my new sliders

[itsme1738]

MADE OUT OF 1/4 WALL 2.5 X2.5 SQUARE TUBE
CAPPED THE ENDS 3 MOUNTING POINTS
3-7/16 BOLTS PER POINT
I PAINTED THEM WITH DURO BEDLINER BLACK
(THANKS clay) :bannana:

[itsme1738]

Here They Are

[ChefTyler]

Dude, 'em are nice! When we going to test 'em out?

[DamnHippie]

Ummm, wait a sec... 7/16ths bolts? That implies you drilled through the frame, did you sleeve the holes? If not those are going to pinch your frame in over time.

[itsme1738]

no i did not sleeve the holes....oops?:(

[ChefTyler]

Easy to fix, ya just need to take the sliders off again :D

[itsme1738]

and do what?

[ChefTyler]

Get some black pipe from HD or Lowes with a 7/16ths inside diameter and cut it to the width of the frame. Drill out your holes you made in the frame to the outside diameter of the black pipe. Insert black pipe (careful not to drop it into the frame) and weld the sumbitch in. That's how I understand it to work.

[Boulder Cruiser]

They look sweet, Where did you get the steel? Ive been wanting to make some for my cruiser but dont know where to get the square tubing.

[Nissanclay]

Those look just like my old sliders that Ian has now.

[DamnHippie]

Those look just like my old sliders that Ian has now.

Heh, those old sliders are now part of my new back bumper, Clay. I built new, much beefier sliders a couple months ago (same design, bigger heavier tube). I needed some reinforcements on the rear bumper to carry the extra weight from the side rails to the frame, so I cut up the old sliders.

[DamnHippie]

They look sweet, Where did you get the steel? Ive been wanting to make some for my cruiser but dont know where to get the square tubing.

K & K steel is my favorite, http://www.kksurplus.com/location.htm

Most plain old mild steel scap (tube, plate, bar stock, whatever) is 40 cents a pound. Stainless, galvanized, diamond plate and other such things tend to run more per pound, but are still way cheap compared to new. And they have a better selection than the other scrapyards I've been to.

[DamnHippie]

Get some black pipe from HD or Lowes with a 7/16ths inside diameter and cut it to the width of the frame. Drill out your holes you made in the frame to the outside diameter of the black pipe. Insert black pipe (careful not to drop it into the frame) and weld the sumbitch in. That's how I understand it to work.

I've not actually sleeved anything yet, but I'm gonna have a shot at it soon just to see how it works out. For the "careful not to drop it inside" part, I think the thing to do would be to leave the pipe sticking out one side of the frame maybe 1/4 to 1/2 inch during the welding then grind it all smooth and flush when you're done welding.

Half inch ID black iron pipe should fit half inch bolts nicely, and grade 8 1/2-13 bolts are what I use to mount my sliders. But, instead of doing the sleeve thing I took a whole different route with mine -- I welded some 3x4x1/4 tube boxes to the frame, then drilled holes in those and mounted the sliders to them. I can get up inside the boxes with a wrench, so the bolts only go through one layer of steel, and the whole sleeving problem goes away.

I was initally unconvinced of the need for sleeving, but I pondered on it for a while and realized it's likely to be one of those slow-death processes. You tighten the sliders and do some wheeling. All that weight bounces around, maybe you land on a rock or two, and a couple weeks or months later you notice a few of the mounting bolts are loose, so you re-torque everything. Then a few weeks later the bouncing has deformed the frame another thousandth of an inch or two so you re-tighten again. After a couple years the frame is pinched in noticibly from that process.

[Packman5280]

I sleeved my frame where i made the inboard lower link mounts. ryan gave me a great idea, to use the sleeves that go inside the bushings on an old suspension link. they are the exact right length to sleeve the frame, and the exact right size for a link bolt, obviously.

[itsme1738]

cool im thinking of tacking the sliders to
the frame so they will not tweak the frame
so i shouldnt have to re-tighten the bolts:rolleyes:

[DamnHippie]

I hate the idea of permanently welding things to my frame. It's inevitible they'll have to come off some day.

But I had to do something about my new bumper. Its first good test was last week, when I got myself so embedded in a snow bank that it took a dozen good hard jerks to get me loose. The bumper did great, except that the factory mounting bolts allow it to pivot up and down a bit. Great for adjusting it to follow the lines of the body, not so great for recovery.

I considered various 4th-bolt schemes to eliminate the pivot problem, but decided to go with some welding that'll be easy to undo when the need arises. I welded a piece of 1.5x1.5x3/16 angle iron to the frame, and a piece of plate standing up at the end of the bumper bracket, such that when the bumper is perfectly aligned, the plate and the verticle leg of the angle are flush back to back. Then I ran a little line of bead along the top of the vertical:

http://img150.imageshack.us/img150/8775/1002931ck5.jpg

If I ever need to take it off, 15 seconds with an angle grinder undoes the weld, and there's enough height on the verticals to reweld and grind off at least 5 or 6 times which will probably cover the useful life of the truck.

Your sliders are kind of a similar application... you've got bolts providing all the fastening force necessary, and the weld just provides extra stability.

[Ryan Gee]

Just put the sleeve on a bolt as you stick it in the frame. Helps ya guide it through and it will not fall in.