Skid plate dent removal AND would like input on my lower ball joint.

[slomatt]

After this summer's offroading trips my gas tank skid plate wasn't quite as flat as it used to be so I dropped it down to try to remove the dents.

TIP #1: There are three bolts at the front of the gas tank, the middle one holds the tank up and the two outer ones are for the skidplate. Don't be an idiot like me and remove all three because you were too lazy to grab a flashlight so that you can see what you are dealing with.

TIP #2: A full tank of gas is pretty heavy and really difficult to bolt back into place when you remove the middle bolt (see tip #1). Throwing the only jack you could reach under the skid temporarily works and is a great way to make the dents in the skid even worse. Using a piece of wood to distribute the load is much better, so remember to keep a piece of wood handy whenever removing your gas tank skid, or even better just keep tip #1 in mind.

So, on to the pictures. First off, my passenger side lower ball joint is leaking some grease. I jacked up the wheel and there is no play when shaking at the 12 and 6 positions. Is this something I should worry about, or likely just because I flexed out the front suspension on the trail recently? Truck has ~95k miles on it.

http://www.blankwhitepage.com/gallery/albums/t4r_gas_tank_skid/IMG_2837.jpg

After this summer my gas tank skid had a good sized dent in the middle.

http://www.blankwhitepage.com/gallery/albums/t4r_gas_tank_skid/IMG_2828.jpg

And my gas tank has a somewhat smaller (~1/2") dent as well.

http://www.blankwhitepage.com/gallery/albums/t4r_gas_tank_skid/IMG_2826.jpg

To flatten out the skid I used a small floor jack and the weight of the truck. As the jack lifts it rolls forward and after 4 or 5 strategically aimed lifts the dent was mostly gone.

http://www.blankwhitepage.com/gallery/albums/t4r_gas_tank_skid/IMG_2830.jpg

Here's the dent afterwards. It's now shallow enough to not hit the nicely clearanced gas tank.

http://www.blankwhitepage.com/gallery/albums/t4r_gas_tank_skid/IMG_2831.jpg

http://www.blankwhitepage.com/gallery/albums/t4r_gas_tank_skid/IMG_2832.jpg

I've had some issues with the balancing weight on the driveshaft hitting the skid and bending a lip into it so I also fixed that while the skid was off the truck.

http://www.blankwhitepage.com/gallery/albums/t4r_gas_tank_skid/IMG_2834.jpg

http://www.blankwhitepage.com/gallery/albums/t4r_gas_tank_skid/IMG_2835.jpg


Recently I've noticed a squeaking noise over bumps that I've been trying to fix. While under the truck I found a loose bolt on the front skid, and I noticed that the bracket for a rear control arm was bent.

http://www.blankwhitepage.com/gallery/albums/t4r_gas_tank_skid/IMG_2838.jpg

Unfortunately neither of those turned out to be the cause of the squeak and the hut continues

- Matt

[Crinale]

that rear LCA mount looks bad... you should definitely straighten that out..

[troyboy162]

i think that angle is normal its just the overhang below the joint thats bent upward. thats ok and better then most people mounts

[Crinale]

oh really? i didnt realize it had that weird S-bend in it... im used to my 2nd gen mounts that are just straight :-P

[Robinhood4x4]

Are you going to reinforce the skid?

[4x4mike]

The LCA bracket does have a slight bend in it in it's unmolested state. Mine wasn't as bad bad as yours but I made my little skids for them before they got worse.

Your lower ball joint looks similar to mine. After Pardoes my upper ball joints had spit up a little grease. I wiped them clean and they seem to be doing well.

[paddlenbike]

Those pics look familiar...

My balljoints look a little furry at times too. I'm not sure how to diagnose ball joints other than to replace them when they clunk.

[slomatt]

It sounds like the consensus is if the joint isn't loose then the grease leaking is ok. Great. Now I just need to track down this darn squeak when I go over bumps.

Steve, I'm thinking of reinforcing the skid but haven't come up with a solution I like yet. Some people have welded 3/16" plate or angle bar to the skid but I'm not 100% sold on either of those ideas. The problem is that it's a large and unsupported flat area that is subjected to loads in the vertical plane, so if I just weld on a plate it would have to be pretty think to resist deformation. Ideally I'd like to add support down the sides and then have cross members to take up the load, but of course I don't want to loose ground clearance. Still thinking about designs.

Oh, and and I forgot to post the "after" picture of the control arm bracket. I had to unbolt the arm at both ends to remove it so I could straighten things out, but it's all fixed now.

http://www.blankwhitepage.com/gallery/albums/t4r_gas_tank_skid/IMG_2839.jpg

- Matt

[4x4mike]

Both Ken and I were having noises and we thought it was coming from the front. On both of ours it ended up being the driver side nut and bolt on the panhard bar. He has the SS adjustable one and mine is stock. I basically took it out, greased it up and put my impact gun on it.

[Seanz0rz]

when i undented my skid, i just took a 5 pound hammer to it while it was sitting in the grass. now it hangs about 1" lower than it used to but at least its not touching the tank anymore! undenting the tank was another matter...

[troyboy162]

i think we all have blown seals on joints. my 1 year old lower ball joints are already showing cracks int he rubber. they guys couldnt understand why i didnt want to blast through the big puddles last weekend...haha most of my joints are leaking grease, in need of grease, or just plain 12 years old.

[Seanz0rz]

i replaced all 4 BJ's and the outer TRE in jan 08. they are all still in good shape, but havnet seen ALOT of dirt. the inner TRE are worn out and need to be replaced soon.

[slomatt]

Both Ken and I were having noises and we thought it was coming from the front. On both of ours it ended up being the driver side nut and bolt on the panhard bar. He has the SS adjustable one and mine is stock. I basically took it out, greased it up and put my impact gun on it.

Ah, haven't checked that one out yet. Did it cause a squeak for you or some other kind of noise? I'll check it out this weekend, thanks for the tip.

- Matt

[4x4mike]

The squeak I had was the metal end of my radiator rubbing on the inside side of my front skid plate. The loose panhard bar caused a bit of clunking. I think I made a post about it. I kind of thought it was something up front and had heard of similar issues from folks after they lifted their 3rd gens. I think Ken had more of a clunk than a squeak but I think he also had some front shock issues. Just on a fire road his junk would sound like a jeep just driving along. I've toyed with the idea of making an adjustable panhard bar and if so I'd upgrade that mounting nut to a nylock.

Your bar may not seem loose by just grabbing it, although ours did. Put a wrench to the nut and bolt to check. I have no idea what the torque spec is but I'm certain my 700+ ft-pound impact exceeded it and it's still going strong.

[slomatt]

I ended up purchasing the Lil' Skip's offroad gas tank skidplate and have been very happy with it so far. The skid is very well built and easy to install.

http://www.blankwhitepage.com/gallery/albums/t4r_gas_tank_skid/IMG_2931.jpg

- Matt

[Bighead]

I ended up purchasing the Lil' Skip's offroad gas tank skidplate and have been very happy with it so far. The skid is very well built and easy to install.

- Matt


Looks good. One of these days I'll get mine installed.

[Obi..]

Did you ever throw on a control-arm drop or put on an adjustable one? This is a 4Runner right ;) when you lift more than 2" without adjusting the control arm it pulls the differential and driveshaft that way making the driveshaft hit the skid plate. Just so you know in case you didn't already..

In case anyone else searches the topic the other fix for the tank is you run it as low as possible, then pop out the fuel sending unit and using a 2x2 or other wood beam and a small mallet on it to bang out the dent as best possible. Just be sure the wood doesn't splinter up on either end and that you have an assistant helping you so you don't crease or tear the tank itself. :thumbup:

[4x4mike]

An adjustable panhard bar centers the axle and helps reduce the contact. He's got an SS lift with the taller rear coils.

[Obi..]

Gotcha. :thumbup: