OP
man! I get some crazy ideas. Silver sliders, bumpers and Genright 4” fenders is my ultimate crazy idea. Y’all keep me in check!
05 Flame Red TJ Build
- Thread starter JMT
- Start date
man! I get some crazy ideas. Silver sliders, bumpers and Genright 4” fenders is my ultimate crazy idea. Y’all keep me in check!
OP
Doesn't sound too crazy lol
GO For It.... You Can Do It......
OP
Thanks Mike. I've ordered some from McMasters and they should be here Wednesday. I'll get this all finished up. It's too much work to mess with all this. We should have just got the Savvy and been done with it from Day 1.
OP
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I absolutely would, I hate laser cut logos in the armor. Guaranteed rust spots in future.
OP
The JCR rock sliders are less desirable than I thought. I had to fix five things:
- They use 4 bolts to mount through the torque boxes and the tub. 4? That’s all? That’s not enough. This results in several problems. One, potential movement that can damage either the torque box or the tub by causing the bolt to move laterally. I had one damage part of my tub by stressing it so much it stretched the hole in the floorboard. Two, when the bolts come up through the tub they rub holes in the carpet. I even ground the bolts off and made it and the nut flush and smooth, but it still wore holes over time. Why do that? Just put about 7-8 nutserts in the torque boxes and call it good. So that’s what I did. @Mike_H did that too. The last part of this is now you have 8 holes in your tub floor that you need to plug. Got that done too.
- The stupid clips that hold the boat side slider in the backing plate. Those clips are not really up for the job. All mine were rusted and brittle after 4 years, and when I removed them one of them easily broke. Another place to put nutserts, so I did that too.
- The torque box is not level. Behind the center body mount it raises gradually. JCR welded a 3/16” plate to keep the slider up against the torque box. That’s not enough. You need 3/8” at that location. Just forward of that you need a 3/16” plate. I initially welded 3/8” there too, but when I went to fit them that was too much, and the plate farther back was no longer flush, so I took off 3/16” of the plate closer to the center body mount. Then everything was flush.
- The 5/16” Allen head screws that hold the slider on the backing plate and the backing plate on the tub dig into the paint when you tighten them. This inevitably causes rust. I got some black nylon washers to resolve that.
- They market the boat side slider as having two places you can use a hilift jack. Enough said, but they are just two places that can grab rocks. They also let salt spray in there that causes rust. I’m going to be messing with these again sometime, and I’m going to weld them shut.
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The JCR rock sliders are less desirable than I thought. I had to fix five things:
At least now they’re acceptable. Hope this helps someone. The main lesson is: don’t buy them unless you want to do all this work to fix them.
- They use 4 bolts to mount through the torque boxes and the tub. 4? That’s all? That’s not enough. This results in several problems. One, potential sheering that can damage either the torque box or the tub. I had one damage part of my tub by stressing it so much it opened the tub hole up some. Two, when the bolts come up through the tub they rub holes in the carpet. I even ground the bolts off and made it and the nut flush, but it still wore holes over time. Why do that? Just put about 7-8 nutserts in the torque boxes and call it good. I fixed that. The last part of this is now you have 8 holes in your tub floor that you need to plug. Got that done too.
- The stupid clips that hold the boat side slider in the backing plate. Those clips are not really up for the job. All mine were rusted after 4 years, and when I removed them one of them easily broke. Another place to put nutserts, so I did that too.
- The torque box is not level. Behind the center body mount it raises gradually. JCR welded a 3/16” plate to keep the slider up against the torque box. That’s not enough. You need 3/8” at that location. Just forward of that you need a 3/16” plate. I initially welded 3/8” there too, but when I went to fit them that was too much, and the plate farther back was not flush, so I took off 3/16” of the more forward plate. Then everything was flush.
- The 5/16” Allen head screws that hold the step on the backing plate and the backing plate on the tub dig into the paint when you tighten them. This inevitably causes rust. I got some black nylon washers to resolve that.
- They market the boat side slider as having two places you can use a hilift jack. Enough said, but they are just two places that can grab rocks. They also let crap in there that causes rust. I’m going to be messing with these again sometime, and I’m going to weld them shut.
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Yea, those jacking points are something I've been concerned about also.
OP
Not the end of the world, but those clips inside got salt spray and started getting brittle. At least I have nutserts there now. I still think best to weld them up next time I get in there. At least they are ww2ww and they will protect the tub.
The JCR rock sliders are less desirable than I thought. I had to fix five things:
At least now they’re acceptable. Hope this helps someone. The main lesson is: don’t buy them unless you want to do all this work to fix them.
- They use 4 bolts to mount through the torque boxes and the tub. 4? That’s all? That’s not enough. This results in several problems. One, potential sheering that can damage either the torque box or the tub. I had one damage part of my tub by stressing it so much it opened the tub hole up some. Two, when the bolts come up through the tub they rub holes in the carpet. I even ground the bolts off and made it and the nut flush, but it still wore holes over time. Why do that? Just put about 7-8 nutserts in the torque boxes and call it good. I fixed that. The last part of this is now you have 8 holes in your tub floor that you need to plug. Got that done too.
- The stupid clips that hold the boat side slider in the backing plate. Those clips are not really up for the job. All mine were rusted after 4 years, and when I removed them one of them easily broke. Another place to put nutserts, so I did that too.
- The torque box is not level. Behind the center body mount it raises gradually. JCR welded a 3/16” plate to keep the slider up against the torque box. That’s not enough. You need 3/8” at that location. Just forward of that you need a 3/16” plate. I initially welded 3/8” there too, but when I went to fit them that was too much, and the plate farther back was not flush, so I took off 3/16” of the more forward plate. Then everything was flush.
- The 5/16” Allen head screws that hold the step on the backing plate and the backing plate on the tub dig into the paint when you tighten them. This inevitably causes rust. I got some black nylon washers to resolve that.
- They market the boat side slider as having two places you can use a hilift jack. Enough said, but they are just two places that can grab rocks. They also let crap in there that causes rust. I’m going to be messing with these again sometime, and I’m going to weld them shut.
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So, if some one gave you a “new sliders for your TJ“ coupon, but it was only good for currently available options (e.g. NOT Savvy), what would you pick?
OP
From what I understand in the most recent threads, Savvy is still a viable business, though I agree they don’t have any currently available. They are the best option.
There are three others that would require modification.
- JCR - easy to modify from the start. Mount them with nutserts like Savvy. Add plates underneath for correct spacing. Throw the clips away and use nutserts there too. And, as @All 4 Wheelin' reminded me, they come with solid inner bracing.
- Genright Mini Boat Sides- inner bracing and ww2ww. Modifications I’m not familiar with, but I think @rasband and/or @jjvw know what is needed. Cutting the step off would be desirable.
- TNT Customs - these have a double break, which is attractive, along with inner bracing. Not ww2ww, so I’d butt weld an extra piece on each end to make them ww2ww. I haven’t seen anyone try these.
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I dunno how much longer the JCR sliders will be available either. They seem to be moving away from TJ stuff like most other companies. I've noticed a few things come through my email on closeout special.
I also had holes in my carpet. That wasn't as big a deal to me as the fact that the bolts went through the torque box without any support...which means that the bolts could never get tight. That was my primary driver to installing the nutserts. I thought about doing it from the get go, and actually talked to the tech support at JCR. They told me it would be "fine." I didn't believe them but ended up mounting them through the floor because they didn't sit flat and I didn't have a welder at the time.
I installed nutserts here from the get go. Whoever spec'd the hardware for this set of sliders is a moron. U-nuts are used by OEMs for ease of assembly, not because they are in any way shape or form a viable, long term fastener solution (where you might have to disassemble).
- @Mike_H did that too. The last part of this is now you have 8 holes in your tub floor that you need to plug. Got that done too.
- The stupid clips that hold the boat side slider in the backing plate. Those clips are not really up for the job. All mine were rusted and brittle after 4 years, and when I removed them one of them easily broke. Another place to put nutserts, so I did that too.
Next time you have a metal washer in your hands, look at it carefully and feel the edges. One side is sharp, one side is more rounded and "softer." Happens that way because of the punch process to make a washer. Put the rounded edge against your painted surface to minimize paint damage.
I will be installing Rock Lights in those holes...Stay tuned!
OP
It was interesting that even the nylon washers I bought had a rough and smooth edge. I am familiar with the fact they have edges. Hold enough of them and it’s obvious.
Rock lights. I gotta see this Mike!
OP
This is why you shouldn’t rely on a HF Tire Plug Kit. Safety Seal ordered. They have all steel tools and Kevlar plugs. Made to be a permanent repair. This HF kit is crap.
