Welding Sliders?

Is it bad to weld rock sliders to the frame? I have heard that the frames on a unibody are not that strong, and I was wondering if it would hold up if I welded on my sliders.

my sliders are welded on. I used 2 2 foot sections on each side and welded everwhere I could this elminated almost all body flex.

I welded mine on also, just tacked along where the sliders met the pinch seam and also the arms and angle iron to the unibody "frame". We had 500lbs jumping up and down on mine and it didnt even creak or budge. Used a mig welder and you have to be real carefull. Took the rig out last week to martinez and hit the sliders pretty damn hard and didnt even budge them. Jeff CamoXJ

I got these sliders for free cause they were on another XJ that the guy took some parts off of to sell. They were welded on his, so he cut them off. The tubes that attach to the frame are too short due to his cutting. My dad owns a metal fab shop so he is taking them there to have some more tube welded on. There are brackets to bolt onto the bottom lip of the body where it hangs down under the doors. I am going to have some brackets put on that will be welded on the side and bottom of the frame. Does this sound like they will hold up? I just don't want to use them and have them rip a hole in my frame!!

Could you weld and bolt, or would this be bad? Also, if you bolt, do you have to thread the frame for a bolt, or do you go all the way through?

if you are going to bolt them on , run a bolt all the way through, but I would sleeve the inside of the frame so that you do not smash the frame rails, welding to the unibody is ok if you are careful, if not you will blow through it. Better left to the pros on that one,

Starboard M said:

Could you weld and bolt, or would this be bad? Also, if you bolt, do you have to thread the frame for a bolt, or do you go all the way through?

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You can weld to the frame with no problems if you know how to weld, but it is a good idea to grind off the galvenized coating. To use bolts, either use self taping bolts or use nutserts. I guess you can go all the way through the frame, but I wouldn't.

It's best to sleeve the frame and then weld the sliders to that. I used 4X2.5 inch 3/8 angle. They make hydro-electric towers from this stuff (so it's not brittle.)

If that's not an option, go all the way through the frame with the bolts but use some flat bar on the inside of the frame to spread the load. The flat bar will act as a "sleeve" so that you don't crush the frame when tightening the bolts, or rip the frame when you hit something solid.

Bill90XJ

Bill90XJ said:

I used 4X2.5 inch 3/8 angle.

Bill90XJ

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Can you say useless weight. Half of 3/8ths is PLENTY.