tony_4runner

I had this noise coming from under my Runner. I just purchased my 1999 three weeks ago. I realized that the skid plate had a missing bolt and it was probably vibrating too much while driving. I tried to take one of the bolts out so I can go to the store and get a similar one. In that process I broke the bolt. I tried to use a bolt extractor but it broke as well. Now I can't get it out. While under the car I realized that there was another broken bolt at the front of the skid plate. There are supposed to be three bolts on each side of the plate and I only have one bolt left on one side. It rattles a lot. As a temp fix I used some rubber mat but I have to find a way to take these bolts out and put new ones. Any ideas? should I redrill and tap new holes/threads?

This is a picture of the broken bolt with the broken extractor. This is the rear side of the plate. Look also at all that rust. Doesn't it seems like too much? the truck in general is in great shape but seems to me that there is too much rust in this area.


This is the broken bolt at the front of the plate,


This is another picture of the area I think has too much rust, should I be concerned? This is a picture of the skid plate taken from the rear.


The other side of the skid plate that originally was missing a bolt,


Thanks in advance for your help

tony_4runner

The skid plate rattles a lot, even with the rubber mat. Any ideas on how to fix this mess?

Crux

I think you can drill out the broke bolt and then possibly retap/thread the hole for a slightly larger size.
I've never done it before, but have read about it.
Try PMing AxleIke since he just went through some similar adventures with his budbuilt skidplate.

wjwerdna

maybe try to find another spot in the frame or somewhere to stick a longer bolts and washers.?... that patch of rust in one spot was the same on mine too, kinda weird, even has anotehr patch of material on the inside as if Toyota knew it would do it :0

tony_4runner

yes, exactly, there is an extra layer of sheet metal right at that spot. Weird! I was wondering if they were trying to strengthen that section in case it deflects and hits the frame.

AxleIke

Yeah, that sucks really bad, and unfortuetly, its a drill out, retap process. Get a good cutting oil, and buy a tough set of bits. Step it up one size at a time, slowly enlarging the hole.

Some tips

Don't try it all at once, after about 10 minutes my drill was smoking hot and my arms were acheing like crazy.

Wear saftely googles, not glasses. Tiny metal chips are going to fly around, and i got one in my eye, was a fun night at the ER.

Buy the tap, and then size the bit set so you have the size for the tap in there.

Lastly, do the same thing to all the holes on your skid plate. It sucks to have to switch out sockets to take it off, esp if you are on the trail. Make it all uniform, its really not bad on the holes where you can get the bols out of.

Good luck.

midiwall

Was the truck in WI all it's life? if so, the amoujt of rust seems "normal" given the environment. Yoou should see my 96 which had the first 5 years of it's life in Chicago.

As for getting the bolts out... The other folks have you covered on that.

Elton

you could weld a short bolt on and a few washers should be good as new

ecchamberlin

I know this may not be the "right" way to fix this but what I did was drill them all out and just use nuts with nyloc and bolts for about 6 months until I got my budbuilt skid.

It really did work well and I no longer worried about stripping them. I live along the coast so they were all in really bad shape.

Both ways will work.

tony_4runner

Well, last night I fixed one of the bolts. I drilled the old broken bolt very carefully, and then rethreaded. I was able to go with the same diameter (8 mm) bolt.
Now, the problem with the other bolt, the one towards the rear of the car, is that I broke the bolt extractor in it. The extractor is basically a fine reverse pitch bit, thus high strength steel. The extractor broke flush with the metal and it is locked about 1/4" inside the bolt. I can't take it out, but I can't drill either due to the high strength steel. I don't have means to weld. I think for this bolt my option will be to drill another hole on the skid plate and get a nut on the other side. There is a second hole on the frame that I can use.

GSGALLANT

How big is the diameter of the extractor that's lodged in there in comparison to the 8mm bolt? Could you use a small drill bit or dremel tool to drill the bolt material from around the extractor? If you can do that enough, you may be able to remove the broken piece of extractor, then finish drilling and tapping the hole.

tony_4runner

I tried that last night. The gap is too small, maybe if I drill a little bit into the base. I will try again tonight and see what happens.
The extractor I used is a #3 extractor. That does not say much, It is probably about 5-6 mm I will guess.

4unner4life

Tony, I have had a similair problem, I broke a high carbon steel tap in a bolt i was tring to drill out. It's going to be really hard to drill through the extractor. If you could find somebody with a welder that would probably be your best option.

hamstrungtaco

if you know of anyone that has a tig setup or mig can work too, u can take a stainless nut and approx same size as the old head, and weld it to the broken stud if not too deep, trick is to build the filler up to where u can slip the nut on and fuse it, i did this last week on two broken studs on an aluminum head assembly, and i could literally unscrew them with my fingers since the heat helps loosen them, but this route is much easier and faster than drilling and retapping

boogyman

with all that rust under there, i would spend some time with a wire brush and a can or 2 of black rustoleum paint when you get your skid off. just to make sure it doesn't spread.

tony_4runner

Thanks guys for all the responeses. Here is the conclusion to my saga, after a lot of work and breaking three drill bits, I was able to drill little holes around one half of the bolt and then I was able to hammer the bolt out. I rethreaded the bolt utlizing the same original bolt size/thread and it's working great. The threads are half gone but there is still enough thread to hold the plate in place. I will keep checking it in case it becomes loose in the future.
I found no access to a welder so that was my only choice. I think I will have to purchase a welder at some point, but I first have to have a way to raise my truck more so I can be confortable underneath.
Some pics:

Here is the broken bolt and hex cap,


and the bolt with the smaller drilled out sections,

creekfisher

When I bought my truck the skid plate bolts were stripped and I had broken bolts too. I Heli-coiled the whole thing. Adding a bit of anti-sieze to the bolts should keep them from siezing.

ToysRus

Rusty bolts in the skid plate took up part of my thanksgiving day today. So far, they're drilled out. FUN! Wish there was a better solution.

PeteOB

Makes me wanna go drive over some craggy boulders just make sure the skidplate is worth the trouble!!

93Xtra-Cab

Congrats. You just bumped a 6 year old thread.