Simple oil change question

Left hand flutes are the extractors on the right-hand side of the package.
Right hand drill bits are in the left-hand side of the package.

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It appears the "left hand flutes – grip the metal firmly" is in reference to the extractors, not the drill bits. :-/

 

If you were drilling in reverse with a right hand drill bit, that's why you were having such a tough time of it.

And on separate note, if you apply pressure to a drill with a floor jack something is going to break (drill bit, drill, or ???).

 

And wear out your drill bit fast as hell. And it'll be difficult as shit to keep the drill straight.

 

They make drill guide kits. Ones for bolt heads and ones for recessed screws. You can make your own if you have a professional drill press.

 

No skid is best, oil change takes zero effort, also the middle bolt on the rack is accessible from the front now.

 

Without the factory slash (skid) plate installed, it does leave the radiator more susceptible to damage from debris. For instance my BOL left the splash plate off of his truck (which was the wrecked 2000 truck that i bought from him) after an oil change. His daughter went off the road and crashed the truck. A stick jammed stabbed directly through the radiator. My tundra spends most of the time offroad and in 4wd in the woods. There has been multiple instances where the radiator would have been punctured with random tree limbs if i didn’t have that splash plate installed. Of course that isn’t an issue for most people though. But maybe random road debris could be? I also wonder how much the splash plate helps out with fuel economy at highway speeds? Probably not very much at all, but it would help direct air flow.

 

I imagine it does help. I even have some rubber air deflectors that bolt onto the sides of the skid plate for additional aerodynamics. Wonder how many people immediately ditched those...

The bottom of the radiator is absolutely more vulnerable with the skid plate off. My preference would always be to leave it on. I also spend a lot of time on dirt roads. But once I hit the point where there were only two bolts left holding it on, and at that time I couldn't figure out how to work a bolt extractor kit, leaving it off was the best option.