rock slider problem

[jerryhipp]

okay. where to begin? well i was installing my olympic rock sliders the other day and there is a 1/4 to 3/8 inch gap between the the slider mounts and the unibody. so i drill my 5/16 holes for the 3/8 self tappers. and then as i'm tightening the self tappers into the unibody i kept stripping out the thin a** threads. so needless to say i now have a problem. and i can't drill completely through to the other side to nut and bolt them because theres no room and all the lines (gas,brakes) are on the other side. help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[cgrescue]

I would use nut-serts. They come in NC and NF threads, and what you do is drill the whole to the specified diameter, use the provided tool to expand the nut-sert in the hole, and then bolt on your sliders. I have used them quite a bit on boats and they work great. I can't say what the holding strength is, but it is pretty tough. I would put in at least a 1/2" NC, that way you know it would be a strong connection. You can buy the tool and assortment kit from Grainer(www.grainger.com) for about 90 bucks. It is expensive but they are great for blind holes and have gotten me out of some jams. Hope this works or something else someone else has! Take care

[jerryhipp]

i thought nutserts had to go in from the back of the hole out towards you? do the make them so that you can put them in forward?

[cgrescue]

I go tthis off a website, www.zjillla.com/zjskidinstall.htm#tool, they described a cheap way to use a nutsert. They do go in from the front of your work. Once I started using them, I used them all the time. I used them on my nerf bars on my old 98 wrangler, it took about 10 minutes of nutserting and 10 minutes of bolting on, and I was on the road. The nerf bars never loosened up and always firmly supported people standing on them. Never rock checked them though.

Copy from zjilla.com
The proper 'special tool' for installing nutserts is like a big Pop-Rivet type gun. You thread the insert on the shank, insert in the hole, squeeze the handles and the force collapses and secures the nutsert in place.
But, the special tool is more expensive than the skidplate, so we developed our own tool you can make and toss when the job is done.

What you need:

M10 x 1.50 - 40mm bolt
M10 x 1.50 nut hex nut, use a 13/32" drill to ream out the threads leaving a sleeve that slides over the bolt.
Installing the nutsert:
Apply a thin coat of grease to the underside of the bolt head and to the bolt threads.
Slide the sleeve over the bolt.
Thread the insert onto the bolt, and tighten snugly sandwiching the sleeve in place.
Insert the assembly into the hole
Use a 15mm on the sleeve to hold the assembly tightly in the hole, and prevent to sleeve from turning
Use a 15mm wrench or socket and tighten the bolt head to collapse/secure the nutsert in place. It is very important that the sleeve be held secure and the nutsert be prevented from rotating in the hole. Tighten to 35 ft.lbs to fully collapse the nutsert.
Once secure, unscrew the bolt and remove the sleeve.

[BlackWhyJay]

Similar things are sold at mcmastercarr.com

[dsgray16]

umm...why dont your rails sit flush with your frame rail?


Thats where i would start

[jerryhipp]

dsgray16 said:

umm...why dont your rails sit flush with your frame rail?


Thats where i would start

thats the way the the olympics are with the zj's. i did look it up on the internet and everyone who had them had the same problem. i just didn't want to weld. but i think i'm going to have to just weld them on. so my next question is who has a welder, is capable, and willing to help me out. that doesn't live far from woosta? ;D

[jeepgod]

they want you weld them on? wow welding to sheet metal unibody???

[dsgray16]

what about putting some spacers in there and using self tappers still? Im not that familiar with ZJ's but is there still a pinch seem that these rock rails should be tieing into?

[bluerocket]

I would return them and get some that fit. The rockers should NOT have to weld to the unibody

[jerryhipp]

jeepgod said:

they want you weld them on? wow welding to sheet metal unibody???

i was thinking of welding. i don't know what other route to go. i bought them almost a year ago. but just decided to put them on. so i'm stuck with them. but i really like them. if some one wants to look at my dilemma, and give me other options. and or help me. that would be greatly appreciated. i'll fund beer ,soda pizza. ;D

[bluerocket]

If I was in your place, I would carefully mesure the thing up, and make a metal wedge that fits between the rocker and the framerail with full contact, might take some skillfull use of the grinding wheel. Then bolt through that with bigger selftapping bolts and into the framerail. The main force is taken by the pinch seam on the cherokee, i would assume the same for the GC?

[jps4jeep]

If your going to weld, I would do some modifying. I am not too familiar with ZJ underpinings, but I will try...

I would weld the bar itself to the pinch weld. then I would cut/modify the arms/ mounting brakets and mount them somewhere solid, and weld them on. then I would box/ gusset the rails where needed and appropriate to offer a little more strength.

[jerryhipp]

thanx for the advice guys.

[bmies]

Hey, PM me, weve got a welder and wouldnt mind taking a look at what you got. I'm sure we can help in some way. I live with a bunch of car/ truck guys who are knowledgable. I'm sure we can all contribute answers to your dilemma. Also, were going wheeling this sunday. I'm a WPI student and live near Highland Street in Worcester.