E-locker Diff Fluid? Bed Liner on Skids?

Mick1

Mick1

New member
Hey guys,

I have at least a half gallon of truck bed liner left. I am thinking of taking my Budbuilt skids off and coating them with the bed liner. I searched some threads but have not seen any good info on how it holds up.

Any ideas of how it will do?
Also, any ideas of where to pick up a cheap foam roller good for this task? I used the two that came with the kit already.

Second issue is that when the skids are off it will be a good time to change the diff and transfer case lubes. I previously changed the front and rear diff at about 19K miles, but did not do the transfer case. I used Amsoil severe gear 75w90 during the last service. The truck is at about 38K now and figure I might was well do the service if I pull the skids.

I only have 1 quart of Amsoil left, so I would need to pick up 5 more. However, I've always found the the amsoil "dealer" pricing deal annoying.

I am looking at getting 2 gallons of the Mobil 1 Delvac 75W90 for $94.48 shipped. $11.81 a quart. That would leave 2 quarts left over and the next service would just need another gallon.

I'm 99.9% sure the Mobil 1 Delvac would be good for the truck, but I just want to put the the question to the hive mind. Is the Delvac good to go for the E-locker and transfer case?

Mobil? USA | Heavy-Duty Engine Oils | Gear Oils | Synthetic Gear Oil 75W-90

Gear Oils by MOBIL - Oils by Zoro Tools Industrial Supplies

http://www.toyota120.com/GenDocs/4RunnerTEtraction.pdf
 
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Copied from page 8 of the Toyota on-line maintenance manual and it's attached to this message.

Toyota Genuine Differential gear oil LT
75W-85 GL-5 or equivalent
 

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Bed liner on skids will be fine if you never hit anything with the skid. Remember a rock will gouge metal so any coating will be gone too.
 
Wouldn't bed liner increase the possibility of you getting hung up on something due to increased friction?
 
Right, the rough texture of bed liner might be a hinderance and make it not ideal for a skid plate.

This is the reason I wanted to ask the question to get some ideas of how it would perform. Otherwise it seems like a pretty tough coating.

POR 15 would probably be the best option. I may use bedliner or just hit them again with rattle can. Once I get them off and powerwashed I can see what the condition is.

Really, since I put in the lift I have not been dragging the skids very much on the off roading that I have done. I am never grinding on rocks or anything so it has mostly been snow, brush, deep ruts hitting the skids.

The skids have been on for about a year and a half. Some of the areas where there is no paint isn't even from off road scraping. It is just from winter road grime / debris hitting the front edges.

The reason I asked about the e locker and that gear lube is I wanted to make sure the E locker was pure mechanical and did not have any parts that were like a limited slip clutch since this lube was not good for LSD. I was pretty sure it was not LSD in any way, but wanted to verify prior to ordering. I read more and got satisfied the Delvac was good to go.

Regarding the transfer case. Yes the 75w LF is the correct stuff. It requires 1.5 quarts to fill the case and that stuff is $55 / liter before delivery!

I think I have talked myself into just using the Mobile Delvac 75W90 in the transfer case. I read some posts and it seems that it works just fine for the FJ guys.

I am looking at placing an order for some OEM parts, wiper blades, air filters, etc. and was thinking of picking up spark plugs and a belt to have on hand.

I tried google but just keep getting older gen info. Can anyone tell me what the service cycle is for our spark plugs? The service manual says they are iridium so I assume it is really long. The website I am looking at does not list the part number. I don't see it listed in the reference link. Anyone know it?

After seeing how ridiculously tight some of the fasteners were on the diffs when I changed them last, I think it might be a good idea to change the plugs, if not just pull them and put some anti seize on.

http://parts.olathetoyota.com/2011toyota4runnerparts.html

2011 - Toyota - 4RUNNER
spark plug 4.0 LITER 8.55 $51.30

air filter 4Runner 4.0L $16.50

serpentine belt 4Runner 4.0L $73.25

lift gate wiper blade $8.51

wiper blade Left $25.67

hvac air filter 4Runner $15.00

TRANSFER GEAR OIL LF $55.39

wiper blade Right $20.27

Sub Total: $265.89
Estimated Shipping: $31.91
Total: $297.80
 
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Yeah I was thinking it was something like that. The $8.55 price each seems really pretty good for a long life plug and why I want to verify the p/n.
 
Mick1 said:
Right, the rough texture of bed liner might be a hinderance and make it not ideal for a skid plate.

This is the reason I wanted to ask the question to get some ideas of how it would perform. Otherwise it seems like a pretty tough coating.

POR 15 would probably be the best option. I may use bedliner or just hit them again with rattle can. Once I get them off and powerwashed I can see what the condition is.

Really, since I put in the lift I have not been dragging the skids very much on the off roading that I have done. I am never grinding on rocks or anything so it has mostly been snow, brush, deep ruts hitting the skids.

The skids have been on for about a year and a half. Some of the areas where there is no paint isn't even from off road scraping. It is just from winter road grime / debris hitting the front edges.
Click to expand...
I don't think the texture of bedliner is really going to cause you to hang up on anything. If you're hung up on something that your torque in 4Lo can't get you past it's going to be a lot bigger.

I used a cheap rattle can bedliner on my sliders and it really didn't hold up much better than the Hammertone I used on the skids. The reason I went with rattle can on everything was that I knew it'd all get scraped up no matter what and touching it up with a spray is a lot easier since you can just do it on the truck.

I've heard good things about POR 15 but never used it myself. My understanding is that the prep work for it can be lengthy but it's vital. It'll stand up to a lot of abuse, though I'm not sure exactly how much and what happens after it gets gouged. I may give it a try this spring, but it's pretty pricey.
 
All the platinum and iridium plugs from NGK (which is the Toyota OEM) and Bosch come with anti-seize on the threads already.

But if you're rippin' into your new truck, post pics!
 
I changed the Front / Rear Diffs and Transfer case today. Zoro tools delivered the gear lube really fast. And Zmail4u code worked for $5 off.

Rear diff fluid was black, not much but minor paste on the magnet.

Trans was pretty clear, light honey color.

Front was dark, not much on the magnet.

The skid plates were not in too bad of shape. I had resprayed the middle skid not too long ago.

I took the opportunity to pwr wash and repaint the skids, but decided not to use the bed liner.

I used about 6 rattle cans of stuff I had in the garage. One coat of camo green, one coat of camo balck / high heat black, then followed by silver.

Hopefully the fumoto drain valve and the lack of road salt around here will keep them looking good for a long time.

I could not get pictures of every step of the process due to dirty hands and some bad lighting, but did take some. Pictures of the process are here: http://rhino4runnersuspension.shutterfly.com/pictures/2501
 
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Thanks for the write-up, the pics, and the link to Zoro Tools.
Just got my order of Delvac and Pink Grease :)
Much easier than driving around town.
 
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