Rock Sliders / Rocker Guards Guide

From your original photos the backer plate looks to have an equal reveal between the door opening and top of backer plate. In the latest photo the reveal is wider toward the front versus back.

From JCR's video install
it appears the backer plate is held up in place and drilled. Then the slider is bolted into the clips on backers tabs, followed by "no preloading" and drilling up through the torque box and floor. *Cringe* (Nutserts all the way!)

If you bolt it up using the existing holes and the backer plate is flush across the entire piece without the slider on, does that change only after bolting the slider on?
It may be that one of the tabs on the backer could be welded on a touch high which could pull that area of the backer away from body creating your gap.

I have to say that the Savvy Rockers/Sliders I have and installed are in a different league than those. Worth every penny!
I have thought about going to nutserts and plugging the holes. Knowing what I know now I would have installed them that way. Floor is way too thin to provide any meaningful support even with their backing plates for the floor bolts.

I checked every single tab on the backer plate to check just that. They are all the same measurement and the backing plate is flat not bowed or distorted. It's flush until you bolt up the slider which then preload the backing plate pulling it away from the tub where it has less bolts. The front most bolt.on the fender does very little to keep the backing plate tight against the body. That sheet metal is just too thin.

If savvy had any in stock these would go on marketplace tomorrow
 
Take a long level or straight edge and rest it on top of the backer tabs and see if they are all on the same plane.
Second to that, do you have to push the bottom face of slider inward to get the bolt holes you already drilled to line up? That might cause the issue if you do.
 
I can start a new thread if this getting side tracked. I just thought the info might be helpful for someone doing an install for the first time like I was.

Got them a little tighter but realized the fender isnt the issue. My previous install probably is the issue. The slider is straight not bent, my torque box is not bent with no noticeable deformation and the side of the tub is straight. It almost seems like the spacer pad on the rear of the slider, under the torque box, isn't tall enough.

I got frustrated with it so bolted the slider and backing plate together to fit up to the tub. Replicating a savvy style install as best I could with these sliders. With the plan to make sure everything was flush, flat and redrill holes if I need to. What I found was the slider plate is not level with the bottom of the tub or the bottom of the door when everything is up against the tub and torque box like it should be. It sits higher in the rear but the base plate is perfectly flat to the tub now. What was happening before was the slider was twisting the base plate pulling it away from the tub slightly near the front when you tightened everything up which is not ideal. I plan to mess with it some more this evening with an additional jack. Any input or advice is appreciated from those have done this before. Maybe the lj being the difference here? Some progress anyway and a learning experience.

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When I originally installed these I followed jcr instructions with a blend of input from this site. Clamping the base plate and jacking the slider up with some pressure. I was never really satisfied with the results.
I'll make some addendum's to the original post about JCR sliders. There are more than a couple of criticisms regarding mounting and satisfaction. Sorry if it is traced back to me and my build. I've been pleased with them myself, but also realize there are better function over form sliders.
 
I'll make some addendum's to the original post about JCR sliders. There are more than a couple of criticisms regarding mounting and satisfaction. Sorry if it is traced back to me and my build. I've been pleased with them myself, but also realize there are better function over form sliders.
Not your fault at all man. I really appreciate your help and @flyinfish help. That is what is so great about this forum! I think the biggest thing is nutserts on the bottom and bolting the slider and backing plate together. Also jack the slider up from the outer edge underneath the backing plate.

@flyinfish all the tabs are in line. Another check to that is the measurement from top of the backing plate to the top of the slider at each bolt. They are all the same measurement.

So i couldn't leave it alone and went out at lunch to mess with it. Using two jacks this time I bolted everything together. Put pressure on each end, enough for everything to lay flat to the tub. Wouldn't you know the nutsert I installed lined up perfectly. I then slowly worked towards the front of the jeep putting backing plate bolts in but not tightening any backing bolts. Things slowly started to fall into place where they should be. I need to open or two holes but not much. The rubber backing was allowing the sheet metal to deform at the backing plate bolt locations. That may have expanded the issue I was having. Seems to be aligned now. Tonight I will double check any tension on any bolts. It seems there is a specific order needed to get this to set just right.

Anyone interested in these I would just recommend modifying the install a bit from what jcr recommends to more of what savvy recommends as far install process.

Sorry for the long posts. I hope this helps someone else that may have alignment issues after pulling a slider for repaint or maintenance.

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Now back to your regularly scheduled program.
 
I want to highlight installing a noticeable difference after correcting my passenger side. On the JCR sliders I installed them a bit off which lead to them pulling away from the tub a bit as noted previously. I was jacking the slider up from under near where the bolts run through the torque box. This is roughly how JCR says to install them, backing plate first then the slider after. I needed to open the torque box holes up a but as they were off just slightly after adjusting.

Well I found it worked better by bolting the slider and backing plate together tightly, checking for square, then slide it on the tub. It relieved all the outward tension, can opener effect, to my tub. I wanted to point out my mistake so hopefully it helps other in the future. Not a bad slider but I think their install steps could use some tweaking along with nutserts instead of drilling up through the floor.

Pics below show the difference. It closed up the seam sealer cracking issue I had. I did confirm no spot welds were broken.

Before:

20220201_140227.jpg


After:
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Savvy lists 4 lj sliders in stock FYI for anyone looking.


I have thought about switching from my jcr sliders to savvy. When it came time to check out I thought I could use probably use those funds for control arms, belly skid or gears/lockers. Jeep funds are tight these days it seems and decisions are tough!
 
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Savvy lists 4 lj sliders in stock FYI for anyone looking.


I have thought about switching from my jcr sliders to savvy. When it came time to check out I thought I could use probably use those funds for control arms, belly skid or gears/lockers. Jeep funds are tight these days it seems and decisions are tough!
which is why Savvy unfortunately isn't on my list. I do not wheel hard or enough to warrant the cost. the problem with that is finding protection in my price range...
 
Savvy lists 4 lj sliders in stock FYI for anyone looking.


I have thought about switching from my jcr sliders to savvy. When it came time to check out I thought I could use probably use those funds for control arms, belly skid or gears/lockers. Jeep funds are tight these days it seems and decisions are tough!
I just fixed the mounting of my PS sliders, so I can use the money for the Saavy gas tank skid.
 
What did you fix and how?
I posted it on Monday in “what did you do to your tj today”. The sliders are connected to the frame between the body mounts then bolted to the side of the body. So the body mounts are sort of useless at that point. I cut them away from the body mounts then welded plates to attach them to the torque boxes with nutserts. I then made and installed backing plates out of aluminum on the body. I also installed a Saavy body lift at the same time. It helped the body vibration and I was able to get the body bolts torqued correctly. I have pictures on my Monday post. I also dropped the weight from 52 lbs each to 48. But added the aluminum backing plates.
https://wranglertjforum.com/threads/what-did-you-do-to-your-tj-today.1784/page-1704
 
I posted it on Monday in “what did you do to your tj today”. The sliders are connected to the frame between the body mounts then bolted to the side of the body. So the body mounts are sort of useless at that point. I cut them away from the body mounts then welded plates to attach them to the torque boxes with nutserts. I then made and installed backing plates out of aluminum on the body. I also installed a Saavy body lift at the same time. It helped the body vibration and I was able to get the body bolts torqued correctly. I have pictures on my Monday post. I also dropped the weight from 52 lbs each to 48. But added the aluminum backing plates.
https://wranglertjforum.com/threads/what-did-you-do-to-your-tj-today.1784/page-1704

I need to do this to mine. Did it mount higher after and require drilling new holes in the side of the Jeep? They're are no issues with drilling into the torque box?
 
I need to do this to mine. Did it mount higher after and require drilling new holes in the side of the Jeep? They're are no issues with drilling into the torque box?
I did not move them up, I used a 3” hole saw with a plate clamped to the slider as a guide to cut out the area around where the mount is. I bolted it back to the side of the Jeep and measured up to the torque boxes. I subtracted the thickness of the slider to get the measurement of the plate to be welded to the top of the slider. The front side required a 3/16 x 4” plate to be welded to the slider. The rear needed about 1/2”, I cut a 4” piece of tubing lengthwise leaving a 1/2” x 4” piece of channel that was welded to the slider. I then drill through these new mounts up into the torque boxes installed nutserts and bolted them up. The sliders now sit tight against the torque boxes and the side of the Jeep.
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I was just researching the ARB sliders, It looks that for the underside tub mounting, they have you Rivet the slider to the tub, and they also have you Rivet the internal bracket.

Does this have an positive or negative effect on the usage of the Slider

[ I do not wheel enough to warrant the cost of savvy sliders, I am looking at sliders closer to the 500 range, But I do want the maximum protection for my price point]
 
I was wondering if anyone could point to a Slider in the 500 range that sits above the rest. I would like the best function in that price range. So far I am considering Warn, ARB, or shrockworks. If AtoZ was back open I would of buy those.
 
I was wondering if anyone could point to a Slider in the 500 range that sits above the rest. I would like the best function in that price range. So far I am considering Warn, ARB, or shrockworks. If AtoZ was back open I would of buy those.
I was looking at this last week:

https://www.quadratec.com/products/12067_100X_C_PG.htm
Seemed solid for the price, drills into the body + tub.

I ultimately went with a body mounted option since I really just needed a step for my wife.
 
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