Hey gang,

Question for those with diff drop and OEM skid plate:

Does the addition of spacers cause any grief when you take your truck in for an oil change? In other words, when the guy pulls the plate, do the spacers fall off the bolts and get lost? How do you handle this.... just tell the tech to watch for the spacers and remember to replace?

I'll have my drop installed on Friday.

Merry Christmas to you all.

Bruce in Vancouver
A2B in a TLC

 

Well you could weld the spacers in place, or better yet do your own oil change. Merry Christmas to you too.

 

hmmmm, i dont have to take off my skid to change my oil. guess it changes with the gen.

 

Will have some spacers under one end of the skid plate that would not be there stock. Might be able to use some good adhesive or tack weld them to the back of the skid plate to avoid loosing them at the oil change place. Or else just pull the skid plate off before taking it into the shop.

 

Just buy a quick drain valve (with nipple), stick 6" of clear hose on it, and never worry about having to pull that skidplate again.
http://www.quickoildrainvalve.com/

 

I like the quick drain. May go for it.

I have done many, many oil changes over the years. Not always practical or cheaper than a Mr Lube, etc.

Bruce
A2B in a TLC

 

The quick drain I have does not have the nipple to put an extension line onto. Not that I need it. I don't think any have it.

 

right here Teuf
http://www.quickoildrainvalve.com/Pr...ductCode=F103N

 

Well there ya go. Thanks Herr Holmes

 

Yes they do. See below.

IMO, the quick drain valve would have been useless to me without the nipple so that I could stick a hose on it. I got the quick drain valve so that I could avert the oil out and around the skid plate. The 2 changes I've done since I've had it have been completely mess free. Well worth the 25 bucks to save some clean up time and stay off of the EPA's radar... which is a place BBP loves to be

 

the diff drop spacer is attached to the bolts holding the front diff and is being held in place by those two bolts. These two bolts are bolted to the frame to keep the differential in place. The skid plate is bolted to the frame using six bolts that are independent of the two bolts holding the diff drop. hence, the diff drop doesn't drop off when you remove the skid plate.

 

Yeah.. well theres also spacers that space the skid plate down so the newly dropped diff doesn't contact it
And thats what the OP is referring to being lost

 

I used a diff drop with my stock skid.
I did not use any spacers to lower the skid.

Here is how I did it.
*mark where the diff bolts/mounts hit the skid
*cut the bracing off the back of the skid
*test fit
*if you still need more room, lay the skid in the grass and pound on those two spots with a big hammer till it fits

 

Scuba, Thanks for the correction.. didn't get the question right so i reread it after reading your post.

 

Thanks for all the suggestions.

Diff drop installed. Kind of generic; ordered by the alignment shop.

This all started when I went to get an alignment after 1" top plate spacer installed, had other suspension issues, and asked them to do the diff drop at the same time while the plate was off. Spacers looked to be about 2 cm plus the washers.

In the end, there was no problem with elongating the holes on the OEM skid plate. And to the point - the install did not require spacers for the plate.

BTW, liftwise I am now at 37 1/4" to the wheel well rim front & rear. 23 1/2" front hub centre to wheel well rim.

Merry Christmas,

Bruce

 

Do you ever worry that the drain valve sticks out a little more than a regular drain plug and that in the event of an impact or sliding on rocks or something that it might get ripped out of the oil pan and cause major problems?

 

With my heavy duty skid row skidplate, no.
If I had a stock skid, maybe.

But even then, the impact would have to be so great that it bends that 1/8" stock skid back far enough to bend it as well as far enough to contact the quick drain. And then you'd be dealing with the copper drain valve bending or even shearing, as well as the trying to make the oil pan give up its grip on the plug.
That would be a worst case scenario that I couldn't see happening unless you just suck at driving.

 

To answer the original question, yes it is a pain.

However, since you only need to change your oil a minimum of 3,000 miles its not that big of a deal.

I installed the Toytec diff-drop and it came with 2 spacers for the factory skids. I ended up notching the factory skid, using the 2 supplied spacers and made 2 more out of some metal sleeve I had laying around.

I pull the skids anyway when I change my oil otherwise it makes a mess when I pull the filter. Last time I tried to leave the rear one on and I layed the front one underneath it after I removed it. This actually made more of a mess cause the oil from the filter drained on the rear skid then dripped down on the front one underneath it. Oops.

Anyways, it takes me an extra 5 minutes to make sure all the spacers are in place when mounting the skids so its still pretty easy. That and I dont drive much so I only change the oil twice a year.

Oh, and since the signature isnt showing up I have a 3rd gen 4runner, the 85' is long gone.

 

I would suggest doing your own maintenance, you will save money, and never be talked into replacing or fixing something that is completely fine. Glad you got the diff drop in. I had one from fat bobs garage on my 97 runner.

 

I found this one that is a little shorter to lessen the probability of this happening

http://www.amazon.com/Fumoto-S-Type-...f=pd_rhf_p_t_4