Caution: Broken Body Mount Bolt When Installing Frame Mount Rock Sliders / Rails / Sidesteps

[skrubi12]

@Fire Burns - I did my front driver’s side and it came out fine. I put it back as I was just trying to break them loose so it wouldn’t take as longer later in the day when I’d put my sliders on. After putting the driver’s side back, I did the passenger’s side front and...pop - it broke. I don’t know that it matters the order in which you remove them. If it’s going to break, it’s going to break. It took less force to break the passenger’s side than it did to simply turn the driver’s side for me. I used a 15” 1/2” drive breaker bar...and I’m not Hercules.

Sponsored

 

[Darter02]

This thread is making me very nervous about installing my LOD Destroyer rock sliders. Just to be very clear. "Yinz" are all breaking the bolts into the body and not the two on either side of it? According to my install directions I only have to remove the two smaller bolts. I have heard that some folks have had to loosen the main body bolt just to shift the washer out of the way.

 

[threeve]

This thread is making me very nervous about installing my LOD Destroyer rock sliders. Just to be very clear. "Yinz" are all breaking the bolts into the body and not the two on either side of it? According to my install directions I only have to remove the two smaller bolts. I have heard that some folks have had to loosen the main body bolt just to shift the washer out of the way.

LOD Destroyer owner here. You're right, you do not remove the large center bolt, just the nuts on the two smaller bolts that hold the bushing in place. It can be a snug fit around the washers on the body bolts, but if you have a helper to maneuver the sliders with you then you should be able to clear the washers easily without needing to loosen any of the bolts.

I think you're gonna love these BTW, they have been great so far for me.

 

[Jondrew]

Destroyers were my first choice, but I liked the look of the Ace Sliders better and they allowed me to keep my original Rubicon sliders in place. I got a used set fairly cheap and then I started reading all these horror stories about breaking g the body bolts. I did read one person’s tail of woe with LODs about breaking one of the small bolts because he used an impact wrench and had it set to tighten instead of loosen.

LOD Destroyer owner here. You're right, you do not remove the large center bolt, just the nuts on the two smaller bolts that hold the bushing in place. It can be a snug fit around the washers on the body bolts, but if you have a helper to maneuver the sliders with you then you should be able to clear the washers easily without needing to loosen any of the bolts.

I think you're gonna love these BTW, they have been great so far for me.

 

[RELBUS]

RSE step sliders are due to arrive shortly. I am nervous about breaking the front two body mount bolts.
Would you suggest heat and a big impact or heat and a breaker bar? Also considered having 4wheel parts install to avoid the potential headache.

thoughts?

 

[IamJeffRiley]

I tried to install mine and pop goes the front bolt. I've taken it to several shops where they just looked at me like I had 2 heads and said they won't touch it. Trying the dealership this weekend. Ill let y
you know how much they charge

 

[Jondrew]

RSE step sliders are due to arrive shortly. I am nervous about breaking the front two body mount bolts.
Would you suggest heat and a big impact or heat and a breaker bar? Also considered having 4wheel parts install to avoid the potential headache.

thoughts?

I used an impact wrench. Rear and middle bolts came right out. Put a propane torch on the fronts for 5 min before using the impact wrench. They came out no problem. I think an impact wrench is less likely to snap a bolt but your mileage may vary.

 

[clobato]

I tried to install mine and pop goes the front bolt. I've taken it to several shops where they just looked at me like I had 2 heads and said they won't touch it. Trying the dealership this weekend. Ill let y
you know how much they charge

Hey Jeff, try calling All Seasons 4x4 in Broomfield, 303-465-2170. They just fixed mine about a week or so ago. They charged me $300 to fix the broken bolt and to install my Ace sliders. It took about 2.5 hours for everything. Talk to Bob and say Chad with the white JL referred you.

 

[marv1294]

So I've been driving around with the broken bolt for the past week, not sure if I'm just being paranoid or if I actually screwed my frame/body up. Part of me thinks the sound was there before, but I've been earring creaks from the hardtop when i hit bumps in the road or drive on terrible winter damaged roads. The noises were very prominent when I was driving around Quebec after a winter storm last week.

Is it the worst thing if I drive around like this for the next two weeks until I can bring the Jeep back home to get fixed?

 

[IamJeffRiley]

I tried to install mine and pop goes the front bolt. I've taken it to several shops where they just looked at me like I had 2 heads and said they won't touch it. Trying the dealership this weekend. Ill let y
you know how much they charge

I went to the dealership that I purchased my rubicon from and was told no way. They said you were trying to install aftermarket products so its your fault it broke. Chatted with FCA and was told the same thing

 

[Jeeper]

I'm supposed to install the RSE step sliders Sunday. I have a heat gun. Am I stupid to try this myself?

 

[skrubi12]

I'm supposed to install the RSE step sliders Sunday. I have a heat gun. Am I stupid to try this myself?

That depends on the outcome hindsight being 20/20, I should have let someone else deal with it.

 

[LeoTheDragon]

Quick update, I had my ACE rock sliders installed at a dealership for $100. It's the only thing I've ever had installed by someone else on my vehicles, but I wasn't going to risk it after finding this thread. I dropped by Rairdon's Jeep of Monroe (Washington) and asked if they would install it and they had no problems with it. Swung by next day for my appointment and back on the road within an hour. Worth it 3298472398473 times over after reading all the horror stories here....

 

[Jeeper]

Quick update, I had my ACE rock sliders installed at a dealership for $100. It's the only thing I've ever had installed by someone else on my vehicles, but I wasn't going to risk it after finding this thread. I dropped by Rairdon's Jeep of Monroe (Washington) and asked if they would install it and they had no problems with it. Swung by next day for my appointment and back on the road within an hour. Worth it 3298472398473 times over after reading all the horror stories here....

Did they meet the same resistance that other people have? Did they use heat? Or was it just luck?

 

[Jondrew]

I'm supposed to install the RSE step sliders Sunday. I have a heat gun. Am I stupid to try this myself?

I used an impact gun. Mid and rear bolts came right off, no heat, no problem. I used a propane torch on the fronts. Heated them for 5 minutes (timed) and the impact gun pulled them right out. I did spend the extra $40 for new bolts. Not sure it was really necessary. The impact gun really made this easy, so if you or a friend have one I highly suggest using it.

Of course I’m a sample of one. I suppose you could snap a bolt off using the impact gun too.

Sponsored