Anyone know what this is?

Hi folks.hoping you can help me identify the part in the attached image.

Backstory: I was about to loosen my CBI sliders on my 3rd gen TRD O/R because there is a clanging sound. The front of the passenger side slider is about 1/32” off the pinch weld of the cab, and I assumed it was frame flex that was causing the slider to contact the cab which was making the clanging.

CBI gave me instructions on how to loosen and the re-tighten in a specific pattern to get more clearance.

HOWEVER, when I was looking at where I needed to loosen the slider, I discovered a plastic shield with a padded channel and a copper-colored rod inside the frame. The rod is attached out of sight on the far end and the near end is loose. Anyone know what this rod is?

The way the shield and rod appear, it looks like the rod should go through the shield to keep it from flopping around…is that true?

I’m hoping this rod is what is creating the clanking and that simply placing back into the channel will resolve the issue.

Any help appreciated…

 

This is a bit of a guess, but we are a tier 1 oem supplier to the automotive industry. We utilize e-coating for our parts. That appears to be a ground point for e-coating. This would help get the coating into more difficult places.

 

Only vague guesses at to what that rod could be, given that it's copper I suspect Satburn may be right and it has to do with manufacturing, my guesses is it could also be a sacrificial anode what with frame rust being a known thing, a "atmospheric ground" to reduce the truck's potential negative charge to atmosphere, or a really out there guess some part of the safety detection system, see if your airbags go off when you crack it like a glow stick!



But just eyeballing the positioning of things and the slit grommet in the bracket that it's touching I would say absolutely that rod should go through that eye.

Hopefully that solves your rattles.

 

Weird thing is, the same plastic guard and eye exists on the other side, but there is no rod on that side.

 

Would you place them on both sides of the truck/frame? Do you think it’s supposed to go through the eye in the guard in my original picture? So weird…

 

Probably easier for assembly and cheaper for production to make one part that works in either spot where part of it is unnecessary than it is to have two unique parts.

 

In our world, we would make the plastic guard the same, other than a left or right. My company doesn't make those or the frame. But another guess would be that depending on the orientation of the frame as it went down the line, that rod could be placed on either the left or right side.

 

I've pulled my plastic channel guard out of both sides, and never saw a rod lol. That's weird.

 

i pulled channels at my rig, and there is no rod on both sides.

 

E-coat is a fickle thing. They could be using those if a re-work is required an they couldn't get enough coverage the first time without it.

I just checked mine as well and I do not have them either. Again, it's just a guess. But I do know adding them will aid in the coating process.

 

Update: I re-installed the channel guide so the rod now goes through the eyelet. After a test run on some bumpy roads, the clanking still exists (damn it). It must be due to my initial diagnosis which is that the slider is contacting the cab's pinch weld.

Now, I wait for touch up paint to arrive, then I will unbolt, clean, touch up, and reinstall per CBI's suggestions. I should have known better than to allow a dealership to handle my build. <sigh>

 

Oh yeah, I'd say that's your clunking. Those sliders are too close to the pinch weld.

 

I had the same clunking from the exact same place. Came down hard on the passenger side slider and it shift up until it was making contact with the pinch weld. Readjusted and noise was gone.

 

Did you touch up areas of contact to prevent rust?

 

I would touch up and run cosmoline over everything again for that double protection.

 

Mmmmm....

Smells like moist-nugget.

 

kinda change of subject, what’s that vertical bolt holding? If your sliders, that’s a f-ing shit design, it will constantly come loose and bend. May also be your noise problem.

 

It’s a tension bolt for the sliders. There is plenty of other braces that will maintain strength and position. But as you can see the dealership that did the install did a hack job on it and bent it, nearly stripping the nut. They essentially lied about their capabilities and I have been paying the price since the ink dried.

 

Personally I’d blame the design as much as the installer. It’s a really cheap / lazy, highly flawed design.

 

Speaking from experience or my pictures?