Now that our project Xterra has a suspension lift and a larger tire size, we decided protection would be the next best step. When searching for a company to provide a set of rock sliders, we read through all of the popular Nissan Xterra Internet forums, checked with local retailers, and then decided to give Jim at ShrockWorks in Houston, Texas, a call. Jim gave us the lowdown on the quality of his products and told us he would be happy to become part of our project vehicle build with a set of his Nissan Xterra rock sliders. Considering the feedback we received from other Xterra owners, we knew Jim's products would be strong, but we needed to see for ourselves.
Before we get into our review of how the sliders have been holding up to our testing, we have to share with you how easy it was to install them. It took us no longer than 30 or 40 minutes from the time we opened the box to the initial drive down the road. Here is a brief rundown of what we did to install our ShrockWorks rock sliders, but please, for your own safety, consult the provided instructions that come with your set of sliders before installation. Remember: safety first.
That wasn't so hard, now was it? The new sliders look beautiful and will provide myriad functions both on and off the trail. ShrockWorks sliders weight 89 pounds and come powdercoated semigloss black, dark semi-matte gray, or can be purchased in bare steel. They are sold as a set for both the driver and passenger side. For those of you running a body lift, they also make a body lift option slider.
Quick UpdateOur Rancho Quick-Lift kit has been working flawlessly on the trail. We've been adjusting the shock settings and have found setting 3 to work best on the front suspension and setting 5 in the rear. During some high-speed testing, we purposely bottomed out the suspension to check our clearance and were pleased to see only a tiny scrape from the tires hitting the inner fenderwell in the front. The BFGoodrich 285/75R16 tires are a pleasure to drive on, and during a recent trip to the mountains they provided ample traction in both the snow and on icy roads.
The first thing we did was...
The first thing we did was open up the box and review the included parts. ShrockWorks provides everything you need for installation, including all necessary hardware and instructions with pictures. We did not have the factory side rails on our vehicle, but if you do, you'll need to remove those first with a 14mm wrench.
We were immediately impressed...
We were immediately impressed with the fabrication quality of the ShrockWorks sliders. The welding is topnotch, all of the bends are perfect, and the frame mounting points are well thought out. The round-tube portion of the slider is made from 1.75-inch by 0.134-wall DOM tubing, and the square-tube portion is made from 2x2x3/16-inch-wall steel tubing with the mounting plates being 5/16-inch steel plate. Most sliders today are made of mild steel which does not provide the amount of strength DOM does with its higher tensile-strength properties.
Next, we removed the factory...
Next, we removed the factory vibration-damping weight bolted to the rear of the frame.
With the truck on the lift,...
With the truck on the lift, we used a lift-assistance jack to help us guide the rock sliders in place to see how they would match to the framerails. Notice here we are pointing to the front holes where the slider will mount. There was no need to drill any holes for the front portion of the slider, and we only had to drill one in the rear...
...Keep in mind that although...
...Keep in mind that although we had a shop lift to assist our install, all of this can be done in your driveway with a jack and a good set of jackstands. Having a friend's extra set of hands would also be helpful.
Once we saw where the front...
Once we saw where the front slider mounts, we used the floor-assistance jack to guide it into place and located the factory holes for mounting. ShrockWorks provides a 2.5x6-inch rectangular plate that goes against the inside of the frame, which distributes the load and allows you to tighten the mounting bolts without crushing the frame. We used the provided 4-inch-long bolts with included washers for the...
...side hole and the 1-1/4-inch...
...side hole and the 1-1/4-inch bolt for the bolt hole that wraps under the framerail. It would be nice to see some sort of countersunk bolt for the under-frame mount. We fear the head of this bolt might be sheared off or take damage during some of our rocky adventures. Only time will tell.
With the front securely mounted,...
With the front securely mounted, we moved on to the rear of the Xterra and bolted the slider to the one existing factory hole with the provided M10 fine-thread bolt with washer and lock washer. With the slider in place, we were able to mark off the hole we needed to drill for the lower section of the mount. Before drilling our new holes, we loosened up the front and the rear top bolts and used a level gauge to make sure the slider was level. You can either drill the hole with the slider in place (although it will be a little cramped), or you can remove the slider, drill, then install it once again. We opted for the latter to leave us enough room to snap a couple of photos.
We used a center punch to...
We used a center punch to mark the center of the hole so the drill bit wouldn't walk around on us. We first drilled a small pilot hole and then drilled the final hole with a step drill (often referred to as a "unibit") to widen the hole to 1/2 inch. With the new hole drilled, we guided our slider in place, reinstalled all of our provided hardware, lined up the slider straight and level, and tightened everything in place. Piece of cake!