man8959

I removed the front skid plate to change the oil this morning and when i put the skid plate back I had cross thread two bolts and now they're not screw in any more. what should i do now? please help thanks in advance

purplehazek4

No worries,

All you need to do is find a metric bolt and nut shop (some standard bolt places may have it too) show them the bolt to the hole you stripped and tell them you need a "Tap" for it. A Tap basically re-threads the threads you stripped. Add a lil oil to the Tap, clamp it with vise grips (unless you have the Tap holder) and thread it in. it will re-thread your stripped hole. Make sure to clean the hole out afterwards as there will be metal shavings.

Dan

man8959

thanks for the reply, but how do i find a nut shop? is it a hard ware shop?

V8_Fan

Are you sure the bolt hole in the chassis is stripped? I find that hard to believe. Usually, it's the bolt itself, as they are softer than the chassis steel. In fact, those skid plate bolts don't last forever. I've had to replace two of them on my '86 4runner. The threads wear down after numerous removals/installs so it doesn't screw in anymore. I got a replacement by going to a real hardward store (in this case, in Torrance, CA). ACE hardware carries a limited selection of metric, but I don't think you'll find it there. The store I went to in Torrance had aisle after aisle of fasteners. Just handed the guy the bolt and he got me two replacements, but the heads were a different size (13mm vs the normal toyota 12mm). If you want the 12mm, you'll have to order from the dealer, maybe a couple bucks each.

man8959

yes, i stripped both the holes and bolts. anybody know how i can re-thread the holes. what is "tap" that was talking about above?

V8_Fan

If you stripped the holes, you have to use a metric tap and tap new threads for the next bigger size. Make sure you have cutting oil for the tap. It's easy. Or just ditch the skid plate. If you land hard on a big rock, it won't protect the underside, anyways. Only advantage I can think of is it helps keep water out of the engine if you do a deep water crossing (deep, meaning bumper level).

The G Man

If you never use a tap before, you might want to bring it to a gas station to get it fix.

renau001

Just did the 1st oil change for a new to us GX we got. Had one stripped bolt on the front skid plate that would not torque to spec (21 lb-ft). Purchased new bolt, Toyota part # 90080-11373. Tapped hole with a M8x1.25 plug tap. Don't forget to use some cutting oil and back out the tap every turn or so to let the metal shavings fall out through the flutes to prevent breaking off the tap in the hole. After tapping hole, new bolt torqued up perfectly.

I also addressed the root cause of the stripped bolt. The front skid plate would not move towards the front of the vehicle far enough for the holes in the skid plate to line up with the bolt holes, this was because the hang tabs were out of alignment. Removed the skid and bent one of the tabs a bit for proper alignment. Skid plate now goes on and aligns properly, so should not have this issue again. If your skid plate is not lining up properly, highly recommend addressing this to prevent a future stripped bolt.