BlazenOffroads Rock Slider HOW - TO *56k warning*

[badmix]

I added some RockSliders to my Blazer partly outa looks and partly for the protection they offer. I looked at a few diff. companies and went with the BlazenOffroad ones. They had good communication and customer service. Sadly DHL (the shipping carrier) are a complete buncha morons, they lost my package briefly and had no clue when id get it, needlesstosay, it showed up 3 days b4 they said it would show. so anyways........

Ill try to do a step by step of this process for any noobs out there. On a scale of 1 - 5, 5 being the hardest, Id say this is a 1.5-2. It wasnt that difficult. The drilling is what takes the time and we managed to bust a new bit.

Tool needed:

Basics;

1/2 inch drill bit
Drill (preferably electric or pneumatic)
3/4 socket and wrench (boxed or open)
Jackstands
HD C clamps
8mm socket
Hammer
Silicone/WD40 Spray


Advanced;

Car lift
Drill press
-----------------------------------

Once I received the package, I promptly opened them. They were heavier than I had thought they might be, but they are going on a big ass truck, lol.

The welds looked good and professional, not something a highschool kid did. The metal was bare and no rust (so they didnt use stuff laying outside, which is good).

The kit comes with all hardware and backing plates. There are 8 bolts total (grade 8) 4 short and 4 long. There was only room under my truck to use the long bolts, not sure what the short ones are for and will be contacting BlazenOffRoad to find out about this.

I had a few days b4 I was going to put these on, so I had plenty of prep time. I first Primered the rails and the backing plates, I applied 2 coats of primer, waited 24hours and then painted everything semi flat black.

 

[badmix]

On to part II,

First thing was to get truck on lift. You can do this project in your driveway, but obviously a lift is easier.

First thing was to remove the splashshield towards the front of the truck

Next was to put the sliders up on jackstands, try to get the stands as high as possible. Once you get the sliders up into position there is only one way they can go up. They mount to the body at one of the strongest points.

Once in position use the C clamp to hold it there. Sometimes jackstands will come up short, etc. so some wood maybe necessary to build it up. Once you get the C clamps on , good and tight, it may be necessary to use a hammer to put the sliders in their final position. The pass. side was a lil tight between the body braces, but the drivers sider was fine

As far as drilling the holes, just find a good spot in the middle of the mount and go to town. There is only room for ONE bolt, so I found the most centered point of the mount and drilled. Use Silicone/WD40 every few seconds on your drill bit to keep from burning it up. (sorry no pics of the actually drilling process, lol)

After we got one side drilled we moved on to the backing plates, these go on the other side of the body, so the body is sandwiched between the plates. We opt to use a drill press but a vice can work, jus make sure to secure it very well, otherwise itll try to take off like a helicopter, lol. The backing plates can not jus be drilled in the center, I didnt take any measurements, but where the holes were drilled in the body made the backing plates kinda off center, so take this in consideration when drilling. I mounted the rock slider as high as possible and out as far as possible. To me this gave the support, esp where it mounted to the body (beefiest portion).

Here is the front portion of the rock slider. The backplate needs to be in this position to be able to retain the factory lil plastic splash cover.

Random pic

Final installed

We were told they can be used as jacking points. I guess so. There was just a lil bit of flex, but not much, I think this is due to the SINGLE bolt being used on each end.

Here is a final shot, not a good one, I need to take some more pics later on

In closing. This project was pretty straight forward, no real mystery, etc. The only issue I would say is the drilling. The 1/2 drill bit is just a shade too small for the 3/4 bolts, so we had to wallow out the holes some to get the bolts to go thru, we broke a new bit by doing this. So be prepared for that. Always wear safety goggles, we did, no drama. Remember to keep spraying your bit as you drill so you dont burn it up.

Anyways. That is my simple how to.

Id like to thank Glen for the help and Bradfords Towing for use of the shop.

 

[badmix]

Few more shots from today

 

[ankarback]

Really nice write-up !

That's got to be the cleanest looking blazer I've ever seen . Almost no rust at all. I'm jealous

 

[Chrisblazzer89]

Sweet write up! Awsome looking truck.

 

[RockinChevy]

Any reason why your rocksliders didn't come drilled as mine did?
However they won't be on the Blazer, decided to use 2x6 rectangular tubing and cut my rockers flush with the floor pan. A local friend is buying my Blazenoffroad rocksliders.

 

[Blue90]

Any reason why your rocksliders didn't come drilled as mine did?
However they won't be on the Blazer, decided to use 2x6 rectangular tubing and cut my rockers flush with the floor pan. A local friend is buying my Blazenoffroad rocksliders.

Yours came drilled? Mine didnt. I also did not get those backing plates badmix got. Those look like a great idea.

 

[Blue90]

Here's a pic of them in use down in Moab. They work really well.

 

[badmix]

Mine didnt come drilled , if yours did, was it ONE hole per section? Im still trying to figure out the extra 4 short bolts. I think one reason they arent drilled is so you can move it whereever you want it, the placement, etc. It wasnt too hard to drill, jus had to keep from burning up bit.

 

[RockinChevy]

Mine had 2 holes per section, even the backing plates were drilled. Fishy about the 2 bolt sizes.... I have 8 bolts in one size, the longer size.

 

[dremu]

One trick to drilling metal, and how to avoid killing bits ... start with a small bit, say, 1/8", and work your way up through several sizes to the final 1/2" or whatever. Your bits don't get so hot, last a LOT longer, etc.

There's also step bits for this kind of stuff:

for instance.

How do I know? I have a bunch of dull 1/2" bits from installing my nerf bars lo these many years ago.

Cutting/tapping oil does help (WD40 doesn't do much, too thin) ... but start small, and keep the RPM low. I know that sounds odd, but slower speed keeps the bits from getting hot and keeps them sharper longer.

-- A

 

[cbbr]

The sliders look great.

 

[81jimmyslt]

This should clear a few things up!

We stopped pre-drilling the holes for the sliders.....this makes them more versatile for the customer when mounting. This way the customer can adjust the height and decide how far to inboard them as well.

Preferebly you want two bolts on each mount. For hardware we use Grade 8 1/2" , 4 bolts 3" long and 4 bolts 4" long. On our shop blazer and many we have measured and gathered feeedback the rear mounting points are 1" wider than the front.

IF SOME PEOPLE WOULD LIKE TO MEASURE THEIR MOUNTS TO SEE IF THEY ARE DIFFERENT IT WOULD BE APPRECIATED!

Yes the kits come with backing plates to prevent the mount from buckling with the bolts.


Thanks for the write up and pictures!


Jesse

 

[81jimmyslt]

Mine didnt come drilled , if yours did, was it ONE hole per section? Im still trying to figure out the extra 4 short bolts. I think one reason they arent drilled is so you can move it whereever you want it, the placement, etc. It wasnt too hard to drill, jus had to keep from burning up bit.

Get me a measurement or picture of your mounts! Are they both the same width?