@@spalacios9058 So I contacted CaliRaised, they told me its a design issue, he said he will make a new one and send it out. I think they are aware of this problem.
I just finished installing them. A lift would have been handy, but I did it in my back yard. The most difficult part for me was keeping the shield in place while installing the security bolts. I got bonked on the head when the other bolt holding the tube support in place fell out lol. I ended up using a jack stand to hold the shield in place while I installed the security bolts. A cordless ratchet wrench would have also been nice to have, but it can be done with other tools. If these deter or at least slow down thieves, they're well worth the cost. Edit 7/5/23 -- I finally had time to figure out what was causing the rattling noise. There is a bolt on the driver side catalytic converter with thin metal around it that was sticking out just enough to come into contact with the cat shield. I removed the shield, and bent the metal near the bolt just enough to make sure there was no contact. It was easy enough to do, and I couldn't reproduce any rattling on a test drive.
@@spalacios9058 You're welcome - sorry to hear that. Hopefully, they're working on an option for KDSS. I don't know what the differences are, but obviously there's a market for a KDSS version. Good luck.
would’ve loved to see the install done in conjunction with the rest of the cali raised skid plates to see how the cat shields fit with the rest of the gang. that is unless the cat shields are not compatible and can’t be used if you’re running the full skid plate line up (front, transmission, and transfer case)
If you can install the shields on a lift I'd recommend doing that. I did mine on the ground with hand tools and it was a pain but I got it done. Installation was straight forward and I would have saved a load of time if I did it on a lift and had an impact gun. I will say its a high quality product very nice fit no rattles since putting them on although I have not been off road yet since the install. I do have two questions though. Why were the security bolts not made a little longer than the stock bolts they replace to compensate for the thickness of the shield? Also why is the security key so small? The combination of bolt length and the security key size made the bolts hard (for me) to install and tighten. All in all I am very happy with the product and I'd recommend them 100%. I never realized how easy it is to get at the drivers side cat on a 4 Runner when its lifted until I got under my rig and installed these.
The driver's side Cali Raised shield was in direct contact with the cat heat shield (why is there not a cat heat shield on the passenger side?) and rattled like crazy. I removed the Cali Raised cat shield from the drivers side and the rattle noise is gone. Searching options of removing the cat head shield so I can reinstall the Cali Raised shield.
Man, I wish I would have known about these ones before buying the other cat shield brand last week... The other one rattles like crazy because the side wings are loose.