Installing rugged x sliders on SR5

[Eastmelbanddown]

When I first started looking into this I couldn’t find any information on it, so I thought I’d do a quick write up to help people out who may be considering doing the same.

NOTE: I’m aware many people don’t rate the factory sliders and think they’re weak, and for the price of brand new ones ($1400 apparently) compared to Phat Bars etc. I’d go the aftermarket option any day. However, I scored a pair of factory sliders for $200, and they are not going to get flogged as it’s a daily drive / weekend camper. They will be perfectly fit for my requirements, and I like the look, so for me this makes sense. Others may be in the same boat... this post is for them

The Toyota sliders mount up using factory chassis holes, and a combination of big bolts and little bolts. I’ll talk more about the little bolts further down.

Mount 1 - 2 big bolts run through the front chassis crossmember. These bolts are longer than the factory bolts, and you also need to insert the 2 spacers between the inside of the mount and the chassis cross member so that the mount grips nicely. Very simple mount.

Mount 2 - the bracket is in 2 parts which connect up with 2 little bolts (IMO a weak point). One big bolt goes through the chassis rail, and another 2 small bolts go into holes in the chassis rail.

Mount 3 - this uses 3 small bolts on the chassis rail. On the passenger side there is a bracket bolted on. Carefully remove the bolt first and then when fitting the slider you can re use this bolt.

Now these smaller bolts... these little f$@#&% are the worst part. Only 3 of these little bolts actually go into a thread on the chassis (centre mounts and pass side rear where an existing bracket is bolted on). The rest are bare holes, and you need to get a nut inside the chassis. Painful, but absolutely doable. Took about 5 minutes per hole of screwing around with different bars, sockets, uni joints etc. to get them in.

I also used nuts that have like a washer head with teeth, so that they bite into the chassis from the inside and act like a crush washer. If I had my time again, I’d probably stick some crush washers to the nuts (tape or glue) so that I could get them inside... I’d also put some loctite on the bolts, anyway... coulda woulda shoulda didn’t. She’ll be right.

On mount 2, one of the small bolts goes into a thread, and the second one you need to use a long spanner or socket or make up a contraption to get the nut inside and lined up with the hole. There’s an access hole nearby (it’s not that close, but it works, just need something long to get it in there).

On mount 3, on the driver side all 3 holes are bare, but there is a couple of large access holes nearby. On the pass side one of the bolt holes is threaded (see note above about the bracket), and the other 2 you need to get a nut in there.

I have successfully installed all of these bolts, and I don’t think it was that difficult. I certainly think reading this will give anyone a massive head start. I’m not that handy or experienced with cars, so if I can do it others can too with a bit of help.

Hope this helps someone!

[Big Damo]

Hi East, Thanks for providing that info, I found it very helpful and it actually encouraged me to get the Rugged X sliders because I could not find any definitive info that they could be fitted to an SR5
So recently purchase a set of Rugged X sliders myself for my 22 SR5. They are a bit rare in SA, so I ended up having to freight from Ballarat Toyota a set that someone didn't want - got them for $600 delivered and they were virtually brand new.
Anyway, I thought I'd add a couple more helpful hints for anyone else wanting to fit these sliders.
1). I managed it by myself, used some right length firewood blocks to help support the sliders while I was fitting.
2). Mine came with all fittings (bolts, nuts, washers including a small 4mm spacer. This spacer is used to put between the rear passenger side slider bracket and the rear mount, where it was previously mentioned there is an existing bracket with a threaded hole the sliders bolt into. Without that spacer (or anything else suitable) the slider bracket won't sit against the chassis properly. Probably not a huge problem but flush bracket to chassis is best.
3) Finally - the getting nuts into the chassis issue. I couldn't sort this issue, didn't have anything suitable to hold a nut inside the chassis, so I decided inserting the bolts from the inside would be easiest for me. I went to the local fastener store, and got the same length bolts but with a flanged head with cutter/teeth pattern underneath to grip the inside of the chassis steel and eliminate the need to secure it on the inside.
To locate the inside of the hole from the chassis access points;
- I tied fishing line around the top of each bolt and ran the line straight down the thread.
- I wrapped the threat with red (to see it easier) electrical tape ensuring there was 1cm excess at the bottom, and twisted that around the line forming a narrow diameter tag.
- I attached the line to a stainless 40cm cable tie I had lying around (plastic may do but the steel one bends to shape and holds it well). I did this by drilling a small hole in the bottom of the cable tie to tie the fishing line to.
- The tooth end of the cable tie was inserted into the chassis access point and I found it quite easy to locate the bolt holes, particularly when the tooth end of the cable tie was bent at 90 degrees.
- pull the cable tie through to the fishing line and bolt, juggle and grab the electrical tape tag at the bottom of the bolt and the rest is history! The toothed bolt heads held really well once the nuts were finger-tightened, with absolutely no slippage.

I hope someone finds this additional info useful and I learnt a lot about problem solving and now have a great technique of locating bolts in difficult locations for any future project.
Cheers
Damien

[Big Damo]

Oh, and I'm not sure the smaller bolts in the middle bracket are that much of a weak point, as all they do is hold the bracket together horizontally where there is a huge bolt and spacer going through the centre of the chassis, that is what will take the load when you land the slider on something....but I do think the weakness of the sliders (and I might be wrong) is that they slide on the corner of the steel square tube...that is they are not flat to the ground. I'm no academic but I would think this would prevent it sliding as easily as if the square tube was parallel to the ground and slid on a flat surface. ...more weight on less surface area...but we'll see!