Welcome to Talons Garage!

Here's a BEFORE view of the area in question.


The two "indented" areas where the bolts will marry have that extra space in question. Not sure if prior year 3rd Generation Tacos have the same indentations (but I would imagine they do) to make up for the flush spacing I wanted flush against the plate.

The flat spacer that comes with the Talon CAT plate filled part of the space but not all. That's where I fit tested the 3/8" & 1/2" spacers Talon Garage sent me. I ended up using the 1/2" spacer and not using the flat spacer that comes with the Talon CAT plate.

My recommendation for Talon Garage is to send (4) 1/4" flat spacers (2 on each side) to make up for the 1/2" spacer that I verified fits perfect.



Ed

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EDIT: this is the 3/8" spacer on the left and the 1/2" spacer on the right. See how the 1/2" spacer on the right fills the gap perfect as opposed to the 3/8" + the 1/4" spacer on the left? (Can you see the bowing too?) The Talon CAT plate sits directly on top of the TRD Skid plate so the 1/2" spacer will stay exactly where it's at in this pic using the Talon hardware instead of the TRD Skid plate bolts...which are not long enough.

 

https://youtu.be/4jmIpr_-ZHQ

 

Just placed an order and I reached out to Talons Garage since I have the TRD skid plate regarding spacers as some members have mentioned. Will see when it arrives and how it fits.

 

I have considered including 4 of the spacers and calling it good.

I do feel that it would be a little tacky.


I am currently waiting on some 1/2” thick aluminum that I am going to cut a bunch of spacers out of to start including. I do think the later model trucks have a slightly deeper indention, as the few I have installed it on it fit fine.



Now… what I really want to do is get a CNC mill with a bar feeder to make my custom spacers, but that might be a tad bit overkill.

 

I was thinking not changing the way the flat spacers are produced to save on expense...just a suggestion.

You are probably correct in thinking it may seem tacky...it's either making up the space on the consumer side like I did (with the [3] flat washers) which would cause some feedback (I was fine with my fix) or fabricate a fix...which is where you are in the decision-making moving forward.

You have a QUALITY product that's fairly priced (including shipping). Thank you for offering the 1/2" & 3/8" spacers to determine which one would sit flush with the TRD Skid plate.

Ed

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Thank you for replying to my email regarding my order. I tried to reply back but not sure if it went through since it appeared to come from an automated source. When do you anticipate having the 1/2" thick aluminum spacers available? I would like to to get a set with my order if possible.

 

I have a TRD skid plate on order and I think I’ll order some 1/2 inch spacers as well.

 

I just sent you an email back. I do not have a good answer on that. I am waiting on material to get here. It is suppose to be here this week, but it is always hard to tell. I would like yo send you the plate with 4 spacers, and then just send the new spacers once we get them.

It is not very hard to change the spacers out with the plate installed.

 

If you could send that message through he contact us page, It would be the best place for both myself and my wife to see it and track your order.

 

Trust me, the thought has crossed my mind, but I hate how cheap it would feel. I cut 4 spacers per plate already, just to account for losses in the water table.

 

Sounds good got your email as well. I look forward to getting the plate.

 

RE spacers:
I received only the 2 spacers that were a bit janky (it was not cnc'd and had very rough edges and was even rusted on one face of the piece, but not a big deal). I did not need additional spacers on my 2018 TRD OR DCLB (without aftermarket skid plate)

Decided to hit it with some high heat primer and matte black paint, so at least would-be thieves can enjoy the aesthetics. More seriously though, I think it makes it blend in more and less obvious what is a protective shield (if it wasn't already obvious). The bare aluminum finish was actually really nice, but I just painted it for fun and to add some rust protection.



Not sure what these plastic pieces are, but I ended up removing them with some snips and pliers. Snipping it correctly can prevent part of it from getting lost in the hole, but not a huge deal either.



Happy with the quality and fit of the shield and the protection it provides. Is it 100% protective? No, I'd say it's 97%+ protective, but it will definitely make a thief move on. I would also recommend the security bolts for another layer of security (it's not a 100% unique bolt head, but it a non-standard one, which is sufficient). Great customer service, fast shipping, reasonably priced, 1/4" aluminum, easy install! I definitely say BUY!

This is about the only way to cut the upstream end of the cat and you'd have to cut through that flange. Seems sufficiently difficult:


edit: Clarification about OEM skid plate

 

Interesting about that plastic clip. I was able to maneuver the winglet around it...but good to know that removing requires some intricate cutting!



Ed

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Yeah, I'm not sure. I definitely tried and you can tell from the photo the wing is as far turned in as possible. Maybe there are different chassis out there, which might explain some of the minor differences we are experiencing.

Maybe I didn't try hard enough.. I probably need to loosen it a bit more to clear the plastic or something.. oh well. I wonder what it is for anyway

 

Quite possibly could be different chassis...but why the indentation markings vary is an engineering question I would ask.

I'm just glad I could install the Talon CAT plate without too much fuss.

Ed

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This thread explains what the plastic thing is for.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/what-is-this-part.739453/

 

Thanks!

Mine have not been damaged as was explained in the thread.

E
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I cut the Talon “wings” to leave the plastic things intact. Here’s a shot:



This whole setup is a very nice product. Thank you, Shaun!

 

Looks good. How did you go about cutting them?

 

That's Awesome!

I was able to position mine at a different angle that avoided that area. Maybe that's why it looks awkward to some...but I made it fit, just like you did!

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