OPOR - GX470 Slider Install

[tlin]

I appreciate the time spent sharing your experiences here. I'm waiting for MT to get my order going and OPORs are part of what I'm buying so.....thx!!!

Nothing firm planned yet but I can see just thru-bolting these - time will tell.

 

[Bluetribal]

That is definitely a great option just would have to verify the back side of the frame on the front legs. And make sure your drill bit is long enough to go through the back side of the frame.
The middle leg on the PS is thru bolted and two 5/8" Rivet Nuts on the bottom of the frame.

 

[Bluetribal]

Yeah, I bought a socket adapter set for my cordless impact gun and a pack of 20 3/8" Rivnuts. Plan is to set this last one and then go back to all the others with the impact to make sure they are completely crushed and tight. Then install the sliders.

When I hit all the existing Rivet Nuts with the impact they all spun rather than get tighter so I ended up ordering the tool. But the hole size is the key for these Rivet Nuts you want them tight.

 

[Prof H]

Ah, fun times, installing my OPOR sliders. Especially dremeling out one of the rivnuts when it started to spin. Plus, I had one of the first sets of sliders made, and not all the holes lined up perfectly, so those had to be drilled out slightly. And Metaltech didn't have any instructions at that point. Yep. Fun times.

But I love them now...

 

[Bluetribal]

Yeah taken them out the last two weekends and they are already due for paint touch-up. And I think my front stock slid plate is barely ganging on! Seriously time to add lift and real skid plates!

 

[GXO]

At least you guys have something to install! Had to custom build em since there were none back then!

 

[Bluetribal]

Finally got around to uploading my latest photos.

Sliders painted and installed.

And within two trips they looked like this! Damn I need a lift so I stop dragging these things over everything!

So had to hit them with a little touch-up.

 

[dogbite]

I figure I would update this thread as I have finally got the sliders installed using the Rivet Nuts FINALLY!

So here are my two take-aways:
1) Do not use a step bit for the holes! Use a Micrometer to measure the Rivet Nuts and get the proper size drill bits. The Rivet Nut has to be snug in the hole to not spin this was my primary issue. So for the replacement 5/8" Rivet Nuts I bought from McMaster Carr it required an 11/16" drill bit that I ordered on Amazon since You can't find that size at Home Depot.
I ended upsizing the DS front leg from a 1/2" Rivet Nut to a 5/8" Rivet Nut since the holes were too big. I would recommend doing this anyway since the DS slider only has two legs and it's just two bolts.
2) The 5/8" Rivet Nuts are a beast and even with the Rivet Nut tool they are tough to install. I would not recommend doing the YouTube Nut & Bolt install for these.
My boss was sympathetic to my Rivet Nut issues so he told me to order the tool in case we need to install Rivet Nuts on the work trucks But as mentioned above even with the tool my shoulders were toast and even used a ratchet strap to close the arms of the tool. Getting the truck high enough for the tool to fit under the bottom of the frame is a sketchy proposition that had two jack stands under the frame as back-up with the jack.

By far my least fun project and it took me forever and a day partly because we have been doing a house remodel for four months now. And I spent an additional $50 to replace all the Rivet Nuts and bolts I had to cut out. Not to mention the $200 tool that the company now owns.

Great write up. I wish this thread was around when I installed my sliders. The rivet nuts were a bitch, and your explanation of the frustration connected to it is pretty accurate. I also had rivet nuts on both sides spin. Initially thought they clamped down but started spinning when installing the sliders. Had to uninstall and attempt another day at a friend's that had impact air tools. It did work on some of the rivet nuts but there was still 1 spinner. He torched and melted some metal to it enough to stop the spin so we could install the other.

Other than the rivet nuts being a PITA, I like the sliders a lot. Beefy and functional!

 

[Bluetribal]

Yeah, I still have one Rivet Nut to replace on the Passenger slider but since that one has a middle leg I haven't worried too much about it.
The key to the Rivet Nuts is getting the exact size drill bit for them to fit snug before you crush them down. And I personally wouldn't bother with the smaller ones and just install all 5/8" Rivet Nuts. You will need some extras most likely anyway so order them ahead of time.

 

[dahoseman]

Has anyone installed these on a GX470 with KDSS? The passenger side when on without only a few minor modifications. However, I spent several hours trying to get the driver side to fit by slowly bending the hydraulic tubing without success. As far as I can tell, I would need to uninstall and remove the KDSS system.

Any alternate suggestions?

 

[The Great Him]

I installed a set on a KDSS truck, no issues

 

[dahoseman]

I assume that means without removing anything? I'm interested in why yours lined up without issue.
The passenger side went on relatively easy. I only had to drill a new hole in the frame in the front to put a bolt all the way through. I drilled out existing holes and added my own stronger bolts to the middle cross member support.

However, the driver side is ...... something else.
In the front, I had to remove the shielding over the driver side tubing because it interferes with the crossmember when I get it to line up with the OEM threaded bolt hole. I may take an angle grinder to the shield to remove an inch or so in order to get it to fit flush.

In the rear, I'm more curious how yours was able to fit. The hydraulic piping on the external side of the frame would be crushed if I bolted it on without modifications. I slowly bent the piping outward and upward to allow the cross member it to fit underneath. I still wasn't able to get it to work. If I uninstall the connections and remove the tubing, I can probably get it into position to get the U-bolt in position. However, that's not exactly "bolt on" and would add a lot of work.

I may take pictures tomorrow to see if there is anything different.

 

[The Great Him]

I assume that means without removing anything? I'm interested in why yours lined up without issue.
The passenger side went on relatively easy. I only had to drill a new hole in the frame in the front to put a bolt all the way through. I drilled out existing holes and added my own stronger bolts to the middle cross member support.

However, the driver side is ...... something else.
In the front, I had to remove the shielding over the driver side tubing because it interferes with the crossmember when I get it to line up with the OEM threaded bolt hole. I may take an angle grinder to the shield to remove an inch or so in order to get it to fit flush.

In the rear, I'm more curious how yours was able to fit. The hydraulic piping on the external side of the frame would be crushed if I bolted it on without modifications. I slowly bent the piping outward and upward to allow the cross member it to fit underneath. I still wasn't able to get it to work. If I uninstall the connections and remove the tubing, I can probably get it into position to get the U-bolt in position. However, that's not exactly "bolt on" and would add a lot of work.

I may take pictures tomorrow to see if there is anything different.

Did you read the instructions?

 

[JLee]

Did you read the instructions?

I'm guessing not, because they specifically tell you that the KDSS lines need to be carefully bent...

You do need to trim the small KDSS skid. I nipped a bit off and painted the cut edges - fits fine now.

 

[dahoseman]

Yes. That is partly why I came here. After installing many "bolt on" aftermarket parts on various other vehicles throughout the years, I try to be a bit smarter about proceeding with things that don't line up before doing any unnecessary fabrication. I generally find that about 10% of parts are "bolt on" and I generally get out a welding torch and a tap & die for anything that is "bolt on" for the frame or suspension on older vehicles.

I may contact Metal Tech again. I was sent the a pair of passenger side components only initially instead of passenger/driver, so I may be missing a few hardware bits.

In any case, it doesn't mention modifications to the front shielding, which is necessary on mine to align the front threaded bolt. With the shield in place, it sits about 1" forward of the hole.

For the rear, directions indicate "you will need 1/4 inch of gap between the lines and the frame for the feet of the sliders." Considering the lip on my rear slider foot protrudes 1" by itself, I opted to bend lines out to 2" to allow room and prevent vibration rubbing.

Obviously, there is no middle foot for my setup, so that simplifies things. However, for a bit more rigidity, I may weld up my own bracket which attached behind to the inner frame.

I may just create my own bracket in place of the U-bolt setup in order to simplify installation and removal in case I ever need to remove or repair it.

 

[JLee]

The U bolt works quite well given the amount of space that's available. You have a fuel tank just inside of the frame and brake lines on top of the frame - there's a small channel that the U bolt fits into.

MT has been selling these for years, and to my knowledge has yet to have a failure. I don't believe modification to them is necessary.

 

[JLee]

Here's how I trimmed my KDSS skid:

 

[JLee]

I've installed these on two KDSS trucks (and installed TrailGear sliders with copies of MetalTech's brackets on another, so three KDSS slider installs).

After prying the lines away from the frame so I could fit the slider bracket, I put a block of wood between the slider leg and the KDSS lines and carefully jacked the slider up / bent the lines up and out of the way. I put some blocks of wood between the lines (where they come out of the manifold) and the body, in an effort to help keep them from bending right at the manifold point. I'm not sure how well that worked, but nothing leaks.

I also took about half an inch off of the u-bolt legs for the driver's side so I could get it flipped back around to install. I couldn't get it to clear the slider bracket otherwise. I did have to drop the driver's side of my ASFIR fuel tank skid in order to do this - I don't remember if you can fit it in with the OEM fuel tank skid in place.

 

[dahoseman]

The U bolt works quite well given the amount of space that's available. You have a fuel tank just inside of the frame and brake lines on top of the frame - there's a small channel that the U bolt fits into.

MT has been selling these for years, and to my knowledge has yet to have a failure. I don't believe modification to them is necessary.

Wow, thanks for all the pictures, folks! Much appreciated. I will be taking the angle grinder to that shield tomorrow. I was just concerned that I might have something out of place since it didn't mention that part in the directions. Looks like everything is as it should be, I guess.

They are definitely pretty slick and I am pretty happy with them. While waiting for the driver side to arrive, I installed the passenger side a few weeks ago. It has already served its purpose and taken a good beating. Besides some minor dents and scrapes, it held up well on a desert excursion and I'm impressed with the quality of welds and metal. I am just going to add some rigidity and KDSS protection to the driver side with my own center pedestal and my own version of the rear U-bolt for easier install/uninstall in the future.

 

[JLee]

They are definitely pretty slick and I am pretty happy with them. While waiting for the driver side to arrive, I installed the passenger side a few weeks ago. It has already served its purpose and taken a good beating. Besides some minor dents, it held up well on a desert excursion and I'm impressed with the quality of welds and metal. I am just going to add some rigidity and KDSS protection to the driver side with my own center pedestal and my own version of the rear U-bolt for easier install/uninstall in the future.

I took a little bit off of the threaded ends on the u-bolt for the driver's side, which made installation dramatically easier.