Does anyone know the thread pitch for this seatbelt bolt poking out into the rear wheel well ?

I want to cap off those seatbelt bolts poking out with some black acorn nuts. I read some comments about covering them up with black paint and I was thinking of cutting them down some and doing that but think an acorn nut might be best.

 

This sounds like an interesting idea. Not sure if it could cause unintended consequences though. Just spitballing here, but I’d wonder if another nut could alter the strength of the current sheetmetal/bolt/nut interface in a crash. These things have been crash tested as you see it, and and a big acorn nut could alter things in unknown ways.

Also, an acorn nut could seize onto bolt over the years, but that would only be a problem if you ever had to replace the belts.

Maybe a plastic acorn nut?

 

That is neat idea!

 

Agreed. It’s possible the bolt sticking out is just an unfortunate design consequence. But it’s within the realm of possibilities that it was intentional.

I lean toward intentional, but I dunno. It’s weird. The black fender goop has all crumbled off the ends of my bolts.

 

I think they are M10 x 1.25 pitch but that's just an educated guess

 

There’s a thread that discusses this bolt at length (no pun intended), not sure if you’ve seen it. They all do that. More specifically, they all come like that.

 

Hold on let me get some popcorn for the impending soap opera...

 

Thanks everyone for commenting. I would use anti seize lube if I find an acorn nut that fits. I also was worried about the crash thing if I cut the bolt down some and then covered it with whatever black goop. When I brought it home I was checked this area out and the bolts were covered in the black stuff from the factory and in just 2 weeks that had popped off and now the bolt threads are sticking out. I live in Idaho where rust isn't bad but I still am keeping this hopefully for 20+ years and just want to get someone on them for good and forget about it.

 

Maybe try that spray "Flex Seal" in black ? I have used it on other projects and it works excellently and is very durable. You can get it on Amazon or at Home Depot.

 

Was in same boat. Cutting might be an overkill.
As suggested by others, use 3M asphalt (less than $4) undercoating sealant. Worked by me

Got a 10MM to tighten the rest of the Nuts/bolts underneath the Wheel Wells. Was surprised they were loose after a few weeks of ownership.

The factory installed mini-mud flaps underneath the well wheels makes a groaning noise unless re-tightening (could be misconstrued as the famous 2019 front differential issues)

Cheers

 

I defiantly would not "Cut" it off if it bugs you just clean anything loose off and cover it with some good Black Silicone adessive sealant.

 

That is the exact smiley face icon i was looking for but must have missed it.

 

I smeared a little marine grease on mine so they wouldn’t corrode. Now I’m paranoid it’ll “soak” up the threads and come loose lol. Always something.

 

These bolt threads are quickly becoming the new, "Whats the biggest tire size I can fit with no lift"...

 

If we're lucky, prospective buyers will check out this forum prior to even considering a 4Runner. Once they find out Toyota doesn't care about having exposed bolt threads in the wheel wells, they'll look elsewhere and we'll stop seeing a new thread about them every other day...

 

I am not sure about that. The 4R still has an awesome reputation and personally as it is in the 5th Gen I don’t see much competition in a body in frame.

The bolt issue is just something tacky I would expect from domestic vehicle of the 80/90’s.

Hope you guys are enjoying your popcorn. Time to put another bag in the microwave

 

To tie those together, I don’t think anyone has truly thought through the real possibility of overarticulation with larger tires. Think about it… if the tires would ever contact that screw during a heavy rock crawling situation, the 4runner would instantly wrench itself into pieces and pretzel the frame (because the body mount screws are also obscenely long)….which would instantly lead to a high speed crash. Hopefully that doesnt happen near an orphanage, but it could.

 

The bare nekked bolt threads are sounding more and more like the infamous 'unintended acceleration' in the 2nd gen Tacoma...I actually had a dealership trim my accelerator pedal so it wouldn't get caught on the floor mat. It wasn't anywhere near touching the floor mat.

 

That'd be a shame if there was actually that much suspension up travel for that to happen.

 

To tie in spacer lifts, maybe a spacer lift is actually beneficial since it would ensure you limit the uptravel enough to avoid this tragic possibility.

 

The majority of all seat belt bolts are 7/16" UNF (Unified National Fine) thread - specific to seat belts for safety reasons.
7/16" == 11.11mm, so you may be able to sufficiently cover them with an 11mm fine thread acorn nut.

Ref: What size are seat belt bolts?

 

Thank you. I am going to head down to a big box hardware store later today.

I do want to say that if my only complaint about this great Toyota is a bolt sticking out in the inner fender I can live with it. I have some POR-15 Rust Preventive Coating from a vintage dirt bike restoration that I can cover the bolt threads with but I thought a nice looking acorn nut would look better.

 

I would just use those black rubber caps made for a capping the end of vacuum fittings. Check the "help!" section at AutoZone, it's full of stuff like that.