts will outlive the truck up here. Your mileage and wallet may vary.

First off if you need to replace a fuel tank strap you have rust and hence you for sure should be wearing safety glasses!

So I was fortunate to only have one bad strap (The Rear) and I could get away with not dropping the tank. If both of your straps are bad well I feel for you.

This really was a one banana job and only took me a couple of hours. Most of that time was getting up and down off the floor. I used an electric impact wrench and some PB Blaster penetrant oil on the bolts in the frame that hold the skid plate in place. I squirted it inside the frame as close to the bolts as I could.

The skid plate bolts are 12mm and you will need a 10ish inch extension to get the ones by the drive shaft. The strap bolts are I believe 14mm.

Step 1
Remove the skid plate.

I believe it is 4 or 5 bolts on the frame side and two on the body side. I did the body side last but I don't think it matters what side you take off first. It is not too heavy but is awkward if you are laying on your back on a creeper.

Step 2
Remove the offending strap.

There is a special cotter pin like thing that holds the pin from sliding out and you will need to push one side up and out of the hole to allow the the cotter pin type thing to be removed. Once this is out then you can begin sliding the pin out. But since you are doing this repair you have rust and it won't just slide out. This is where your big ass hammer will come into play it may come out with a few quick taps or in my case I bent the bracket and beat the strap off the pin to get it out.

The frame side of the strap is held on with a 14mm bolt and again will be rusty so use plenty of lube.

Step 3
Prepare the new strap for installation.

So the new fancy straps you bought did not come with the rubber to protect the tank. So now you will need to remove it from the old strap and put it on the new strap. Easy Peasy.

Step 4
Install New Strap

I chose to instal the new strap pin side first. I will also say it may be beneficial to acquire an actual cotter pin for the strap pin. The original didn't seem to want to stay. I bent my pin so it cannot fall out but you should use a good new pin to hold it there. I also applied a bit of anti seize to the frame side strap bolt in hopes when my fuel pump goes it will come out again.

So your strap is pinned to the body side and now all you need to do is flip it up and tighten the bolt in. Not so fast there bud... this strap is new and she is tight. It is a pain in the but but if you get under there and pull the strap good and tight it will get close enough that you can get the bolt started (Not Cross Threaded Remember Fuel Pump). Then use a ratchet or impact to crank it on there nice and tight like.

The front strap is the same procedure with just slightly different positions.

Step 5
Reinstall Freshly Painted Skid Plate

I am going to paint my skid plate because of the aforementioned rust. I do want the old girl to look good for as long as her frame will let her run. Keep in mind that you can take some time to do this if you want as your fuel tank is now held in place by the straps like it is supposed to be.


Pro Tip
Don't test drive your newly installed rear brake caliper with your skid plate bolts still on the running board! (3 miles later they were still there!!)

This makes me want to drop my gas tank skid and check things out. Thanks for the post!

So Just to be clear. The tank won't drop if my front strap is still good? I can safely remove the skid plate unbolt the rear strap and replace. Obviously little to no fuel would be beneficial.

I had to replaced mine also a few months ago when I first got my 4runner. I placed a 2x4 and jack under the fuel tank to be safe.

I'm doing this job tomorrow on our '04 GX470, rear strap rusted through. I'm VERY happy to see the front strap is able to support the tank while replacing the rear strap, that is going to make life much easier! I wasn't sure if the skidplate was holding the tank up or not. I'm trying to run the tank down as low as I can before digging into this to keep the weight down.

Thanks for the thread, very helpful!

Just to confirm, there are 4 bolts on the frame side and 2 on the body side. I spent just a few minutes this afternoon looking for that elusive 5th bolt on the frame side.

For the skid? 4 bolts on the driver side frame rail and 2 on the passenger side/middle of the vehicle. The passenger side ones are bolted to part of the frame, so the skid doesn't bridge the frame to body.

I've got another writeup here for a difference perspective on the job: Fuel Tank Strap Replacement Tutorial (60+ Pictures)