Stripped skid bolts no more

Salvage yard finally got a 5th gen in and went and got the radiator brackets for the silly oil change skid plate to bolt into. I also grabbed some beefy hardware and welded the nuts in place of the factory ones. I know what the welds look like.... they are plenty strong enough. I guess I'll be impact wrenching away now lol.

 

nice - well done! and thanks for sharing

 

Looks good. Too bad they don't come from the factory that way!

 

Too bad they didn’t come with studs!

 

so smart! I have multiple stripped skid bolt holes

 

my right front is stripped, whats the part number forit, its not listed as Radiator support.

 

Maybe brace or some such I only ever saw other ones on ebay.

 

You should do a search for @Saker's mod to install studs that replace the bolts. No more stripped bolts. I'll see if I can find his writeup.

Edit: here it is...

https://www.4runners.com/threads/trd-skid-plate-mounted-w-studs-2010-2021.27082/

He did it for a TRD skid, but I don't imagine it wouldn't work for other skid plates.

 

How are y'all stripping your skid bolts? I'm guessing from wrench monkeys at dealerships/service places. Why I do it myself.

 

I found out when I replaced my stock with RCI skid, its the smaller bolt up front that bolts into weld nut, technically its "not stripped, just spins and wont tighten

 

When i installed the RCI Skid, I chased all and used a very healthy dollop of anti seize when re-installed the new skid

 

I plan on installing the Cartrimhome skid on my relatively new 2024 with the oil drain plug access so once it’s on, it will never have to come off again thus hopefully alleviating some of the stripped thread issues.

 

And wrench monkeys at home .

 

The dealership grease monkeys did it on all the nuts when it was under warranty. I got a tap and die set at Harbor Freight and chased the threads on the car, got new bolts on Amazon, went back to doing my own oil changes.

 

I'd be interested in how accessing the filter canister (not the drain plug as mentioned) goes when that time comes...I had the CTH skid for a bit, and that opening seemed a bit small for that, but I didn't keep the skid long enough to find out.

 

RCI’s drain plug is small too, no issues with draining w/out making a mess

 

Well done @Ctreg. For those planning a similar repair, consider using weld nuts. They come in a wide variety of styles, often with a generous flange that makes welding less fiddly. They are also unplated, which means a cleaner weld.