hanging front diff cover

[doylee4693]

my mechanic changed my oil for my front diff and broke the screws off that hold on the cover.he says he put in some self tapping screws.It only held up for a few days and now its hanging.im just going to have him take it off because it dangerous.Has anyone else had this issue?

 

[rjaudi]

Did they break on the front or the rear of the skid plate?

 

[Nelsonmd]

Do you mean the skid plate? If he broke the screws I assume the ends are still in there? You need to either get a screw extractor and get them out, or drill them out and retap.

 

[doylee4693]

rj its the back screws,nelson he said theres no wheres to tap into.He said this happens all the time on the toyota trucks and he actually said he didnt want to mess with it but I really wanted the diff oil changed.Its really bad weather here so im ruling out doing it myself.He wants to take cover off but i want to keep it on.kinda becoming more of a hassle then it should have been.

 

[cordrayj1]

How can u not drill them out? That makes no sense.

 

[rjaudi]

You could drill them out or get a Budbuilt front skid plate. I am pretty sure they have a bracket to mount the plate different than those rear holes. I had to devise a solution to my broken front bolts.

 

[doylee4693]

does anyone know exactly what bolts are needed?im gonna buy an extractor set and bring him the proper tools so that way he has to do it

 

[PNWRunner]

The "diff cover" your talking about is more commonly referred to as the skid plate. The previous owner of my 4Runner stripped out one of the rear holes on the front skid plate, I don't think theres any way to fix it besides running new threads for a larger bolt.

This does not "happen all the time on Toyota trucks" unless he has a really bad habit of over-torquing skid plate bolts. If he broke it, its his responsibility to fix it.

 

[doylee4693]

i justcalled him and he said to bring it over next week and he says "its all boxed in so He doesnt know how to hold the nut on the other side to get the bolt thru

 

[Nelsonmd]

i justcalled him and he said to bring it over next week and he says "its all boxed in so He doesnt know how to hold the nut on the other side to get the bolt thru

I don't think this guys even look at your car. The "nuts on the other side" are welded on. It should be a simple deal to extract them.

 

[J-money$$$]

the welds on mine broke, but you can jam a flat head screwdriver and hold them