Creaky skid plates.

I have the stock TRD skid plus talon's garage cat shields and the transmission shield, has been on the truck for 2 years now.

Since early spring, while coming to a stop at low speed or turning at low speed I hear creaking sound, or clicking sound, and it's kinda driving me nuts, I've put on the foam on the TRD skid and some on the contact points for the cat shields, still does it.

Has anyone come up with a good solution?

 

I don’t have the Pro skid but have all the Talon’s plates. This worked for me

https://www.tundras.com/threads/wha...5-gen-tundra-today.713/page-2826#post-3255409

 

Thanks for posting that, I'm gonna try it again, was it like a "click click" and creaky sound?

 

Yep. Creaky sound. Heard it when backing up or slowing to a stop. First thought it was suspension. It went on for a few weeks. So far that’s been the fix. Drove all over the beach last week and still all good.

 

Mine was quiet until I got the free 10k oil change at the dealership. When it started creaking, I noticed there was some oil drops at the end of the skid. They must have spilled some oil on top of the skid when removing the whole plastic oil filter cover (instead of removing the plug and draining it)and it was enough to create movement between the skid and frame, this was the creaking. I had to take the whole skid off blast everything with brake cleaner, then I put never-seize on the bolts, a strip of fuzzy-side-only Velcro on the skid at contact points of the frame, and cranked everything down tight.
I do my own oil changes now every 5k and when I went to remove the plug the first time, it wouldn't come loose so the whole assembly was one solid block of shit they monkeyed on. They had to remove it as one piece, that's how the oil spilled. I had to literally break the whole plastic assembly off the truck to remove it... Ridiculous. I replaced it with the metal one, put never-seize on the threads and have never had one drip oil oil spilled. Now 8 oil changes later at 50k miles and 5 years passed, and still no creaking!

 

Hey Sam!

Thanks for posting this. I have the same issue after I installed my TRD sway bars. It drives me crazy and it doesn't help that my girl like to make fun of the way my new truck "creaks" more than my 85 pickup lol

This started after I installed my sway bars and for the past year I've been trying to trace the noise. I regreased the bushings so many times and made sure the end links were torqued down. A few weeks ago I saw someone comment on a facebook group that the TRD skid is known for creaking and I've been waiting to give that try. I assume when I reinstalled it after I did the sway bars, I must of messed with the push nut on the bots and didn't tighten something down. Gonna take a look and see what McMaster offers for dampening washers, give that a try and report back.

 

When I had my TRD Pro engine skid plate and TPFI transmission/transfer case/cat shield/skid, I heard the creaking/popping. Isolated it to where the engine and trans skids attach to the crossmember. When I installed my RCI setup, I used clear vinyl washers (pic below), installed from bottom to top as: bolt head->steel washer->engine skid->vinyl washers->trans skid->vinyl washers->crossmember->RCI cheat bar with speed clips. No noise so far (knock on wood)

 

Hard-to-Find Fastener 014973211851 211851 Rubber Washer, 3/8 x 1-1/4", Black, 8 https://a.co/d/eV3p5hZ

 

Probably even better!

 

does anyone know the thread size to the skid bolts?

assuming 3/8 from this, I might give this a try. I figured wider is better.

https://www.mcmaster.com/90131A552/

 

They go on tight so they can hold the bolt in place while you line up the holes. I opened them up a tiny bit more using a drill.

If you run a transfer case skid, I stack one between the two plates where they meet as well.

 

Did you get this addressed?
I too have the TRD Skid Plate and Talon Garage Cat plates and have the same noises.
When The TRD plate was on by itself it also made a similar noise, but a couple nylon shims took care of it.
Now that I added the Talon Garage Plates, the noise is back.
I plan to trace the overlap of the plates and add some rubber of maybe some flex tape or something similar to see if it helps.
It just sucks that all the plates will need to be removed and reinstalled.

 

I have yet to deal with it, the plan is to pull all of them off and add nylon bushing and RV grade gasket as per the TSB for TRD skit plate and see how that works.

I also notice one of the bolts for the Talon's shield is very close to my exhaust, but that's my problem since my exhaust is not stock.

 

I had same issue years ago when I installed the TRD skid. Use this anywhere the bolts/plates come in contact with the frame:

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Keeney-6-in-Rubber-Washer/1082957

It’s a square piece of rubber…in the plumbing section of Lowes…cheap and gives a broader area of coverage.

There is an old thread on here (somewhere) that talks to this.

 

I did not even think to check for a TSB. I found this online so maybe the dealer can take of it. I think I'm still under warranty lol

https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2019/MC-10164921-9999.pdf

Edit: NVM seems like people still have issues afterwards. Rubber washers it is.

https://www.tundratalk.net/threads/skid-plate-tsb.689545/

 

I had that creaking sound where the plates overlap. I hit it with this and it’s been quiet for several weeks now.

 

Spent solid 6 hours dealing with it, I couldn't eliminate the sound, I could only reduce so I just took them off and admit defeat.

 

OP, I had to remove my skids for transmission/transfer case service. When I reinstalled, instead of vinyl washers, I followed @AZBoatHauler and used rubber washers, though I did by another brand. Hindsight, when I do it again, I'll get wider washers like @te37_daniel recommended.

$10 80pcs M8 x 25mm Flat Rubber Washers, Plumbing Gasket Kit Hose Gasket Set Heavy Duty Abrasion Resistant Rubber for Faucet Repair Household Appliances Vibration Suppression (1in)

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BY8C4955?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details

Here's how I reinstalled from bottom to top: security bolt->steel washer->engine skid->rubber washer->transmission skid->rubber washer->crossmember->RCI "cheat" bar. Also, every few inches, between the very end lip of the engine skid and the transmission skid, I put another rubber washer. (pic below, you have to look really close to see the rubber washers). Don't give up! I know that creaking noise can be a nuisance!!

 

I tried all the different combo, rubber washer, felt washer, it still creaks when moving, so I wonder if the sound comes from the actual flexing of the plate specially cut outs from the logos.

 

What exactly did you do to them to eliminate or try to eliminate the sound?

 

Spent 3 hours removing the rusty bolts and find new bolts/nuts.

- Tried felt washers, I have bunch of them from McMaster-Carr, the high temp ones
- Tried rubber washers
- Tried WD40
- Tried RV grade sealant
- Tried olive oil

Put them on all mounting surfaces, it quiet down by about half, but can still hear them at low speed, it still creaks when the lift goes up and down.

 

I read your original post; if I’m interpreting it correctly, you’ve had the setup for 2 years, and then the creaking started. Might be a dumb question, but did you try driving around for a few days without the cat shields, to see if the creaking goes away?

 

Mine started to “pop” and clunked a month or so after driving it as well. I don’t have a TRD skid but do have Talon cat plates. Read in the forums using cut up old bicycle tubes…loosened the plates to slide em in at suspected contact points between the plates overlapping and cross members…eliminated the noises thus far .

 

Pretty sure toyota had a tsb about this. I had this issue as well and I found the biggest factor in the noises was the torque of the mounting bolts. Mine super quiet now. Of course, after this I noticed the hitch rattle so I had to get a hitch tightener/silencer.

 

For anyone that has cat plates on and the TRD front plate. Mine were creaking and popping and making noises when turning and going slow and even when getting into my truck. My 21 Sounded like an old truck with worn out suspension. I was going to wait until the weather cooled off but decided to tackle it today. With all the plates installed, I used a sharpie to mark the plates overlap. Then I removed all the plates except the TRD plate. I used some rubber roof scraps I had left over and glued them to the plates where they overlap. Any metal to metal now is covered 100% with rubber (including where it contracts the frame) I Put all the plates back on, and took it for a test drive, and All the noises are gone now. Hopefully it won’t start to squeak now that there’s rubber on it. Stock suspension and sitting flat on the ground made it challenging by myself but it wasn’t impossible. I will be investing in a TRD nut plate to make it easier when I need to take them off and on again.
I hope this helps anyone that has the same issue.