Fitting rock sliders to a 90 - washers on the bulkhead to chassis bolt, and torque setting?

I’m about to fit a pair of rock sliders to my defender 90. The front end fits on the bulkhead to chassis bolt. On my vehicle, there are four washers on the bolt. None of the vehicles in the fitting videos I’ve found on youtube seem to have these. Can anyone tell me what the purpose might be? Presumably I need to remove and then replace them to allow the rock slider to align correctly, do I just put them back on before the nut goes back? Also, I haven’t found a specific torque setting for this nut, do I need to worry, or just tighten firmly? I’m a new member here, complete novice and may be being over cautious?!

No purpose to the additional washers other than a non-standard bolt may have been used (i.e. too long) and the washers were added to allow the nut to tighten fully before it ran out of thread?
I am sure there is a torque setting but I have never used it!

Remove nut and washers, test fit slider, puts wahsers each side of slider mounting bracket so they all fit easily, grease threads, refit nut and tighten, just tight will do fine.
Do not be tempted to remove the bolt or tap it back past the bulkhead mounting hole, as they can be a right sod to line up.

Oh yeh slap some grease into the round outrigger as it makes fitting the slider easier.

What type of Rock Sliders are you fitting?

I originally had the Bearmach type which had two tabs at the front (one either side of the bulkhead & outrigger) which meant that the bulkhead bolt had to be completely removed. If you have this type then as Lynall says the bulkhead will often drop slightly meaning to have to realign it to get the bolt back into position. To prevent this you just put a prop or jack under the base of the bulkhead.



More recently I replaced them with Terrafirma TF801GAL and they only have a single tab (although it is thicker and of a different section to the Bearmach ones) and for that you only have to push the bolt back far enough to get the Rock Slider into position.
Of course if you are replacing the bolt (never a bad idea) or removing it to grease it (again, never a bad idea) then as above, a prop or jack will be required. You may think that with everything bolted up that the bulkhead will remain in situ but unfortunately it only has to drop a couple of mm to stop the bolt being fitted.

@pavlakis , whatever make of rock sliders you fit be sure to completely remove the A-pillar bolt to clean out all the A-pillar crud + this gives you the opportunity to protect [Dinitrol/Dynax etc.,] the whole area. Re-fit bolt with oversized penny washer at bolt head and use copperslip on bolt shaft, fit rock slider to chassis outrigger using a thorough coating of white grease [you'll need to clean out the chassis outrigger beforehand], once slider into outrigger offer up to A-pillar bolt...you'll find you may need to use new oversized washers as packers between rock slider and A-pillar. Once done, tighten up with copperslip to bolt thread.

Thanks all that's really helpful, much appreciated. I've gone for these https://www.famousfour.co.uk/new_parts/ff_part?part=13492 which only have the one tab at the front, and the tubular piece at the back is a separate bolt on part, so I think in theory I don't need to push the bulkhead bolt back at all. I'll consider replacing the bolt and treating, though a little nervous about doing that if there is the potential for the bulkhead to drop. I have little experience beyond changing oil and and filters. If it goes wrong, how wrong can it go? I have a jack... am I over worrying that I would struggle to line it all up again?!

pavlakis said:

Thanks all that's really helpful, much appreciated. I've gone for these https://www.famousfour.co.uk/new_parts/ff_part?part=13492 which only have the one tab at the front, and the tubular piece at the back is a separate bolt on part, so I think in theory I don't need to push the bulkhead bolt back at all. I'll consider replacing the bolt and treating, though a little nervous about doing that if there is the potential for the bulkhead to drop. I have little experience beyond changing oil and and filters. If it goes wrong, how wrong can it go? I have a jack... am I over worrying that I would struggle to line it all up again?!

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it shouldnt move bulkhead is still supported but put a jack under it for peace of mind

pavlakis said:

Thanks all that's really helpful, much appreciated. I've gone for these https://www.famousfour.co.uk/new_parts/ff_part?part=13492 which only have the one tab at the front, and the tubular piece at the back is a separate bolt on part, so I think in theory I don't need to push the bulkhead bolt back at all. I'll consider replacing the bolt and treating, though a little nervous about doing that if there is the potential for the bulkhead to drop. I have little experience beyond changing oil and and filters. If it goes wrong, how wrong can it go? I have a jack... am I over worrying that I would struggle to line it all up again?!

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I think you are over worrying.

The bolt should go from the front to the back with the nut on the back, remove the nut, offer slider bracket up to the bolt, push it on, replace nut, bulkhead is going to sit their oblivious to all of this. Where you would run into a problem is if someone has put the bolt on the wrong way round, i.e. bolt head to the rear of the vehicle as presumably the slider bracket will be aligned to the back negating the need for removal of the bolt, only the nut.

pavlakis said:

Thanks all that's really helpful, much appreciated. I've gone for these https://www.famousfour.co.uk/new_parts/ff_part?part=13492 which only have the one tab at the front, and the tubular piece at the back is a separate bolt on part, so I think in theory I don't need to push the bulkhead bolt back at all. I'll consider replacing the bolt and treating, though a little nervous about doing that if there is the potential for the bulkhead to drop. I have little experience beyond changing oil and and filters. If it goes wrong, how wrong can it go? I have a jack... am I over worrying that I would struggle to line it all up again?!

Click to expand...

As JamesMartin and discomania have already said, you are over worrying about it. v8250's suggestion is a good one as the A pillars are a source of rust because mud and muck collects up there and holds the damp. If you're going to take the nut off the bulkhead bolt then it would make sense to tap the bolt through and clean the A pillar tube out and treat it while you're in there. However, are you geared up to do that with some sort of pressure hose, have the time to let it dry and the cavity wax and applicator to inject the wax up the pillar? It won't be as easy to clean out with the bolt through, but not impossible. I suspect the tubes you get with tins of Dinitrol, etc might get in past the bolt too?
Anyway, as JM said it probably won't move. You could put a bit of pressure on it with a jack, just to try to hold it's position. Or, not bother. If it does drop a mm or two, you can just put a jack under it and jack it up until the holes align and then slip the bolt through again. Don't worry. And remember, nothing ventured - no experience gained