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Article &
Photos by Jim Bacon
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Once you start hitting the hard trails with rocks, you
need to protect that body . Installing rockers will
save you allot of money and time when you connect with a
rock or bolder that won't budge..
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What You Will Need
• Various size socket wrenches and open end wrenches
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• Drill with 7/16" drill bit
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• Floor jack with 2x4, or bottle nose jack on a block
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• If possible a buddy to help
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Installation
NOTICE: Park on a level surface and chock the wheels.
Installing the Rockers from
G.O. Offraod is very easy. Do a quick scan on the
instructions so you know what you need to do and get after
it!
1. For TJ's 97-03;Remove the small flares on each
side of the body as they are secured by 3 bolts. For
Sahara models, you will need to remove the large body
molding which secured by 7 rivets. Drill these out, as
these will be seen after the rocker install. I suggest
re-riveting the area for a finished look. All non
Sahara models, the holes will be covered.
2. Loosen the 4 body mounting bolts on the
drivers side and take out the 3 behind the drivers side
wheel. It is not necessary to take out the rear
mount..
3. Now it's time to jack the body up off
the frame, so use a bottle nose jack on a block or a
hydraulic jack with 2x4's. Be sure to to NOT place the
jack in any area that will interfere with the rockers
sliding into position. Jack the body up off the frame
until you have at least a 3/8" of a gap between the body and
mounts.
4. BEFORE YOU INSTALL the rockers, you may
want to put a bead of silicon on the rockers that be up
against the body, so that moisture will not trap in any
cracks that are not snug. Position the guard in place
and stick the bolts through to make the holes are aligned.
For the rocker to sit right you will need to remove the
metal portion of the front bushings to the body and and
place the remaining rubber portion on top of the bracket.
If you have a body lift, place the body lift puck under the
bracket and the rubber piece over it, however if you have a
one inch body lift puck, you may leave the metal piece in
and place the 1 inch puck above instead. ON the rear
mount, no moving of the body pucks and bushings are needed,
it should sit on top of whatever pucks are there. Due
to slight variances in bodies, it might be necessary to hone
the holes of the rockers' brackets out a little in the
direction needed to place the bolt though.
5. Once in position, the rocker
should be against the body on the outside, and if it isn't,
the holes will need to be honed to make it closer or farther
away to make it fit flush. When in position desired,
lower the jack and tighten the body bolts back down.
6.In order to make sure that the rocker is tight
against the body, place the jack under the rocker and lift
it against the body until the body starts to lift a well.
7. Leave the jack in position and using a
7/16" drill bit, drill the holes through the body with t
pre-dilled holes on the rocker.
8. After the holes are drilled, place the
bolts provided through the rocker and use the washer and
lock nut on the inside of the tub to secure the rocker in
place.
9. Tighten securely and lower the jack.
10.
Repeat steps for opposite side.
11. Your done.
Product Review:
The
Rockers from G.O. Offroad was very easy to install and can be done in
less than an hour. The instructions are easy to read
and follow. Brook (CO-Owner) of G.O. Offroad said that
I would have no problem installing even if I did not have
the instructions and he was right. They have taken
great time and precision in developing their product for
TJ's.
Trail Test:
We went
off road right after the install and put the rockers to the
test. While two of the JeepSpeak rigs have rocker
protection now, we are very pleased with the results of the
product. One of our forum members on JeepSpeak brought
out his stock TJ and suffered minor damage to his plastic
rocker panels on the course. Good thing we had the
Rockers installed!
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