LOD Destroyers Rock Slider Install Writeup [2 door]

LOD Destroyers Rock Slider Install Writeup [2 door]

There's not a lot out there as far as writeups for the 2 door LOD destroyer install. And the lack of which made me hesitate for a while before buying. So, now that I've done the install, I figured I'd put a writeup out there to help others--especially since it differs fairly significantly from the 4 door install.

Background

I did this install in about two hours by myself. For context, I am a rather petite woman with rheumatoid arthritis. If I can do this, anybody can. I did make use of an impact wrench, which makes life so much easier, and only used a socket wrench to hand finish them off when bolting back on. You'll also need something to cut the skid plate, an angle grinder or a particularly powerful dremel with a cut off wheel should do the job.

Tools Needed

Socket Wrench
Sockets: 19mm, 18mm, 13mm, 16mm (deep socket for the nuts next to body bolt)
Angle Grinder or Dremel
Metal cut off wheel for cutting tool of choice

Optional:
Drill
Drill bits for metal: 1/2", 7/16"

Extra credit:
Impact wrench to make your life easier

PPE:
Eye/face protection

Prep Work

Rubi Rails:

Remove the stock Rubi rails if you have them. There's two large bolts and four smaller nuts holding each side on. Recommend putting something like a box or cooler under the rails to support them and not have them fall on you while you unbolt them. The hardware from these is not reused. Mine were full of dirt that cascaded onto my face while I was under them, so maybe eye protection might be helpful.

Drill Optional Rear Mount Holes:

If you want to drill the optional rear holes on both driver and passenger side, you can do this now by lining up the mount points and marking the proper spot to drill. But it seems like you should also be able to do this after mounting, too--so doesn't seem like a hassle if you change your mind afterwards.

Passenger Side Specific - Notch the Skid Plate:

Notch the skid plate for the front mount. You can do this with an angle grinder or a dremel using a cut off disc. I left the skid plate attached for this, making very shallow and controlled passes so as to not gouge up the frame under it (I still nicked it once or twice, but nothing too bad). Use the ½" x 1 ¾" bolt and washer for this hole as a sort of guide, then draw a reasonable notch with enough clearance for the bolt.

I will say, this would probably be easier on a lift, so you don't get a face full of sparks. But I did mine on the ground and it worked out fine. Be safe, wear eye/face protection.

Passenger Side Specific - Drill Optional Front Mount Hole:

If you want to drill the optional hole for the front mount, do this now. You won't have enough clearance after mounting to drill it. Temporarily position the rail where it will be mounted and line up the other bolt holes, then mark the proper spot for the front bolt. If you don't drill this now, you'll have to remove the slider to do it later.

Weld Grinding:

The instructions from LOD recommend grinding drippy welds. Perhaps on some models, there's just a thin weld that needs flattening out. I will say that, on my 2021, the frame isn't perfectly flat and there's a stepped-up ridge on some areas that keeps the mounts from sitting perfectly flush. It wasn't so much as a single weld, but a whole half of the frame raised above the other half. I'm not confident in my grinding skills and didn't want to risk damaging the frame. I left it alone. As a result it does not sit perfectly flush on the driver side rear, but I am not terribly worried about it. It's still bolted on firmly and feels very solid.

Installation

Passenger Side:

The front mount slides between the frame and skid plate. To get it in there, you'll need to loosen the skid just a little. Follow the next steps to loosen the skid plates.
Remove the front crossmember bolt (just to the right of the mount). Remove the skid plate bolt to the left of the mount. I also removed the two small nuts that attach the front half of the skid to the back (pictured below, left) and the large bolt in the middle of the plate. Save all this hardware to put back in.

This should allow the skid plate to dangle and give you enough clearance to get the mount in.



Note on the above photo: I actually am going to go back and widen the notch on the skid, as you can see it's pretty close and doesn't allow quite enough clearance to fully put a socket over it. Also, to do it right, I recommend filing smooth and painting the raw edge of the cut to avoid rust.

For the rear mount, you'll be using the existing skid plate hardware and the two bolts next to the body bolt. Remove the skid plate bolt and the two nuts on either side of the body bolt. Do not touch the large body bolt itself.

Now you're ready to install.

Place the slider on a support. I used a cooler and a piece of spare wood as a shim to get them at the perfect height.

Slide them up to the Jeep. Get the rear mount lined up first, as you will need to angle the mount a bit to get it around the body bolt washer.

Worth noting: The instructions show the mount has a closed circle around the body washer, but that must have been an old design, because mine was open ended and thus MUCH easier to slide around the washer. This completely removed any need to loosen the notorious body bolts.



It took a little wiggling to get the angle right, but the mount slid over the body bolt washer fairly easily. Note that the rear mount should be on TOP of the skid plate (unlike the front, which goes between frame and skid). Line up the two small bolts on either side and loosely thread the stock nuts back onto them to hold the rear mount in place, but still allow enough movement to line up the front. You can loosely reinsert the stock skid plate bolt and washer and the optional self-tapping bolt as well. Just make sure you have enough maneuverability to get the front lined up.

Line up the front and slip the mount between the skid and frame. If you dropped the skid an inch or two earlier, you shouldn't have much trouble getting it in place. Use the step-shaped flag nut to install the bolt and washer in the notched spot. If you drilled the optional front hole, use the long flagnut, the ½ x 1 ¾ bolt, and three flat washers to install. The LOD instructions are fuzzy here and the illustration is small enough that to be confusing, but you need to stack two of the washers as a spacer. These will go between the frame and the mount. This can be a pain in the ass. I recommend taping the two washers together with masking or painters tape. Then either sliding them into position with a long, thin screwdriver (I used a screwdriver), or just taping them into position on the slider mount. The third washer will go between the mount and the bolt head. So working from inside out, it should be flag nut > frame > 2 washers as spacers > mount > washer > bolt. This only goes through one wall of the frame, unlike the driver side.

Now check over your work. Does the gap between the body panels and slider look good? If it's too wide in the front (unlikely), you can take those spacers back out. But if it's all good, tighten everything back down. Don't forget to put the skid plate hardware back into place and tighten those as well. One side down!

Driver Side:

Procedure here will be similar. You'll need to loosen the crossmembers here for the transfer case skid in order to get the rear mount in between the frame and crossmember. I had to remove both the two driver side cross member bolts AND loosen the ones closer to the middle of the Jeep as well. I just kept loosening things until I could get the transfer skid to drop about an inch or two. You'll be reusing the rear cross member bolt for the mount, so set it aside.



As with the passenger side, you'll also need to remove the stock nuts from the two bolts surrounding the body bolt. You'll be reusing these. Again, do not touch the body bolt itself.

Place the slider on a support again. I used a cooler with a few pieces of scrap wood for shims as necessary. As before, start with the rear mount. Angle the mount in and wiggle it around the body bolt washer until you get it lined up with the two existing bolts and the mount is between the frame and dangling crossmember. Once it's positioned, loosely reinstall the two nuts to hold it in place. Loosely reinstall the stock crossmember bolt and washer into the mount. If you drilled the optional hole, loosely install the self-tapping bolt. Again, make sure you have plenty of maneuverability to position the front mount.

Now move to the front. Here's where it gets a little tricky. You need to line up the top of the front mount holes and that might take some extra oomph to lift it up. Lifting it, while also inserting the bolt, AND keeping the spacers aligned is a tough job with only two hands. I didn't have a helper, so I used a floor jack with a rubber pad (to protect the rail). I kept the cooler for support, but pushed it towards the rear to give the jack enough room to come in. Then gently lifted the front end with the floor jack until I had it lined up perfectly. I highly recommend using the floor jack, even if you do have a helper. It's way more precise.

And this is another place where the LOD instructions gets a little ambiguous again. For the top mount hole, you'll use the 1/2" hex nut, four flat washers (two as spacers), and the 4.5" long carriage bolt. The spacers go between the frame and the mount. The carriage bolt also goes fully through both walls of the frame. So, working inside to out, you should have: 1/2 hex nut > flatwasher > inner wall of frame > interior of frame > outer wall of frame > 2 spacer washers > rail mount > flat washer > carriage bolt.

This is also another one which is kind of annoying. Like on the optional passenger side one, tape the two spacers together and either poke them into position with a long, skinny screwdriver (what I did) or possibly tape them to the mount itself (what might have worked better). Once you have all that lined up, stick the carriage washer through and just make it finger tight for now.

For the lower bolt, use the step-shaped flag nut and the ½ x 1 ¾ bolt and flat washer. This one should be pretty easy.

Now, check your space between body and rail. Should be fine, but if it's too much, you can yank those spacers out. You probably won't need to.

If everything looks good, go back through and tighten everything down. Don't forget to reattach and tighten all the skid plate and crossmember bolts.

And now you're done! Enjoy your new sliders! Go forth and get it dirty!

Solid write up. LODs look good!

How long to unpack them. Assuming they where shipped in foam like other items that is always fun!

These where my 1st choice before I found out I could get the Nemesis option.

SkDmRkLcY said:

How long to unpack them. Assuming they where shipped in foam like other items that is always fun!

Click to expand...

?

Definitely took a minute.



But not as long as my front bumper did...





I legit had to excavate that sucker like a tyrannosaur thigh bone. ?

Use loctite on the lil nuts next to the body mount. They barely just thread on.

Riotfunk said:

Use loctite on the lil nuts next to the body mount. They barely just thread on.

Click to expand...

An excellent addition! They really are just barely on there.

I love my LOD destroyer sliders. They are strong and durable and I have used them for 4 years. I glued and wired lights inside the sliders and connected to my interior light and they light up the step when I open the door.