Stripped bolts on skid plate

[anonymousgromers]

Okay pretty much every bolt on the front skid plate under the oil pan and filter are rounded and was wondering how to remove them. I've never had to remove stripped/rounded bolts before so am curious on how to do so.

2004 toyota 4Runner limited 4WD 4.7L V8 | Gibson cat back exhaust

 

[jcaino]

Soak em good with your favorite penetrating oil and if you can still get channel locks on the heads, you might be able to get em free. Chances are they'll just shear off, though. Then you're looking at drilling them out and re-tapping the holes, or, if the welded nut breaks or you damaged the nut drilling, you're going to need to drill them out and use some nutserts.

 

[Bumbo]

If you are looking for a penetrating oil, I had good results with this stuff. I usually spray down all my crusty bolts and fasteners with this before I do a job to give myself the best chance of having to use less swear words.

Penetrating-Lubricating Oils

 

[anonymousgromers]

Alright I'll give those a try thanks!

2004 toyota 4Runner limited 4WD 4.7L V8 | Gibson cat back exhaust

 

[sumday]

a couple of mine snapped off and didnt bother putting skid plates back on...oil changes real easy and prolly how i figured out my actuator leaks in only freezing weather

 

[Burt]

I had same problem years ago. Since some bots are recessed below the plate, I had to drill them out. Ended out be much simpler than originally thought. The bolts were made of aluminum so I drilled a 1/4" hole straight thru. After that, they backed out easily. I think Toyota may installed these cross-threaded somehow. Best of luck.

 

[sumday]

the new to me 4runner had missing bolts, different bolts, cross threaded and whatever else you could not think of they did...i see it all the time...getting oil changes anywhere (dealers too) and they screw up stuff all the time...lower engine covers a mess, oil filters finger tight and drain plugs so tight and/or stripped

 

[Hiker865]

I had one bolt do this on the last oil change. I couldn't get it out so I just drilled a hole through the center of it.

 

[Elan750]

HEAT! grind them a bit to get more of a hex shape back into them, then heat those puppies with a torch. with a propane torch hold it on there for a good minute.

 

[L8Shift]

Alright I'll give those a try thanks!

2004 toyota 4Runner limited 4WD 4.7L V8 | Gibson cat back exhaust

Try to squirt the bolts from within the frame, to get the threads soaked.. :nod:

 

[ElZilcho]

Use a left twist drill bit. Half the time it grabs and spins the bolt right out. The other half of the time... well, you were drilling it out anyway, right?

 

[MrSeth]

I remember following a DYI process on here for my skidplate bolts. I drilled them all out and tapped them either M8 or M10 (I can't remember off the top of my head) and replaced all the bolts. There's enough meat on the nuts welded to the frame to accept that size.

 

[anonymousgromers]

I'll get em out prob going to replace my skid plates with new ones anyway as they are so rusty that they are practically falling apart.

2004 toyota 4Runner limited 4WD 4.7L V8 | Gibson cat back exhaust

 

[DASYOTA]

Stripped Skid plate bolt

Just realized my skid plate is missing a few bolts from previous owner. I went to home depot and got the m8 size bolts that someone commented on an earlier thread.
When I tried installing them, they just slide all the way in with no bite.
I am looking to order a tap kit, just don't know if I should go with an m8 or m10. I was thinking of tapping them all to an m10 since the welded in nuts seem to be stripped pretty bad already.

 

[TravThePro]

Just realized my skid plate is missing a few bolts from previous owner. I went to home depot and got the m8 size bolts that someone commented on an earlier thread.
When I tried installing them, they just slide all the way in with no bite.
I am looking to order a tap kit, just don't know if I should go with an m8 or m10. I was thinking of tapping them all to an m10 since the welded in nuts seem to be stripped pretty bad already.

You can get a decent metric tap set from AutoZone for $30, that's what I would recommend if you aren't a machinist. If an M8 bolt goes all the way through with pushing, I would say that an M8 tap is off the table (you can still try that first if you want, but it will most likely fail). Make sure you drill centered with the correct bit before you try and tap an M10.

If you're not sure what bit to use, they have many charts that show the correct bit for each thread size. Here is a link to a place with several charts: 23 Printable Tap Drill Charts [PDF] ᐅ TemplateLab

Good luck, let me know if you have any questions.

 

[DASYOTA]

You can get a decent metric tap set from AutoZone for $30, that's what I would recommend if you aren't a machinist. If an M8 bolt goes all the way through with pushing, I would say that an M8 tap is off the table (you can still try that first if you want, but it will most likely fail). Make sure you drill centered with the correct bit before you try and tap an M10.

If you're not sure what bit to use, they have many charts that show the correct bit for each thread size. Here is a link to a place with several charts: 23 Printable Tap Drill Charts [PDF] ᐅ TemplateLab

Good luck, let me know if you have any questions.

Alright cool appreciate it, I'm going to give the m10 a shot and get some new bolts. Saw on the chart M10 x 1.25 suggests an 8.9mm bit so i'll have to find that size at home depot.

 

[royal T4R]

I’d use a helicoil set for the m8 bolt. Buy a kit off of eBay for $15.

The inserts are stainless steel and won’t rust.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[amitchell24]

Hit it with some PB Blaster daily, torch it and JB weld a new bolt head on there. Should come off with that kinda combo.