Thanks for posting this. These enhanced rails are on my short list of body protection under current consideration. Can't wait to see the complete installation pics and your review!
MOPAR Enhanced Rock Rail Install
2
From the day I got my JK, though I really have no issues with the stock Rubi sliders, I knew I would eventually replace them with something wider based solely on my previous experiences on the trail.
I knew I wanted the following criteria:
I was not tied to a particular mounting location ... body or frame - it didn't matter to me as I've run both kinds on a variety of rigs with success. I did know that I DID NOT want something that mounted to body AND frame because I was concerned about body vs. frame flex issues and possible creaking developing.
There are a lot of good options out there; and certainly stronger. But, none of the aftermarket really excited me (though, I do like PureJeep's).
With a large credit at the dealership and the Enhanced Rails meeting my basic criteria, I decided to give them a shot ... and they were essentially free with the credit.
A couple of pics to start ...
opening the box - these things were a lot heavier than I thought they'd be:
a little better shot from the top:
In the pic above you can see the stock rail curves with the body, but the actual rail extension is straight. At the narrowest point, I'll gain an additional 2" of protection 'out' from the body compared to the stock Rubicon sliders.
I'll shoot for doing the install tomorrow. It doesn't look complicated - the Enhanced sliders bolt up to the same 9 stock attachment points per slider as the regular Rubicon Rails. But, I may go ahead and grind down the rear of the slider to make way for 37s.:thumb:
It's also worth noting, the rail-extension actually angles up and away from the bottom of the slider. That was a nice surprise that I was not expecting. So, the bottom of the rail extension actually sits about 1" higher than the bottom of the stock Rubicon Rail.
More pics to come... and certainly a couple of 'test' runs prior to the "11 days of Moab" trip coming in May.:thumb:
T
I knew I wanted the following criteria:
- something wider and at least as strong (if not stronger),
- factory-"looking",
- something that wouldn't give up any additional ground clearance compared to the stock sliders.
I was not tied to a particular mounting location ... body or frame - it didn't matter to me as I've run both kinds on a variety of rigs with success. I did know that I DID NOT want something that mounted to body AND frame because I was concerned about body vs. frame flex issues and possible creaking developing.
There are a lot of good options out there; and certainly stronger. But, none of the aftermarket really excited me (though, I do like PureJeep's).
With a large credit at the dealership and the Enhanced Rails meeting my basic criteria, I decided to give them a shot ... and they were essentially free with the credit.
A couple of pics to start ...
opening the box - these things were a lot heavier than I thought they'd be:
a little better shot from the top:
In the pic above you can see the stock rail curves with the body, but the actual rail extension is straight. At the narrowest point, I'll gain an additional 2" of protection 'out' from the body compared to the stock Rubicon sliders.
I'll shoot for doing the install tomorrow. It doesn't look complicated - the Enhanced sliders bolt up to the same 9 stock attachment points per slider as the regular Rubicon Rails. But, I may go ahead and grind down the rear of the slider to make way for 37s.:thumb:
It's also worth noting, the rail-extension actually angles up and away from the bottom of the slider. That was a nice surprise that I was not expecting. So, the bottom of the rail extension actually sits about 1" higher than the bottom of the stock Rubicon Rail.
More pics to come... and certainly a couple of 'test' runs prior to the "11 days of Moab" trip coming in May.:thumb:
T
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3
I finally got around to working on these this morning after getting up with the kids (well, the 3 that woke up early anyways :facepalm and then going back to bed.
The sliders do actually come with directions (for some reason I was thinking I wouldn't find any in the box - lol) and all new hardware (though, I'm going to use the old hardware).
The directions call for 10 and 13mm sockets and socket wrench. The problem is, you can't get to a couple of the 10mm bolts with a socket because of their proximity to the body mounts so you'll need a 10mm spanner. You may also need to use a deep-socket on the 10mm if you use a socket wrench. I used ...
Removal of the old sliders is EASY ... one of the easiest things I've ever done on any rig I've ever owned. Below you can see how the stock sliders (and the Enhanced Rails) attach to the pinch seam and body. There are a total of 6 mounting points (3 per slider) that look exactly like this:
cont ....
and then going back to bed.The sliders do actually come with directions (for some reason I was thinking I wouldn't find any in the box - lol) and all new hardware (though, I'm going to use the old hardware).
The directions call for 10 and 13mm sockets and socket wrench. The problem is, you can't get to a couple of the 10mm bolts with a socket because of their proximity to the body mounts so you'll need a 10mm spanner. You may also need to use a deep-socket on the 10mm if you use a socket wrench. I used ...
Removal of the old sliders is EASY ... one of the easiest things I've ever done on any rig I've ever owned. Below you can see how the stock sliders (and the Enhanced Rails) attach to the pinch seam and body. There are a total of 6 mounting points (3 per slider) that look exactly like this:
cont ....
2
As I mentioned the sliders were easy to take off. I started with taking off all of the 10mm pinch seam nuts, followed by the 13mm body bolts. You can literally take all the nuts/bolts off and just let the slider hang on the mounting pinch seam bolts until you're ready to take it off
Old slider off!!
The Enhanced Slider goes on just like the old. I noticed before putting the new slider on that there are a couple of other differences from the stock sliders. In addition to the obvious addition of the rail, the Enhanced sliders also:
In the pic below, the old slider is in the top of the pic, the enhanced slider on the bottom. In the enhanced slider, you can see the additional reinforcement that's been welded in. If you look right in the crease/bend of the reinforcement piece, you can see where an 'angled triangulation' (totally my wording/description) has been added to help resist bending.
You can also see the slightly wider bottom plate.
cont...
Old slider off!!
The Enhanced Slider goes on just like the old. I noticed before putting the new slider on that there are a couple of other differences from the stock sliders. In addition to the obvious addition of the rail, the Enhanced sliders also:
- have reinforced body mounts, and
- a slightly wider bottom plate
In the pic below, the old slider is in the top of the pic, the enhanced slider on the bottom. In the enhanced slider, you can see the additional reinforcement that's been welded in. If you look right in the crease/bend of the reinforcement piece, you can see where an 'angled triangulation' (totally my wording/description) has been added to help resist bending.
You can also see the slightly wider bottom plate.
cont...
3
New slider on!!! Well, at least set in place...
It looks close, but I think I'm going to be doing some grinding to fit even the 35s ...
The length actually surprised me a bit. It appeared the sliders were a little longer. My 35s rub 'ever-so-slightly' on the stock rails - not enough to even hear it/notice it. But, the enhanced sliders appeared to stick further into the rear wheelwell than the stock ones. So, I took it off and measured it ...
... and the Enhanced sliders are almost a 1/4" longer than the stock sliders.
So, indeed, out comes the grinder:
But later today AFTER lunch ... :thumb:
T
It looks close, but I think I'm going to be doing some grinding to fit even the 35s ...
The length actually surprised me a bit. It appeared the sliders were a little longer. My 35s rub 'ever-so-slightly' on the stock rails - not enough to even hear it/notice it. But, the enhanced sliders appeared to stick further into the rear wheelwell than the stock ones. So, I took it off and measured it ...
... and the Enhanced sliders are almost a 1/4" longer than the stock sliders.
So, indeed, out comes the grinder:
But later today AFTER lunch ... :thumb:
T
5
After lunch, I fired up the grinder and trimmed the pinch seam in front of each rear wheel and gave it two coats of shaker-can silver ...
BEFORE CUT:
AFTER CUT:
Then I took about 1/2" off the rear of each slider. I may need to go more with 37s. But, with 35-36s, it appears 1/2" will work. This created a good photo op to show the actual thickness of the main 'tube' of the slider:
After cutting and filing the rough edges, I hit the driver's side with some shaker-can black, but didn't like the way it turned out. I used automotive touch-up paint on the left side which turned out much better. Painting the driver's side below ...
Here is how the completed driver's side turned out at the rear wheel ... I have plenty of clearance now and more room to cut later if needed. I had to remove the plastic retainer 'push'-plug when trimming down the sliders. Because of that, the end cap (on the driver's side) doesn't sit as flush as I'd like. I'm probably going to hit it with liquid nail in a couple of spots to get rid of the gap between the end plug and end of the slider and hold it in. The left side turned out great (2nd time is a charm, I guess). Not so great driver's side below...
cont...
BEFORE CUT:
AFTER CUT:
Then I took about 1/2" off the rear of each slider. I may need to go more with 37s. But, with 35-36s, it appears 1/2" will work. This created a good photo op to show the actual thickness of the main 'tube' of the slider:
After cutting and filing the rough edges, I hit the driver's side with some shaker-can black, but didn't like the way it turned out. I used automotive touch-up paint on the left side which turned out much better. Painting the driver's side below ...
Here is how the completed driver's side turned out at the rear wheel ... I have plenty of clearance now and more room to cut later if needed. I had to remove the plastic retainer 'push'-plug when trimming down the sliders. Because of that, the end cap (on the driver's side) doesn't sit as flush as I'd like. I'm probably going to hit it with liquid nail in a couple of spots to get rid of the gap between the end plug and end of the slider and hold it in. The left side turned out great (2nd time is a charm, I guess). Not so great driver's side below...
cont...
2
So, finally, the finished product ...
I did do a hi-lift test on them at the widest part of the slider (near either wheel). I put the hi-lift under the tube-extension only (as opposed to the main body of the slider) and jacked up the rear tire. The slider did flex some. I expected it would, though, since I was jacking the vehicle up on a point on the slider with nearly the most leverage possible. If I had to hit it with a hi-lift on the trail, I would do two things: 1. try to lift as close to the middle of the slider as possible and 2. not lift from just the rail-extension, but put the lip of the hi-lift all the way under the main slider rail.
Overall, I really like them and think I made a good choice. I think they will do fine on the trail. I'm looking forward to testing that theory, though, at Uwharrie a couple of times in the next couple of months and then in Moab in May.
:thumb:
T
I did do a hi-lift test on them at the widest part of the slider (near either wheel). I put the hi-lift under the tube-extension only (as opposed to the main body of the slider) and jacked up the rear tire. The slider did flex some. I expected it would, though, since I was jacking the vehicle up on a point on the slider with nearly the most leverage possible. If I had to hit it with a hi-lift on the trail, I would do two things: 1. try to lift as close to the middle of the slider as possible and 2. not lift from just the rail-extension, but put the lip of the hi-lift all the way under the main slider rail.
Overall, I really like them and think I made a good choice. I think they will do fine on the trail. I'm looking forward to testing that theory, though, at Uwharrie a couple of times in the next couple of months and then in Moab in May.
:thumb:
T
They're easy to cut ... 5 mins/side being careful with a 4" grinder/cut-off wheel.
A dremmel may take a bit longer.:whistling:
T
:rofl: - good catch. no, that was from modifying the 'round' frame crossmember in the front wheelwell so it would quit hitting my swaybar on the driver's side. The sway bar let loose with a bit force than I anticipated and caught my thumb.:facepalm: I think I may have actually fractured it, but I'm slowly regaining use - it was ~4 weeks ago and I still can't do basic stuff like peel a banana. :banghead:
But, I can hold a grinder.
Tuft (DP) Fxs heal without splints but hurt for 6 weeks. Next time you might want to let the blood under the nail out, feels SO much better. :thumb::rofl: - good catch. no, that was from modifying the 'round' frame crossmember in the front wheelwell so it would quit hitting my swaybar on the driver's side. The sway bar let loose with a bit force than I anticipated and caught my thumb.:facepalm: I think I may have actually fractured it, but I'm slowly regaining use - it was ~4 weeks ago and I still can't do basic stuff like peel a banana. :banghead:
But, I can hold a grinder.
Yeah, I'm almost there.
It was borderline on the blood release - I opted to not burn a hole this time and I actually don't feel any pressure under the nail. That joint where distal tip/phalanx hooks up is another story, though ...T
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