Now this is not new information. In fact
@
Saker
discussed this and wrote the following post 2.5 years ago.
http://www.toyota-4runner.org/1798124-post58.html
There have been repeated issues with the bolts getting stuck or not fitting properly with the TRD Skid plates. Now since this is Father’s Day I was going to call this the “I Told You So” thread, but I figured it wouldn’t get as many views or help as many people.
Last weekend I took my 4runner in for its 30K service a little early because we are leaving Friday for our biannual trip up to Maryland for 3 weeks to visit family. So in preparation I removed my skid plates (because I didn't want the dealership messing them up with their power tools)…except the back passenger driver side bolt on the TRD Skid was stuck. My reaction was pretty much “Oh Shit I know where this is going!” as I’ve read all of the threads on the issues with this. I also read but did not heed the advice of Saker (hence when the “I told you so” potential thread name) when initially installing the skid plate as the bolts seemed to go in just fine, maybe a little snug on the last few turns. Luckily the dealership was able to remove the bolt without any damage to the radiator support or destroying the threading of the hole (edit: I told them not to re-install the skid once they got it off as I'd didn't trust them to not lock the bolt on place permanently). As I said, I was lucky! As soon as I got back from the dealership I ordered a M10 x 1.25 Chaser Tap, some Tap Lubricant and a Die (same materials as in Saker’s post above) from Amazon.
https://www.amazon.com/CHANNELLOCK-8...A7VKD963DYP57N
(I just bought the "Frequently Bought Together Trio of Parts)
I have never done a drill tap before in my life. Thank god for YouTube! Watched a couple videos on it and it seemed very straightforward. For those of you that haven’t done this, here is the quick and dirty of it.
1. Line up the chaser tap with some lubricant on it with the bolt hole.
2. Initiate the tap with a couple of turns; you will feel it catch the previous threads.
3. Complete a couple of hand turns then back it out about a half turn and repeat for the length/depth you need.
4. Back the tap out turning slowly.
You can see in the pics below how dirty and how much material the tap removed from the bolt hole. This is why there have been so many issues. After completing this procedure on all 4 bolt holes I could literally hand screw the bolts in and then tighten easily using the M14 Socket Wrench.
If you have a TRD Skid Plate, this is worth the $20 in materials. It could save you hundreds of $ in the long run. Oh and I used some anti-seize just for good measure.
__________________
2015 SR5 Premium 4wd Magnetic Grey w/3rd row: Frontrunner Slimline II 3/4 Rack - Yakima Skybox 16 - Weathertech - 22" Behind Grill Light Bar - TRD Skid w/Full Aluminum RCI Skids - RCI Sliders - Falken AT3 265 SL - Lamin-X - Taxa Cricket
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