The easiest and best solution is to get aftermarket full skid plates and completely remove the rear cat y-pipe and replace it with one of these:

URD Off Road Y Pipe for 2005-2009 4Runner V8 - Underdog Racing Development

Then, buy 2 mini-cats from me and put them on your o2 sensors for no codes, more power, better mpg and no chance of your cats getting stolen.

I bought an aluminum tranmission skid plate from Talon's Garage and it completely covers the rear cats. It's an excellent design that bolts on in under 10 minutes. Love it.

Talons Garage | F-150 Skid Plates

That's exactly what I'm looking for! So this is a direct bolt on? No undercarriage modifications required? Thanks for the link!

That's a great idea.

I can't visualize where it would mount. Does the mounting location interfere with driveshaft greasing?

This is a direct bolt on with no mods required. Install was fast and all the holes lined up perfectly. He also supplied new JIS hardware so no fussing with 13mm DIN bolt heads.

I would assume so. So I slight con there. Also the aft side of the plate mounts to preexisting holes after you remove to braces that attach to a cross member under the transfer case. I'm a little apprehensive removing those as Toyota engineers wouldn't add those if they were uneccessary.

Argh..... need a viable solution.

I sent a few PM's with SolRayz, and would like to enter the discussion.

I am a new start up, and feedback from customers are very important to me.
As far as the "Front Suspension Member Bracket" or the bracket that connects from the transfer case to the frame. I did make the decision to remove it after looking at a few competitors and seeing they did the same thing. In my opinion... the 1/4" aluminum between the two cross members should help strengthen the two cross members.

That being said, your concerns are still valid. My question is, if I added a bracket from the frame mounts, to the side of my skid plate to help tie the frame back it the transfer case cross member would that help your concerns?

When I was working on this skid plate, leaving those braces intact would have led to a much weaker plate.

I am open to all of your thoughts, and appreciate your feedback.

I've inspected under my 4runner, and I don't see why you can simply modify the skid plate for placement under those braces and then bolt on, with longer bolts, to the same attachment points on the frame. That would leave the braces intact and still allow the skid plate the same attachment points in the rear. Is this not possible?

Just to be clear, we are discussing removing the driver and passenger side brace circled in red?

https://i.imgur.com/c5Y3IiB.jpeg

I know I spent 2-3 hours under the 4 runner just looking, trying to figure out the easy way to do keep those cross members for this very reason. If it was easy I would have done it that way :P

I feel this image shows it best. If I was to remove that potion of the skid plate for the brace to clear, I feel it would leave the Cat behind the plate pretty open for people to get too. I do not think it would be enough for them to get it out, but enough to get a saw in there and cut it up, causing lots of damage.

Also, this photo makes it look like there is a bunch more room then there really is. It is very difficult to get to the cat with a saw with this plate installed.


I also really debate how much of this brace is for reinforcement VS how much of it acts as a protector for the exhaust components above it. The transfer case cross member is beefy, and I really doubt the brace is doing a lot for it, especially when you compare it to the 1/4" Aluminum skid plate.


I am not sure about the front drive shaft grease question. i do not personally own a 4 runner. These plates were made for a lady who wanted them on her SUV, and so far she has not had any issues with them. They have been on for about 2 months now.

I know Randy has taken his 4 runner wheeling and will report back.


That being said, if there is someone in Houston with a V8 4th gen 4 runner, I would be glad to bolt one up and revisit this topic. I believe the V6 4th gens have the transfer case cross member about 4" closer to the transmission crossmember, like the 5th gens.


EDIT:


Here is a photo of the cross member. With how it slopes up to the frame, my skid would not work under it.

RCI's plate works with it because it is much more narrow, but the cats are left out in the open. My primary concern was protecting the cats, and the customer was ok with me removing that brace. After I searched around and found several other companies taking a similar approach I felt ok with it. I also could not find any posts or people having issues with this brace missing.


I hope my rationales make sense to you, but if you do not agree with them I completely understand. Your 4 runner is yours, and ultimately it is your decision on what modifications you want to do. I just hope in explaining my thought processes you can understand my perspective of it on the design and manufacturing side.

4th gen V8 4 Runner - Album on Imgur

The edit was not allowing me to post the photo, so I am creating a second post with it, along with the text I edited in.

4th gen V8 4 Runner - Album on Imgur

Here is a photo of the cross member. With how it slopes up to the frame, my skid would not work under it.

RCI's plate works with it because it is much more narrow, but the cats are left out in the open. My primary concern was protecting the cats, and the customer was ok with me removing that brace. After I searched around and found several other companies taking a similar approach I felt ok with it. I also could not find any posts or people having issues with this brace missing.


I hope my rationales make sense to you, but if you do not agree with them I completely understand. Your 4 runner is yours, and ultimately it is your decision on what modifications you want to do. I just hope in explaining my thought processes you can understand my perspective of it on the design and manufacturing side.

I missed this, yes you are correct. Also, I am debating if it is the angle of the photo, or if your cross member is forward of the one on the 4 runner I designed this on.

Well... I took your comments to heart, and worked on improving my design.

Let me know what you think.

Yes, I am "eating up" this info. Thanks - Jerry101

will your purchase - able V8 plate also work for a 4th gen 2006 4wd V6 ?