Results -- Bottom line up front:
I really like the look of these sliders on my Liberty.
PICs
Rock Lizard (RL) instructions:
Here are links to the RL instructions so I won’t repeat what is already said. The RL instructions are good but I found some things that I thought might be augmented.
http://www.rocklizardfabrications.com/i ... s_05kj.htm
http://www.rocklizardfabrications.com/instructions.htm
05-06 Rocker Cover Preparation and Trimming:
The RL instructions stated that the plastic rivet on the end may need to be removed – I found no need to remove these rivets and if I had, I’m not sure how I would have reattached the pieces.
The hammer worked fine to pull the panel covers down and a pair of pliers easily pulled the plastic brackets out of the covers or out of the sheet metal – wherever the bracket was left.
I cut the square notch out of the overlapped rocker cover with a pair of tin snips. However the back of these covers also need to be trimmed, so they will lay flat (and thin) against the sheet metal. One side has a tab that needs a razor scraper to shear it off flat. The other has a ridge that needs to be trimmed far enough back to gain clearance for the cover to lay flat when pressed up into position.
Template Error:
When I put the template on the pinch seam mount I found the holes did not align.
So I flipped the template down on the brace, aligned the center holes, and then scratch a center line on the template in line with the center of each pinch seam mount hole (using the hard tipped center punch provided by RL). Flip the template back on the pinch seam mount with the same center holes aligned and the “scratch” marked side facing the pinch seam mount. Then tape it in place as per RL directions.
Alignment:
The rails are longer that the flair to flair described but will overlap the flairs – I found the front of the rail to about divide the front flair worked well. However, after I got the pinch seam mount holes drilled on the first side, and placer the sliders up to address the foot holes, I discovered that the “Nutzert” holes on the frame, where the front slider foot rests, is in the same area as the foot’s trailing hole. The hole I needed to drill slightly overlapped this Zert hole. I know RL stated that all bolts didn’t need to be installed, but I drilled another hole in the upper end of the foot so I could have three bolts in. In the picture below, the scratched circles just above the # 13 are from the original foot hole. The bolt above is from the extra hole I drilled. I hit the frame with some brown paint for contrast for the second picture.
On the other side I aligned the slider a bit forward so the foot’s mounting hole would miss the Zert hole.
I wasn’t prepared for the foot to not snug up to the frame for each bolt. The frame is reinforced where the ends of the feet set leaving a gap for the other two bolts. I would have liked to have been provided a shim that would slide under the foot, drilled for these two holes and fill the gap.
I did notice that at least one bolt on each foot could be reached inside the frame through holes in the bottom of the frame. If these bolts striped one could likely use a large washer and nut inside the frame.
Template Placement for Marking:
My template was wider than the pinch seam mount rail, so when positioning the slider, be sure the template is NOT pressing against the plastic cover but is between the cover and the pinch seam. This will insure the pinch seam mount is up as high as possible so the holes drilled will not be near the bottom of the pinch seam.
Holding the Sliders Steady:
To insure correct alignment, before clamping the template or marking the foot holes, I found it worked best for me to lightly press the sliders and rocker covers in place with jacks. I used two at one end of the sliders to adjust tilt and one at the other end (using 2x4 scraps to protect the sliders). I felt it was important to start with the pinch weld mount as high and tight as possible.
I clamped the pinch seam mount to the pinch seam with vice grips to be sure all was in place before clamping the template to the seam.
When center-punching the pinch seam holes, remember to align the punch (front to back) with your scratched center lines and not the center of the template hole. Align with the template hole top to bottom.
Drilling: I found starting the drill in the correct spot to be very difficult. The spring loaded center punch provided by RL worked great, but my 1/8th inch drill still wanted to wander. After trial and wander, I found that if I re-punched the indentation left by the spring loaded punch, using a hammer and punch and then used a much smaller drill to create a dimple, my 1/8th was less prone to wander. When drilling the pinch seam the plastic rocker cover was getting scarred by the drill chuck so I used a piece of 1x4 to wedge the cover up against the sheet metal.
I soon found that, even with my new Titanium bit, drilling 5/16 inch holes in steel while laying on the garage floor is very difficult. You can hardly press the drill in to make it bite without pushing yourself backward and whatever you do, it’s very tiring – boy did I need a drill press. So I made one! Grabbed a piece of 1x4 about three feet long and drilled a hole in the end (used the 5/16 bit already in the drill). Hooked an adjustable tie-down strap in the board’s hole and hooked the long tie-down end under the jeep directly in from where I was drilling (using holes in the frame, skid plates or the frame rail on the opposite side). Then took the slack out of the strap, placing the board across the end of the drill (at 4 or 5 inched from the where the strap attached) and while holding/aligning the drill with both hands pressed the long end of the board with my knee, applying just enough pressure with my knee for the bit to cut and to slow but not stall the drill. This may sound cumbersome but after a hole or two it was like a production line.
Getting the Bolts In:
The instructions recommend starting from one end, I think it is better to start from the center and work out both ways – because the errors in my template got worse from where you start (your scratched center lines should have corrected most or all of this). In any event, the amount of error or amount you need to enlarge any hole should be reduced.
My Pinch weld holes were close enough that with a couple of the center bolts inserted, and with nuts on, I could force the un-chucked drill bit into the pinch weld hole, on into the slightly unmatched slider holes, turning the bit with my vice grips to cut enough to get all the way through the pinch and the back and front slider holes. If it’s not real close to start with you won’t be able to turn this by hand.
I was also privileged to have access to a right angle drill that I used to chucked up a short 5/16 bit and re-cut a couple that I couldn’t turn by hand. Otherwise follow the RL instructions to drill the Pinch weld hole larger, this is where starting with your pinch weld mount as high as possible pays off.
Replace the Fender Bolt:
The instructions state “remove furthest of the two fender bolts in the pinch seam from the front wheel well” to get it out of the way of the template, after the drilling is done is a good time to put this bolt back. This instruction was left out.
Paint:
I used the recommend Rust Reformer to paint the entire Sliders, it took 1 ½ spray cans. I bought one can each of the Dark Gray and the Hammered Black and then painted each foot of a slider, one color. When dry I held these feet up to the rocker cover to pick my color. The hammered black was my selection. The Rocker Covers were darker and matched the hammered black; the dark gray better matched the lighter finder flares. When painting the hammer black on the sliders I only painted the slider bars and the rock rail’s top, bottom and outside so one can was enough for the whole job.
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