4th Gen Armor Thread 2.0

[phatcheeks]

damn good question though [MENTION=388921]phatcheeks[/MENTION] ! I currently have RCI transfer skid and fuel tank skid coming in. I finished out my RCI set on the armor.

I didn't install the spacer. I had plenty of clearance for the exhaust. It's not the skid that's touching. It's the crossmember that you install for the t case skid.
There is also some vibration coming inside the cabin when idling. I think it has to do with the OEM skid touching the crossmember. I'm going to remove it tomorrow to see if it fixes the issue. That OEM skid seems useless now imo

 

[originalg00kster]

I didn't install the spacer. I had plenty of clearance for the exhaust. It's not the skid that's touching. It's the crossmember that you install for the t case skid.
There is also some vibration coming inside the cabin when idling. I think it has to do with the OEM skid touching the crossmember. I'm going to remove it tomorrow to see if it fixes the issue. That OEM skid seems useless now imo

Okay I see what you're talking about now. Yeah I don't see that functioning better than what you already have with the RCI skid.

 

[thegame7]

A couple of my favorites. Rear bumper is from True North Fabrications, front is custom made.

 

[Bluesky 07]

When installing RCI t-case skid, are we supposed to remove the small OEM plate that protects the t-case? I left mine on, but noticed after install that the RCI crossmember comes in contact with it. Skids went on fine but wondering if the oem plate should be removed or not.

Like this but this pic is from a 5th gen.

Somewhere in RCI’s description, they say their T-case skid replaces or supplements the OEM skid, which I took to mean you can leave or remove it. I left mine.

What level of protection Toyota thought would come out of sticking what’s essentially a tiny cookie sheet on the t-case is a whole other discussion.

Did any other RCI users have a ***** of a time with the driver’s side crosspiece bolt?

 

[originalg00kster]

Somewhere in RCI’s description, they say their T-case skid replaces or supplements the OEM skid, which I took to mean you can leave or remove it. I left mine.

What level of protection Toyota thought would come out of sticking what’s essentially a tiny cookie sheet on the t-case is a whole other discussion.

Did any other RCI users have a ***** of a time with the driver’s side crosspiece bolt?

haha just got a notification saying my RCI transfer skid plate is out for delivery. I will see what this notorious crosspiece bolt you're talking about.

 

[phatcheeks]

Somewhere in RCI’s description, they say their T-case skid replaces or supplements the OEM skid, which I took to mean you can leave or remove it. I left mine.

What level of protection Toyota thought would come out of sticking what’s essentially a tiny cookie sheet on the t-case is a whole other discussion.

Did any other RCI users have a ***** of a time with the driver’s side crosspiece bolt?

I just removed mine this morning. I was having some vibration while the car was in drive. I suspected it to be from the OEM skid vibrating against the rci. All is well now. No more touching or vibration.

As for the driver's side bolt. Mine wasn't difficult at all. I did hammer down the gas tank skid a bit before install but I don't think it did much since there was plenty of room. I also sprayed down the threads with pb blaster because those threads have been exposed since 2004. That helped the bolt go through easier.

 

[Bluesky 07]

haha just got a notification saying my RCI transfer skid plate is out for delivery. I will see what this notorious crosspiece bolt you're talking about.

I’ll be very interested in how it goes since you also have an ‘07. [MENTION=388921]phatcheeks[/MENTION] has an ‘04 and said there was plenty of room. Did something change with the gas tank skid between the early & later 4th Gen model years (as with the grille, etc.)? I had to lift the crosspiece into position with my floor jack then bang it toward the back end with a 4-lb. sledge to get the bolt hole in the crosspiece lined up with the one in the frame rail.

 

[originalg00kster]

I’ll be very interested in how it goes since you also have an ‘07. [MENTION=388921]phatcheeks[/MENTION] has an ‘04 and said there was plenty of room. Did something change with the gas tank skid between the early & later 4th Gen model years (as with the grille, etc.)? I had to lift the crosspiece into position with my floor jack then bang it toward the back end with a 4-lb. sledge to get the bolt hole in the crosspiece lined up with the one in the frame rail.

is your frame straight? hahaha :suspicious:

 

[Bluesky 07]

is your frame straight? hahaha :suspicious:

Yes, and I’ve seen a few other posts where people had issues with it.

 

[taxzz]

put a LIL B's with RCI skids on recently.

 

[boostcraver]

put a LIL B's with RCI skids on recently.

Cool! I am about to do the same - RCI skid and Lil B bumper! What headlights are those ?

 

[originalg00kster]

I’ll be very interested in how it goes since you also have an ‘07. [MENTION=388921]phatcheeks[/MENTION] has an ‘04 and said there was plenty of room. Did something change with the gas tank skid between the early & later 4th Gen model years (as with the grille, etc.)? I had to lift the crosspiece into position with my floor jack then bang it toward the back end with a 4-lb. sledge to get the bolt hole in the crosspiece lined up with the one in the frame rail.

okay this post makes so much more sense now that I've tried it for myself. :sobbing:

Just got notified today that my RCI fuel tank skid shipped. It will be here this week. When I looked at the website again to see if their fuel tank had any interference, I saw that their fuel tank skid doesn't have that back end piece. Hopefully I am right and this should fit all fine with their fuel tank skid.

 

[jkim824]

put a LIL B's with RCI skids on recently.

Looks great!

 

[taxzz]

Looks great!

thanks!

Cool! I am about to do the same - RCI skid and Lil B bumper! What headlights are those ?

these are 06+ OEMs. I actually just replaced the passenger side due to yellowing. it's an easy upgrade for an 03-05 and lets your move the turn up into the headlight assembly.

 

[Bluesky 07]

Here’s my RCI t-case skid installed in case it’s helpful for anyone. View is looking forward.

 

[originalg00kster]

Here’s my RCI t-case skid installed in case it’s helpful for anyone. View is looking forward.

did you end up taking off the oem skid as well? My fuel tank skid got delayed by a day, hopefully it shows up tomorrow. Fed ex says it is 2 hours away last tracking info.

 

[Bluesky 07]

did you end up taking off the oem skid as well? My fuel tank skid got delayed by a day, hopefully it shows up tomorrow. Fed ex says it is 2 hours away last tracking info.

Short answer: yes. Long answer: because I initially received the wrong parts, I installed the crosspiece then had to wait for the correct skid to arrive. I left the small OEM skid on when I installed the crosspiece b/c it looked to have clearance (not much, but I could see light between them). But I noticed some occasional low-frequency rattling at idle and coincidentally saw another post about the OEM skid contacting the crosspiece, so I took off the OEM skid before installing the RCI plate and no more rattling.

It's simple to remove even after the crosspiece is on, just get the 4 bolts (12mm IIRC) out then kind of maneuver it until you can get it clear.

 

[originalg00kster]

Short answer: yes. Long answer: because I initially received the wrong parts, I installed the crosspiece then had to wait for the correct skid to arrive. So I left the small OEM skid on when I installed the crosspiece b/c it looked to have clearance (not much, but I could see light between them). But I noticed some occasional low-frequency rattling at idle and coincidentally saw another post about the OEM skid contacting the crosspiece, so I took off the OEM skid before installing the RCI plate and no more rattling.

It's simple to remove even after the crosspiece is on, just get the 4 bolts (12mm IIRC) out then kind of maneuver it until you can get it clear.

Thank you. Yeah I saw the exact skid you guys were talking about when I was under the 4runner last week. Fuel tank skid is delayed till probably Monday.

 

[Bluesky 07]

Thank you. Yeah I saw the exact skid you guys were talking about when I was under the 4runner last week. Fuel tank skid is delayed till probably Monday.

YW. Meant to add that I chose to replace the OEM skid mounting bolts after removing the skid itself so those holes are filled. Less chance for rust and so on.

 

[nuron]

Here’s my RCI t-case skid installed in case it’s helpful for anyone. View is looking forward.

How much clearance did the spacers from RCI provide between the skid plate and the exhaust?