I tried to ghetto my filter out last time (also my first oil change on my 4runner) with a screw driver... man, tell ya what, these little import engines are a lot more of a PITA to work on than my old 78 f150.. at any rate, yes, you should probably take the skid plate off just to make life easier on you, and spend the extra couple dollars on a oil filter wrench if you don't have one... I didn't have one on hand and had to take my girlfriends VW Cabrio (least masculine vehicle ever, btw) to kragen to grab one. Boo.