TRD skid plate mounting with ready lift SST kit diff drop Success

So dealer/installer pulled off the TRD skid plate as it “doesn’t fit” anymore due to the diff drop when using the Readylift SST lift kit. (They don’t have/supply a kit)
I bought the $45 kit Readlift sells for the 21 from Amazon figuring I could use /adapt the spacers after all there are only 6 bolts…

Success! (With modifications, see post 5 and now post 12 for a complete change with description, same principle, different approach)

Used 2 of the short round spacers up front, the 2 longer ones in back, and cut the longest one to obtain 2 pieces that are exactly the height of the other 2 short spacers stacked together in the middle. Used 4 of the new bolts in the kit and sourced 2 slightly longer bolts for up front.
I have a good 1/2 inch clearance from the dropped diff and the link and maybe 2” at the rear.

I’m happy with how it turned out after the changes I made in post 5.

It is still higher off the ground than the rear diff at the rear of the plate.
(If only it had a filter access door…)
Photos:
1. Front spacer
2. Rear spacer
3. Middle spacer
4 View from the front

Stays the same.

Shorter now

Now shorter.

Same

 

I may do some more measuring and bring it all in a little tighter if I can.
maybe move the middle ones I made from the longest one to the back and see what that does.
I’d have to shorten the current back ones to a new height for the middle if it would work. Don’t really think I’d gain much ground clearance though.
We’ll see…

 

Only 46 days in my possession. It has only seen rain in Oregon so far. No gravel roads yet, no snow, no salt and likely it will not rust!
I really didn’t want to go anywhere I might need the plate before I installed it.

 

Ok, so I tend to try to make things just right…..
It bugged me that the plate was tracking downhill from front to back, and I still had lots of clearance to the drop link and transmission case.

So I moved both of the “double stack height” pieces I made yesterday from the middle mounting location to the rear, and that leveled it up nicely.

Now I needed some shorter pieces in the middle. As luck would have it, the two pieces at the rear were available… did some measurements and it worked out that cutting one of the old pieces from the rear exactly in 1/2 would work to provide the 2 pieces I needed.
Had to cut down and thread the bolts from the rear to fit as well.

I am really happy with the results.

I’m calling it done.

Pics of clearance to plate, spacer moved to the back and the plate now level to ground plane. (Front spacers the same as above posted pics.)

Clearance to plate

Middle spacer moved to rear

Now level

 

Added the Taco Tunes cat converter theft deterrent skid plate.
Works well with the shorter spacers I installed.

 

To be honest…the most shocking thing from this thread for me is that ReadyLift has a diff drop for the 3rd Gen.

 

I was about to ask the question when I saw your post .

“Is it truly needed for lifts 3” and under”

 

Does someone make a skid plate that will work with the swaybar drop? Using spacers isn't too big of a deal, just an aesthetic eye sore once you know it's there, especially with the cat shield.

 

I don’t fret it, nor do I spend a lot of time looking under my truck.
I’d rather dent/bend the plate than my sway bar should I hit something.
I had to lower the plate due to the diff drop. The 35 mm drop was enough to cover the sway bar as well.

 

Wondering if this will work with TRD lift…

 

Apologies if I missed it. But…what did you use to make the spacers, and what was your methodology for figuring out the sizing needs?

 

Trial and error to see what was needed to clear the diff.
But, I just redid/redesigned/replaced all 6 spacers this weekend!

Cut 6 pieces of 1.5” steel round stock to around 1.5” long. (See note at end for 2 of them)
Drilled and tapped them all the way through for 8mm 1.25 pitch studs and/or bolts.
Used 8mm studs some with red Loctite and screwed them about 1/2 way into the spacer let cure, and then screwed them untreated into the frame.
Mounted TRD skid plate with factory bolts.
Now the plate can come off and the spacers stay in place.
Note: I also installed a cat converter skid/theft plate, so I actually subtracted the thickness of it from the rear 2 spacers, to hold the cat plate in place as designed when skid plate is removed.

They are basically designed the same as these rubber isolators, but all steel.
(I’ve seen rubber ones fail in time. Don’t want to lose the skid plate)

Rubber Mounts M6 M8 Cylindrical Rubber Isolator Mounts Shock Absorber Anti Vibration Mount 1/4 Shock Absorption Mount w/Threaded Stud Vibration Isolator Silentblock Car Boat Bobbins, M6 Pack of 4

$13 Rubber Mounts M6 M8 Cylindrical Rubber Isolator Mounts Shock Absorber Anti Vibration Mount 1/4 Shock Absorption Mount w/Threaded Stud Vibration Isolator Silentblock Car Boat Bobbins, M6 Pack of 4

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B082Q6SBK1

 

@Timmy23 You should sell the spacers you designed on EBAY; I'd buy a set in a heartbeat

 

Ha ha, no…
Maybe if I had a machine shop I’d think about it.
For the personal time investment doing them by hand, forget it.

Besides, I don’t want anything to do with selling anything on that greedy site and the new electronic sales tax laws….

Go sell a used couch or whatever for over $600 and get a 1099 for the full value of the sale. Then do the tax dance of setting up a “business” to show it wasn’t all profit as it is considered to be by the IRS.
No thanks.

Sorry for the rant, I just hate that start ups and small businesses using electronic funds payment systems are being used to support the current tax deficit here in the US. Tax the little guy so they can’t get ahead, and the big guys can keep theirs.

 

https://talonsgarage.com/products/toyota-tundra-2022-2023-engine-skid-plate?variant=47092617249076 These guys was working on one. Not sure if it’s really sold out currently or still being designed.

 

For the life of me I do not know how you did this, I have the TRD Factory 3” lift and I followed your directions to the “T” and I can not get the skid plate up high enough to get past the sway bar. Is this skid plate not usable with my lift?

 

No idea for the factory lift.
My lift kit is a Readylift SST.
Different sway bar brackets on the Factory Lift?
My plate covers the sway bar and has about 1/4” of clearance to it.

 

I think the problem is that with the kit I have on it has sway bar spacers, you think I could take those out and still have the sway bar installed?

 

@MD74 This thread is going to be your best friend if you're interested in the Toyota lift:

22 Tundra TRD Suspension Lift Kit

All the answers you seek about the skid plate have been talked about ad nauseum in that thread. Enjoy!

 

Did the rear bolts on the cat guard need spacers?

 

No spacer needed for the cat shield. The spacers in photo on the right are there for the TRD plate to keep it a level installation.

 

I bought readylift lift skid plate spacer

 

I have a skid plate/cat shield