- First Name
- Joseph
- Joined
- Oct 13, 2020
- Threads
- 23
- Messages
- 824
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- 1,138
- Location
- Chapel Hill, NC
- Vehicle(s)
- Grand Cherokee Trailhawk
- Your Bronco Model
- Badlands
- Thread starter
- #1
I installed the Zroadz sliders about a week ago on my 4 door BL and got enough requests for more info, decided to just make a post.
Packaging was great (albeit heavy obviously, damned UPS driver made it look like a feather though). Injected foam in the box so minimal possibility of it jostling during shipping, arrived in pristine condition.
Install was easy enough, minus a few hiccups. 6 horizontal nuts and 3 vertical bolts per side to remove the factory rails.
Front mount:
Mid mount (same as rear):
The mounting brackets support the weight of the rails while you're removing hardware, so no lifting support needed.
Six pinch weld holes:
Zroadz provided new hardware for the install, but the factory pieces seemed more robust, so I stayed with those. Factory nuts had captive washers compared to provided without washers, so more lip there. Factory bolts seemed to have a bit more lip as well.
Nuts: Zroadz (top) vs OEM (bottom)
Bolts: Zroadz (top) vs OEM (bottom)
Pay attention that the front bolt on each side is longer since it goes directly into the body, rather than a bracket. If you use the Zroadz bolt, the head on that is also larger, so you'll need an extra socket.
It's possible to get them on to the mount points yourself (I did) but an extra set of hands won't hurt to line things up, because the tolerances can be tight. Once you slide the horizontal bolts on the rail into the pinch weld holes, all the weight is supported.
At this point I ran in to some trouble with manufacturing tolerances. The first rail went on fine, horizontal nuts first. Ratcheting down it was a tight enough fit to make the pinch weld pop over the threads as the step was pulled closer to it. That aligned the bolt points fine.
Rail two, no matter what, couldn't get the front bracket to align with hole for the bolt. All different orders of tightening nuts to pull it in, rubber mallet, someone standing on it for leverage. Nope.
Tried to line it up at a slight angle, hoping the threads would bite and straighten up. Unfortunately that just stripped the first part of the hole, and it needed tapped.
10mm tapping bit:
Once the threading was back in the body, I filed down part of the mounting bracket and had enough clearance to insert the bolt.
After filing:
Install issues aside, these are great. The front lines up well enough with the stock flare for me, and the rear kick out isn't significantly past the flare. Serves as a larger climbing platform for the little one. I think they do cut down on tire spray some, but I'll likely still install flaps still. Exiting the cab, they stick out enough that it's pretty hard to not scrape your pant leg unless you're really working for it. I'll take it as door ding protection.
Packaging was great (albeit heavy obviously, damned UPS driver made it look like a feather though). Injected foam in the box so minimal possibility of it jostling during shipping, arrived in pristine condition.
Install was easy enough, minus a few hiccups. 6 horizontal nuts and 3 vertical bolts per side to remove the factory rails.
Front mount:
The mounting brackets support the weight of the rails while you're removing hardware, so no lifting support needed.
Zroadz provided new hardware for the install, but the factory pieces seemed more robust, so I stayed with those. Factory nuts had captive washers compared to provided without washers, so more lip there. Factory bolts seemed to have a bit more lip as well.
Nuts: Zroadz (top) vs OEM (bottom)
Bolts: Zroadz (top) vs OEM (bottom)
Pay attention that the front bolt on each side is longer since it goes directly into the body, rather than a bracket. If you use the Zroadz bolt, the head on that is also larger, so you'll need an extra socket.
It's possible to get them on to the mount points yourself (I did) but an extra set of hands won't hurt to line things up, because the tolerances can be tight. Once you slide the horizontal bolts on the rail into the pinch weld holes, all the weight is supported.
At this point I ran in to some trouble with manufacturing tolerances. The first rail went on fine, horizontal nuts first. Ratcheting down it was a tight enough fit to make the pinch weld pop over the threads as the step was pulled closer to it. That aligned the bolt points fine.
Rail two, no matter what, couldn't get the front bracket to align with hole for the bolt. All different orders of tightening nuts to pull it in, rubber mallet, someone standing on it for leverage. Nope.
Tried to line it up at a slight angle, hoping the threads would bite and straighten up. Unfortunately that just stripped the first part of the hole, and it needed tapped.
10mm tapping bit:
Once the threading was back in the body, I filed down part of the mounting bracket and had enough clearance to insert the bolt.
After filing:
Install issues aside, these are great. The front lines up well enough with the stock flare for me, and the rear kick out isn't significantly past the flare. Serves as a larger climbing platform for the little one. I think they do cut down on tire spray some, but I'll likely still install flaps still. Exiting the cab, they stick out enough that it's pretty hard to not scrape your pant leg unless you're really working for it. I'll take it as door ding protection.
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