3rd Gen: Armor + Body Flex = Rattles

[MtnT4R]

I thought I'd post this up because I have been going bonkers tracking down a couple of rattles that I thought were somewhere inside my cab for a couple months now.

These 3rd gens have a lot of body flex. I now have 4xInnovations bumpers and sliders all around, and realized when I was tightening my rear shocks(again) that the armor attached to the frame had deformed pinch welds and sheet metal in several areas. Turns out the spacing built into the bumpers to accommodate body flex isnt quite enough, possibly because of worn out original body mounts?

I bought some vinyl pads to insulate some of the tighter gaps on sliders and bumpers:

And rattles are gone! Heres a few images of how deformed the sheet metal behind the rear passenger tire was, and where I put some of the pads to eliminate contact with the body(also bent the welds a little more where I could):

 

[Unner]

My front bumper touches the flares and rubs/squeaks sometimes. Nothing I'm worried about. I'd rather have them close than a huge gap.

For the rear bumper have you replaced your rear body mounts? If not I'd bet that's why you have all that contact back there.

For the sliders that's what happens when you tuck them up super close to the body. Especially if you use them and put the weight of the truck on them. Mine aren't that close to the body so they never touch.

 

[TravThePro]

My front bumper touches the flares and rubs/squeaks sometimes. Nothing I'm worried about. I'd rather have them close than a huge gap.

For the rear bumper have you replaced your rear body mounts? If not I'd bet that's why you have all that contact back there.

For the sliders that's what happens when you tuck them up super close to the body. Especially if you use them and put the weight of the truck on them. Mine aren't that close to the body so they never touch.

Haha, my front bumper squeaks quite a lot rubbing on my front fenders, I wonder if we could use a small sponge/rubber compound to eliminate it. I've tried tape and it works temporarily but rubs through it in less than a week generally. I run a big body lift and if any of the bushings for the body mount wear through they get pretty squeeky as well.

 

[JZiggy]

I installed Stubbs sliders recently and his instructions stated that the support bars needed to be a minimum of 3/8" away from body parts. The instructions suggested you could trim the pinch welds to add clearance if you wanted the armor to tuck in more closely.

I guess he had a good reason!!

 

[MtnT4R]

My front bumper touches the flares and rubs/squeaks sometimes. Nothing I'm worried about. I'd rather have them close than a huge gap.

For the rear bumper have you replaced your rear body mounts? If not I'd bet that's why you have all that contact back there.

For the sliders that's what happens when you tuck them up super close to the body. Especially if you use them and put the weight of the truck on them. Mine aren't that close to the body so they never touch.

I havent replaced the body mounts yet, but might do that next spring as I continue to generally replace/upgrade components. I'm a little bummed about the sliders because I had a buddy who owns a repair shop weld them on for me and asked him to tuck them up as much as possible- he spent a week working around his other projects which I really appreciate, but with all his measuring and multiple calls to give me updates neither of us considered backing the mounting position away from the body a little more for the body flex. Live and learn!

 

[Road Bull]

I would say two things. Get the Sonoran Steel rear body mounts, Rear 4Runner Polyurethane Body Mounts (Pair) - $75.00 : Sonoran Steel, Sonoran Steel Custom Metal Fabrication L.L.C. Custom Toyota Truck Parts ,

Then, consider a minor body lift to gain some space between body and sliders.

 

[theesotericone]

My Stubbs sliders are mounted 1/4" from the pinch welds. They've been used as a hi-lift point and taken multiple hard hits on the trail. Not a single pinch weld has been touched. That guy builds some quality sliders. I planned on having to get under there with a dremel and trim them up at some point but that point hasn't come yet.

 

[Renton4runner]

Get a half inch body lift. My sliders we're tucked right up to the pinch weld(bamf), my front bumper rubbed(aor), and my winch(warn vr8000) was touching my grill. Much better now with the body lift. No rattling or rubbing. The gap is minimal, and gives me some insurance against screwing up my body panels. I also did the rear mounts in anticipation of the rear bumper I just ordered (CBI).

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[Dezert4Runner]

I installed Stubbs sliders recently and his instructions stated that the support bars needed to be a minimum of 3/8" away from body parts. The instructions suggested you could trim the pinch welds to add clearance if you wanted the armor to tuck in more closely.

I guess he had a good reason!!

My Stubbs sliders are mounted 1/4" from the pinch welds. They've been used as a hi-lift point and taken multiple hard hits on the trail. Not a single pinch weld has been touched. That guy builds some quality sliders. I planned on having to get under there with a dremel and trim them up at some point but that point hasn't come yet.

I also have the Stubbs sliders, and my fab guy that welded them on took some vice grips and bent the pinch weld up where the tubing passes under it. That way the pinch weld stays intact and the weld isn't structurally compromised. I guess if you only take off a small oval shaped piece no bigger than maybe 3" across and 1/4" to 1/2" deep it wouldn't do any harm. I'm not sure about any more than that. With all the flex on the body when wheeling, I wouldn't want to assist the vehicle at tearing at the seams!

 

[BrandonF]

Did someone say slider flex?
IMG_2882 by Brandon Faliszewski, on Flickr
IMG_3602 by Brandon Faliszewski, on Flickr

 

[Renton4runner]

Is that gusseted, and how many connections do you have to the frame?

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[BrandonF]

Is that gusseted, and how many connections do you have to the frame?

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3 legs and some tiny gussets that might as well not even be there. They were bent back down and reinforced with 1/4" gussets after this but overall would not recommend these sliders.

 

[Renton4runner]

3 legs and some tiny gussets that might as well not even be there. They were bent back down and reinforced with 1/4" gussets after this but overall would not recommend these sliders.

That sucks man. Sorry to hear. What brand are they?

I went BAMF and the gussets seem pretty beefy. I haven't taken a hit on them yet though. That hit yours took looks pretty gnarly...

 

[Bijan]

That sucks man. Sorry to hear. What brand are they?

I went BAMF and the gussets seem pretty beefy. I haven't taken a hit on them yet though. That hit yours took looks pretty gnarly...

I went with BAMF - I have had the whole vehicle's weight on the sliders and been fine.

Love em