Daystar rock sliders on order, what insights can you shed?

Discussion in 'Renegade Modified Tech' started by TWX, Oct 16, 2020.

  1. TWX

    TWX Active Member

    Joined:
    Apr 18, 2016
    Messages:
    225
    Media:
    31
    Albums:
    3
    Location:
    The Blast Furnace
    So Daystar rock sliders should be here Friday next week. Beyond needing to get a powered riveter, any other tips or tricks I should know prior to trying to install? Anything I should buy at the dealer like clips or other small, breakable parts?

    Anything I should do to the rocksliders or to the Renegade?

    I'm planning on getting some cleco fasteners, so I can temporarily install the rock sliders, then pull them off to paint all the drilled holes, before installing permanently.
     
  2. Dgr401

    Dgr401 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Nov 21, 2015
    Messages:
    569
    Location:
    Rhode Island, USA
    Good luck with your install. The only thing that stood out to me in reading threads (I have never installed them) is with the drilling of the holes. The drilling can take a bit of time and wear out drill bits.
     
  3. Aestiace

    Aestiace Member

    Joined:
    Apr 10, 2017
    Messages:
    37
    Albums:
    1
    Location:
    tucson, az
    Pick up some cobalt drill bits and cutting fluid, they worked really well. I broke one at the beginning of the second slider so get 2 or 3 to be safe!

    Pneumatic rivet gun is a definite plus!

    Other than that it was a pretty straightforward install.
     
  4. TWX

    TWX Active Member

    Joined:
    Apr 18, 2016
    Messages:
    225
    Media:
    31
    Albums:
    3
    Location:
    The Blast Furnace
    Eeegh.

    The sliders arrived sans hardware. It took a week to get the hardware kit sent to me.

    This morning put the Jeep up on jackstands to start doing the work. I'm spoiled by my lift that obviously can't be used when installing them.

    I knew what needed to be done having seen the forum owner's own posts from when he did his when it was new, but it was a lot more work than I expected on the one that I did. Daystar's own directions frankly sucked, they just took his pictures and put them in a highly-pixelated undersized pamphlet. Additionally the directions for drilling the pinch-seam seemed nonsensical. Ended up skipping the 4th fastener altogether, drilling the other four I did with the slider pushed into place by the floor jack, the notion of "transferring" a mark from one side to the other didn't seem like it would be easy.

    So to drill the two ends where the seam is hardest, I found if i started with a 1/4" bit, then stepped down to a tiny bit to avoid dulling the center of the 1/4" bit, then stepped up part way to another bit, then drilled the final 1/4" hole.

    I also sprayed some black paint on every cut or drilled edge, to minimize the potential for rust. Did this on the riveted holes with the slider in place, wiping up and using some brake cleaner and then water as I went to clean up.

    First one is on and quite solidly. We'll see if I do the second one tomorrow or not.
     
  5. TWX

    TWX Active Member

    Joined:
    Apr 18, 2016
    Messages:
    225
    Media:
    31
    Albums:
    3
    Location:
    The Blast Furnace
    One more thing to add.

    This Renegade is getting rock sliders at five years old, including after a set of new tires. The factory tabs that the plastic rocker covers mount to were bent, at least two on each side, and I suspect this happened at the tire shop as any time I've lifted it up it's been on my lift. The pinch seam and these tabs are definitely weak spots on this chassis at least for the first year of production.
     

Share This Page