Can an adult hand fit through TRD skid plate oil drain access hole?

Does anyone know if it's big enough for a hand to fit through so an aftermarket valve system, such as fumoto, can be installed?



If not, then I guess just good old drain plug bolt. Last time I changed the oil without any skid plate, as soon as I unscrewed the bolt, the oil just gushed out and splattered all over. Is it going to be a mess with the skid plate on consider there's no way to clean the inside of the skid if not willing to uninstall the skid.

 

Don't fuck with it. Let the dealer do it. 50 bucks every 10K miles. no muss, no fuss.

G.

 

The Pro skid plate works fine with the stock filter canister, not sure if anything aftermarket would work or not. Sounds like something is wrong with your filter as after you remove the drain then you shove the little drain tool in so you should not have had any oil gushing out.

 

I always remove it, only 4 bolts.

My hand wont fit, not worth the mess.

 

You have a lot of trust in your dealer. Not that I want to do either but at least I know it’s getting done right and not being overfilled like the one time I did let them do it. And it’s cheaper than 50 so win win

 

If you take your time, you can have the front skid off in three minutes.
Time well spent so you can inspect the area.

 

yeah, you're talking about the square opening, that one looks big and enough for a hand to get in and twist the oil filter housing and do all the draining. There's no issue there because most oil is drained down below when drain bolt is unscrewed

 

the regular skid plate was a pita on mine because of the air dam. Thats the next thing I plan on yanking off.

 

Consider a Fumoto valve? With plastic tubing attached to the nipple (lol) then let it drain into an empty jug/container = no mess. My above average adult hand seems to fit fine (I have the 3rd gen IFS on my 2nd gen)

 

I have a fumoto on mine and the trd pro skid. You’ll have to remove the skid to install it. But every oil change after I just drain it through the skid.

 

Nice, so you just flip the fumoto switch with your fingers through the hole? Do you know how much clearance there is between the bottom of the oil pan and the skid plate? I'm wondering if a valve of this size can fit

$50 ValvoMax Oil Drain Valve - Quick Twist Oil Drain Plug for DIY Oil Changes At Home in 10 Minutes - No Tools, No Mess, No Cleanup - M12-1.25 Thread Size - Made in USA

https://www.amazon.com/ValvoMax-Oil...NDE1ASV3EFG&psc=1&refRID=89XSGFQAWNDE1ASV3EFG

 

He's talking about the TRD Pro skid plate, not the stock plate. It's not "easy" to remove and it takes way more than 3 minutes. And it's 6 bolts, of two different sizes. It's really a two person job and there's nothing easy about it. If you have to remove it to change your oil, you are in for a bad time.

That said, yes you can get an adult hand through there. A Fumoto valve with a drain hose attached to it during oil changes is your best bet, honestly... but getting to the stock canister shouldn't be a problem. The rectangular opening is about 6" by 4" I believe. I can go measure if you want.

 

A TRD Pro skid is difficult to remove?? How so? Six screws doesn't sound bad. How much does it weigh?? Nothing easy about it??

There is something here that I don't understand...

 

Its kinda heavy and awkward, l laid it on my lap and slid under to install. Would certainly not want to remove it to change the oil.

 

The first time I installed mine I did it easily by myself. The second time for whatever reason was not nearly as easy. There are these washers that bend to lock against the spacers (maybe someone knows the technical term for them) but nearly all of them fell off or broke off and it was a pia to line it all up.

 

Yeah those #@%@#$$ things were the bane of my existence. I thought they'd be on, got the plate up there and they slip off and the spacer rolls away... start the process over.

That thing was a nightmare to put on. I hope I never have to take it off. If you have two people, it's probably fairly easy, but doing it by yourself is an exercise in frustration. Couple that with the fact that you have to switch out your socket for the rear two bolts and Toyota can F right off with that BS.

 

I just re-read OP... and I think he's asking about the drain hole, not the filter hole.

No, it's not big enough to get an adult hand through. It's slightly less than 3" in diameter.

 

this is great! thanks!
Your measurement helps immensely. It seems that the oil drain hole opening is very close to the actual drain bolt, so I guess as long as fingers can reach the bolt I can turn the valve without fitting the entire fist through.

 

Yeah, you can get in there far enough.

 

The 2 in the rear of the plate get stripped very easily. I think the 2 front and middle ones are 17 mm. The rears are 12 and can get wonky fast if taking it of and putting it on by yourself.