Outer Limits 4x4 Board

Hay guys, i have just made up some sliders to protect my sills in the rocks and wanted to know if thre is any problems welding them straight to the chassie? i have been told th drill and tap to bolt 'em on but i dont want to drill and tap, sounds like it could create a weak point to me.

The sliders are 3.5mm x 40mm steel, and i have built them to be attatched in three spots on thestraight main section of chassie.

Any problems with going and welding them straight to the chassie?? cheers.

Joe.

a lot of guys do it, i welded mine on a hilux with no problems, the meterial you made them out of sounds a little flimsy though,

roverlux wrote:
The sliders are 3.5mm x 40mm steel, and i have built them to be attatched in three spots on thestraight main section of chassie.

Do you mean 40x40x3.5???

You can weld, but bolting is just as strong (or stronger) if done properly, and there are less legality problems. I used grade 8, M10 Grade 4.6 bolts to bolt my sliders on, so this should mean that the slider bolts shear in a really hard hit before the chassis gets damaged.

yeah 40x40x3.5 RHS.

I hope they arnt too flimsy! they are welded very well and have gusseting on all welded areas. they look tuff anyway!!

would there be any issue with chassie cracking etc, due to the sliders adding extra bracing therefore making that section of the chassie stiffer??

Joe.

welding them on will be fine, but make sure you put a fish plate on the frame first which does not run 90 degrees to the chassis rails eg must have angle ends on the end of the plate

here is my lower link mount cross member welded in my lux

I wasn't keen on welding to my chassis so I bolted them on. It also makes them easier to remove.
They are plenty strong enough with 3 bolts, 10mm, front and rear.

What is the idea of using a fish plate with angled ends? Does it stop the chassis warping when welding perhaps? Do you weld all edges of it?

Cheers

if you weld stright up and down you are more likely to create a stress point, chassis - SNAP

Welded mine, see the thread in my sig line

just weld them on hey, i went 2 the trouble of making mine bolt on and htey have been on 4 2 years of hard wheeling and i havent had a need 2 unbolt them yet ??? an now i have gone and welded my exo cage onto them so i cant un bolt them if i tried

is it illegal to weld straight to the chassis

im gonna make some sliders for my lwb gq

im thinking 48round 3.2 walls?? $29.58 plus gst lenth <6.1m>
and drilling and tapping a 10mm to 20mm thick plate welded to the chassis
that way i can bolt it on? sound good?

matt

DAWSO 4x4 wrote:is it illegal to weld straight to the chassis

DAWSO search "vsi06" on the NSW RTA website. That is a document that outlines what you can and can't do re these sort of mods. Check out page five.

dansTOYOwagon wrote:

DAWSO 4x4 wrote:is it illegal to weld straight to the chassis

DAWSO search "vsi06" on the NSW RTA website. That is a document that outlines what you can and can't do re these sort of mods. Check out page five.

I beleive it is OK to weld to the side of the chassis, but anyone feel free to correct me if I am mistaken

Page five of the aforementioned document does affirm your statement Tiny, so yeah, you're right. But refer to Bub's instruction for the ideal way to do it.

Thanks for all you responses guys, makes tasks like this so much easier when you have others who have done it giving feedback. thanks for the tip on the fish plate bubs!

matthewK wrote:im gonna make some sliders for my lwb gq

im thinking 48round 3.2 walls?? $29.58 plus gst lenth <6.1m>
and drilling and tapping a 10mm to 20mm thick plate welded to the chassis
that way i can bolt it on? sound good?

matt

Told ya before, that wall is too thing to be a real slider for the weight of the patrol.

i too am welding a plate on to the chassis with tapped holes for my sliders etc i have been told not to weld straight up and down as this makes chassis weaker is this true

I just made a set for myself, i have made them bolt on so they arent permanent, dont want to weld to the chassis.

Bartso wrote:i too am welding a plate on to the chassis with tapped holes for my sliders etc i have been told not to weld straight up and down as this makes chassis weaker is this true

This is true in terms of welding vertical. Have a look at a truck chassis. IF they have anything welded onto it, they will have a long skinny plate with tapered ends & rounded corners.

This is because the cracks/faults will propergate from the sharp edges.

Truck turntable feet are also welded down in this fashion. In fact they recomend that the weld is started on the parent metal & then runs along by 20-30mm before engaging with feet of the turntable. This is to ensure that there is no stops/starts in the weld holding the feet down, as the welds will tear wear the welds stop/start.

I was thinking of drilling an oversize hole through the chassis & sleeving the hole with a tube to prevent crushing, then welding a 4mm doubler plate each side of the chassis rail. I could then mount the sliders onto the doubler plate and bolt through the holes. This would mean that there is nothing hanging down under the rail to catch on.

Just about to put some sliders on mine
However the biggest problem or concern for me about welding is the fear of rust on the inside of chassis rail.

When you weld them the chances are you are ganna peel off all the paint on the inside of your rails due to the heatl.

Talked to a guy here in brissy who welds them and suggested this to him and he's gone hmm, think your right, did not think of this. Thinking to myself how many he's done. He's like heaps.

my bet is that there are going to be a lot of people with slidders falling of due to rust if there not taking precautions.

I still think I will weld but intend on doing a full steam pressure clean on the rails, painting after and some rust protection.

With the 80 series the problem is there aren't any holes near where the first mount welds on so not sure what I will do.

Anyone have concerns about this, or ideas,

bruiser wrote:Just about to put some sliders on mine
However the biggest problem or concern for me about welding is the fear of rust on the inside of chassis rail.

When you weld them the chances are you are ganna peel off all the paint on the inside of your rails due to the heatl.

Talked to a guy here in brissy who welds them and suggested this to him and he's gone hmm, think your right, did not think of this. Thinking to myself how many he's done. He's like heaps.

my bet is that there are going to be a lot of people with slidders falling of due to rust if there not taking precautions.

I still think I will weld but intend on doing a full steam pressure clean on the rails, painting after and some rust protection.

With the 80 series the problem is there aren't any holes near where the first mount welds on so not sure what I will do.

Anyone have concerns about this, or ideas,

Absolutely top point there, the bolt on sliders can suffer similar problems with condensation forming under the plates (on the outside skins of the chassis), but at least the rust here is a lot easier to treat/prevent.

With the right design, you can have a strong slider, chassis protection plates and only lose 6-10mm in chassis bottom clearance.

EDIT: this is in reference to bolt on sliders.

I cant see too much of a problem with bolt ons hanging down too much. The shackle mount and the gearbox crossmember sit well below the plates on the sliders. I was going to round the corners to stop things from catching but didnt see it as being worth the trouble, though will see for sure once i get out wheelin again with the sliders on.

Come on guys fess up
Who's out checking there chassis rails for rust, now or this weekend

Hi All

Considering the damage I did to my sills recently, I too am looking at sliders. Personally, I don't like the thought of welding them straight to the chassis rail, but that's just me.

I also realise that sandwich type plates also reduce clearance, if only by a little bit. Not so much clearance as such, but previous to their installation, the whole chassis rail could slide along a rock if needed, now with two 6+mm plates sticking down 12-20mm, this could be a potential hook up point.

My thought is, what if you welded up a right angled "U" shape bit as a mount that fitted up onto the chassis and bolted at the top. Only 6-8mm (depending on your mounting plate thickness) presenting as a lower point instead of potentially more than double that.

Have I explained it properly.....does everyone know what I mean??


Regards

Initially I didn't think much of the wrap around design but I figure if they are well forward and back they don't effect your ramp over angle much at all.

Regards Charlie