RCI diff skid hitting gas tank skid

Just finished installing the diff skid and heard terrible grinding noise after going over a speed bump. Turns out the edge of the diff skid is hitting the gas tank skid. Did I make a mistake in installation? Has anyone else experienced this. The diff skid seems to centered and installed correctly. Kind of ironic, a skid plate skidding on a skid plate. Lol.

 

Just discovered the one of the diff skit brackets is actually scraping the gas tank. It's coming off and RCI is being contacted.

 

you have a trd sport correct? Online their site says TRD offroad only....

 

Well i'm officially an idiot. Curious though what the difference is? Don't they both have the same diff and rear axle?

 

Do you have an e-locker? Pretty sure you don't. You can take a grinder and grind/cut off where you are hitting. Looks like the clearance isn't that bad. Just make sure you cut enough so when you flex out you aren't rubbing

 

Aluminum is soft and easy to cut/ drill I would just drop the skid and cut for clearance

 

No e-locker. Yeah not really sure what to do at this point. May cut both the gas tank skid and the mounting bracket for the diff skid. Totally didn't see the bit on RCI's site about it being for the off road only. Feel like a moron. Gotta pay closer attention.

 

TRD Sport has a bigger pinion (8.4in) and slightly different housing because of the lack of the locker. Trd offroad has a 8in pinion.

 

Are you 100% sure about that?

There's so much misinfo spreading around and no one can point to an official list, and it sounds like (at least according to the people with howling diffs from TRD OR, Sport, AND SR5 and Limited models) the only 8in pinions are on 4 cylinder trucks...

But yeah the locker would make the housing be a different shape. I know that much.

 

I may have the exact sizes wrong, but I know for sure there is a size difference in addition to the locker portion. There are tons of threads about the strength of the trd offroad Diff vs a TRD Sport plus Arb air locker. It's also why you can't easily drop a TRD offroad e locker into a sport

 

I've been out of this for awhile but I believe the sport has an 8" rear (ring gear Diameter) and the OR has 8.75" rear (ring gear diameter).

Not related to pinion. The OR pinion may have more splines. Not sure.

 

Just looked at a parts catalog, and I see only 5 p/n's for the carrier assembly, described as the following:

• 2.7L Manual
• 2.7L Auto
• 3.5L Auto
• 3.5L Manual "W/ fuel tank protector"
• 3.5L Manual "W/O fuel tank protector"

So, "fuel tank protector" makes me think that's the OR, because that's the only model that has it. Interestingly enough there is only one PN for all auto 3.5's, which I'm guessing(?) is the one that everyone is having the howling issues with... Makes sense too considering howling issues have been confirmed on Limiteds, SR5s, ORs, and sports.

There's also no description in terms of ring gear size, just that the p/n's are different. The real story is in everyone's door jambs, as the axle code is right there... but getting people to go out there, take down their axle code, and compare notes is like pulling teeth sometimes.

 

I found this out EXACTLY today as well, but if the sport has a manual tranny the diff is the 8.75. It just does not have the elocker and the axles are different.

In other words someone with a sport with a manual tranny can purchase a $1400.00 kit to upgrade the rear diff to have an elocker.

 

Well it's up for sale. $200 plus shipping. Would prefer local pickup but will ship.

 

Sorry to revive this but I just realized this was happening to my gas tank today and I'm awaiting an email from RCI to see if there is anything that can be done about it. In the meantime, I'm also going to be taking the skid off. '18 TRD Pro so I don't think it's an issue specifically with the non-offroad/pro models.

I also took a look at the product page and it looks like their product photos for the diff skid have the exact same damage. Can anyone else who has this skid (and flexes their truck) confirm that they do not see this damage? At this point I'm not convinced this isn't a widespread issue.