What to do when you have stripped skid plate bolts.

[LightRanger]

When I went with the RCI, the front plate replaced two OEM sections, so I didn't have to worry about the busted mounting points that would not be used for the RCI. ymmv

So the RCI uses different mount points than the OEM skid? I was just looking at the instruction PDF that was linked on the product page, and it makes it seem like it uses the same mount points. EDIT: Nevermind. Looks like you were talking about a 4th gen, per your signature line.

I ask because I had to drill out the driver's side front skid bolt on my 2013 SR5 this evening. Surprisingly, I was able to tap the hole and actually got at least some thread contact on a new OEM bolt of the same size. Needless to say, I didn't tighten it a ton.

I've been antiseizing the bolts religiously since I started changing it myself, but who knows what the dealership guys did before. Bolts were wrecked when I first started doing it.

So now I'm debating between leaving it and running with 3.5 bolts, drilling and tapping for next size up, or going with RCI. I don't do much crawling compared to when I was younger, so the extra beef of the RCI isn't really necessary for 99% of my use, but the lack of unbolting the skid would be super nice.

 

[Globetrotter78]

I usually use a cutoff disc to cut the head off the bolts that have seized into the weld nuts that break free. The best way to get them...

I had this garbage happen when I was installing my Icon suspension and had to put spacers in the sway bar. As I was torqueing to spec I heard *ping* and the realized welds had broken loose on the nut. A 2 min bolt install took hours to figure out how to remedy since the damn nut was deep in the frame rail and critical to the functionality of the vehicle. (This was before I learned about Rivnuts or similar solutions, sadly)

 

[T4R-Lex]

Had the stealership change the oil (they are within walking distance) and they said the skid plate bolts were crossthreaded and wanted $80 to fix. I said no thanks and just leave the skid plate off.

Come to find when looking to replace the bolts at the Toyota parts department that the ones I have are different than the 90080-11373 bolts mentioned. The ones on my skid plate were M10x1.25 thread. Wonder if someone had already re-tapped and upsized these because of prior damage? Or does anyone else have these upsized bolts too?

 

[Ogre75]

I switched from the SR5 skid to an RCI and two of the bolts had snapped. Tried tapping out the old bolt and snapped the extractor... Good times. That one, the nut is within the frame, so for now, I left it alone. The other one was on the front support. Luckily that whole piece is removable and I just ground off the weld nut, rattle canned it, then put on a regular nut and bolt.
At some point I will drill out the bolt/extractor combo and just go the next size bolt up.

Oh, and everytime I remove a bolt, I'm antiseizing the SHITE out of it before putting it back in. Hope that helps for the future.

 

[LightRanger]

I switched from the SR5 skid to an RCI and two of the bolts had snapped. Tried tapping out the old bolt and snapped the extractor... Good times. That one, the nut is within the frame, so for now, I left it alone. The other one was on the front support. Luckily that whole piece is removable and I just ground off the weld nut, rattle canned it, then put on a regular nut and bolt.
At some point I will drill out the bolt/extractor combo and just go the next size bolt up.

Oh, and everytime I remove a bolt, I'm antiseizing the SHITE out of it before putting it back in. Hope that helps for the future.

Question:
When you put on that RCI skid, did it go on with six bolts or four? It replaces the plastic valence/air dam in the front, right? So there are two bolts up there as well? I think that's right, but just want to confirm before I pull the trigger. Edit: Yes, I know, I can also call/email RCI. Just figured I'd post in here to add to collective knowledge base.

(Same question to anybody else out there. 2013 SR5, no KDSS.)

 

[Fcbuff]

I would like to say thank you for this info!

I had a 2016 SR5 that had many Fubar'd skid plate bolts. Found this thread back then and sub'd. Traded the SR5 on a brand new 2019 ORP and decided it would never see the dealer for an oil change...

I have done all my own oil changes since new, am super careful, and yesterday I still had a screwed up bolt. How in the heck? Well sh$t. I had purchased this tap and the die and had it waiting for just such a moment. I cleaned up the threads on the bolt and then the frame. Screwed right back in. Perfect!

It is amazingly easy to mess these bolt threads up. poor design. Oh well.

Highly recommended.

 

[kenwilliams0803]

Question:
When you put on that RCI skid, did it go on with six bolts or four? It replaces the plastic valence/air dam in the front, right? So there are two bolts up there as well? I think that's right, but just want to confirm before I pull the trigger. Edit: Yes, I know, I can also call/email RCI. Just figured I'd post in here to add to collective knowledge base.

(Same question to anybody else out there. 2013 SR5, no KDSS.)

Yeah I just did one 2 weeks ago. Think it was 6.

 

[krravi]

I usually use a cutoff disc to cut the head off the bolts that have seized into the weld nuts that break free. The best way to get them out of the radiator support is to use a magnetic tool - one of those cheap ones that is kinda flexible and pull them to a larger hole.

I'm still really unhappy about the quality of the small hardware on these. Here are two factory bolts I removed about 3 weeks ago. This is on a 2015 4Runner with 50k miles that has lived its entire life in Utah. On one of them the threads just literally fell off while I was backing it out.

Those are factory bolts? They look longer. I just changed the oil for the first time and I saw one bolt (Front right) that was stripped. Dealer shenanigans with their torque wrench.

What is the length of the factory bolts? I am planning on going to a hardware store to get a replacement.

 

[Jetboy]

Those are factory bolts? They look longer. I just changed the oil for the first time and I saw one bolt (Front right) that was stripped. Dealer shenanigans with their torque wrench.

What is the length of the factory bolts? I am planning on going to a hardware store to get a replacement.

Yeah. Those are factory hardware. They're from the angle braces on the crossmember. I've never had a vehicle with hardware rust this badly this fast.

 

[Lexington]

Toyota would save people a lot of headaches if they just had a removable section on the skid plate for oil changes. They do it for the Tacoma, why not the 4Runner.

 

[krravi]

Toyota would save people a lot of headaches if they just had a removable section on the skid plate for oil changes. They do it for the Tacoma, why not the 4Runner.

Agree. There is a small plate for oil changes which is not an issue. It is the location of the oil filter that has made it a pain. Prev 4Runner the filter was on the top near the engine. Was so easy!

But I read somewhere that the location of the filter was changed to accomodate something about the new engine.

Baxter Performance has extensions to mount the oil filter to the top and also another extension to use screw on filters.

You can check out their products if you like,

Baxter Performance

 

[jrandom]

Those are factory bolts? They look longer. I just changed the oil for the first time and I saw one bolt (Front right) that was stripped. Dealer shenanigans with their torque wrench.

LOL you give them a lot of credit, I have only ever seen them use a torque wrench on critical components, forget about "skid" plates, numerical settings on impact wrenches hardly count :-D

 

[nozup]

stripped bolts and nuts 5th gen

A year ago I purchased a 2011 toyota 4runner SR5 and had to do a fair amount of maintenance plus lifted it. All that required the skid plate to come off and on bunches. At first I thought the bolts were getting stripped and replaced them and also chased the nut threads with a tap. The new bolts which were hardware store started to not hold so the nuts were getting stripped. I did a search on forums and this was one, and saw this was a common problem. I saw where people replaced the stock bolts with 10mm. I had a concern that the nuts which are welded on would not have enough thickness to drill and tap for 10mm bolts. I waited a while until I had no choice.
I went with the 10mm and here is how I did it similar to others.

I went with a 0-1/2 tap wrench that looks like a drill chuck
horizontal tap wrench
10mm 1.25 pitch thread cutting tap
cutting oil
penetrating oil
drill 5/16 and 11/32 inch drill bit
3/8 chuck drill
8 10mm bolts 1.25 thread pitch at least 20mm long
8 5/16 inch flat washer
carburetor cleaner spray can

What I found doing the job:

10mm is a fraction larger than 3/8 of an inch
One needs to be careful drilling the threads out of the old nuts and not let the drill bit wobble and drill straight.

I used the 5/16 inches bit at first. This made really nice threads though the tap was hard to get started. 11/32 bit let the tap start easier and still gave good threads. I went with the 5/16 to save nut thickness initially. Good idea or bad? Later due to the difficulty I switched to 11/32.

I used the 1.25 thread pitch bolts due to the thickness of the nut after drilled figuring more threads would be better. One could use 1 pitch thread and maybe do okay.

Due to working looking up at bolt holes one has to get the thread cutting oil up which does not work unless one has a squirt container. So maybe a heavy oil in a spray can would work better or buy a pump oil can. I just used penetrating spray can oil. Maybe not the best. Buy a pump oil can for the thread cutting oil.

The tap takes some pressure to get started. Remember one is working looking up. I later purchased a horizontal tap wrench that worked better since I could apply upward pressure better. The horizontal tap wrench did not fit in all areas due to car parts in the way. So I switched back and forth between wrenches as needed. Try not to let the tap wobble much. This is hard to do though work at it.

The tap must be worked back and forth to get the cuttings out. Go a turn the back off to eject cuttings. When the tap is in 1/3 to 1/2 it turns easier. Run the tap all the way through.

If one can not find short bolts go with longer ones, though not too long. There is only so much room up there. If too long of bolts one could cut them off. Surprise to me I bought 8 bolts from the hardware store and had to get different lengths due to quantity available. Four of the bolts had different head size which I did not notice until install time. Not a deal breaker although irritating.

I think I went with 5/16 inch flat washer because they fit the bolt snugger.

I had to drill some of the skid plate bolt holes larger so be ready to need some larger drill bits. Also a couple skid plate holes were ovals and had to be filed wider. Think rat tail file or a rotary file which I had.

After I tapped the holes I cleaned them with carb cleaner and then ran a bolt through the hole. They all went smooth.

When putting the skid plate on for the last time, grease the new bolts and nut threads.

It seems there is enough nut thickness to snug the bolts down and hold for the long term. Do not go crazy with tightness. Some have said 20ft lbs. I did not torque so I just made them tight.

I noticed that threads are cut into the support bracket which was not the case before. So the support bracket for the nut gives some support. This may vary according to bolt hole.

 

[Dynamo]

The skid plate is bolted to 2 supports that are replaceable as they themselves are just bolted on. So if any of the threaded holes get stripped or otherwise screwed up and you don't want to attempt to repair the stripped holes then you can just replace one or both of the supports as needed. Not a cheap fix (each support is ~$150) but it will bring it back to original condition.

 

[RAVL 2016]

The dealer stripped one of mine as well. I have the TRD skid plate on my 2016 SR5. While the dealer techs should be more careful, the prevalence of this issue indicates that Toyota should make the mounting points in the chassis more robust. This is the type of thing that undermines owner confidence in the dealer service network and the quality of the vehicle as well.

 

[Sirby]

A stripped engine guard bolt that will not come out

I had a dealer over torque one of the two 12mm bolts holding the front engine guard on. I am trying to change my own oil for the first time after taking it to my local Toyota dealer for all prior service.
My dilemma is, how do I remove this bolt when it just spins in either direction?
I can imagine drilling out the free spinning bolt will not work.
Help!
Steve
SW Washington

 

[flyrv9]

In the past, some guys have mentioned just removing the skid plate before going to have the dealer (or other place) do service. Somehow I escaped this problem after the free oil changes. I've done the rest myself.

 

[CutthroatSlam]

Search “Sakers Stud Mount” for the skid and be done with it.

 

[dianiboy]

Need help :/

So i got a 2013 4runner SR5, one of my skid plate bolts (circled in red) does not want to budge at all!!!
I drowned it in WD-40 over night, tried loosening it with an impact, quite a few times and nothing, it actually cracked my 12 mm socket!

Any suggestions, or tips would be greatly appreciated!

 

[fkheath]

So i got a 2013 4runner SR5, one of my skid plate bolts (circled in red) does not want to budge at all!!!
I drowned it in WD-40 over night, tried loosening it with an impact, quite a few times and nothing, it actually cracked my 12 mm socket!

Any suggestions, or tips would be greatly appreciated!

Try SeaFoam Deep Creep instead of WD-40. It penetrates better. You will also need longer than a day of soak. Perhaps a week.

They make special sockets for impact wrenches. Much stronger.

There is an old saying: "don't force it, get a bigger hammer". In this case a bigger impact wrench or longer breaker bar. But of course, then you may break the bolt, strip the threads, or even rip off the frame part that the bolt screws into. Thus, it is best to keep after it with Deep Creep.

If the bolt does break, then your only recourse is to drill it out and renew the threads.

Many people, like me, have replaced the bolts with studs. Much easier to take the skid off for maintenance.