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XJ custom bumper mount plates

S

skidtoy

NAXJA Forum User
Location
New Zealand
hi, new to the forum and jeeps. im wanting to build a front bumper for my 98 xj and have seen people selling "builder plates" on ebay etc and i think iron rock has some but im wanting to know if anyone has a drawing with dimentions for there etc otherwise can people post some pics of how there custom front bumpers are mounted. i know im going to have to try and pick up as many bolt holes as poss been a unibody but some advice on what people have done would be good.

not sure if ill be making it to suit a winch at this point...i dont do any real serious offroading now so it may just get a 2" hitch and shackle tabs.
 
skidtoy said:
hi, new to the forum and jeeps. im wanting to build a front bumper for my 98 xj and have seen people selling "builder plates" on ebay etc and i think iron rock has some but im wanting to know if anyone has a drawing with dimentions for there etc otherwise can people post some pics of how there custom front bumpers are mounted. i know im going to have to try and pick up as many bolt holes as poss been a unibody but some advice on what people have done would be good.

not sure if ill be making it to suit a winch at this point...i dont do any real serious offroading now so it may just get a 2" hitch and shackle tabs.
Click to expand...

New Zealand, Nice!

My first welding project was a front bumper. I just used 3/16" or 1/4" plate for the part that connected to the frame. After that take the steering bolts out and use the steering box spacer as a template for the steering box bolt pattern. As for the rest of the holes you should be able to clamp the plate you cut to the frame and take a sharpie on the other side and come through the frame to mark where to drill.

All in all the iron rock offroad product you mentioned before will save you a lot of time but it is up to you.
 
I think most bumpers just bolt into the two holes on the seam and the first hold in the rail and if you aren't planning on using it for recovery, that is sufficient. JCR has what looks to be a pretty standard design for getting more bolt holes and you could extend these brackets out all the way to your bumper if you wanted to or you could build your mount to cover those first three holes and then bolt it through that bracket like they suggest.

http://www.jcroffroad.com/product/XJMISC/XJUNF-PC.html

I'm just going to take some cardboard and make a template that I can transfer to some 3/16 plate and make my own for probably 1/10th the cost of these, though.
 
themauler said:
New Zealand, Nice!

My first welding project was a front bumper. I just used 3/16" or 1/4" plate for the part that connected to the frame. After that take the steering bolts out and use the steering box spacer as a template for the steering box bolt pattern. As for the rest of the holes you should be able to clamp the plate you cut to the frame and take a sharpie on the other side and come through the frame to mark where to drill.

All in all the iron rock offroad product you mentioned before will save you a lot of time but it is up to you.
Click to expand...

yea not many jeep guys down here and most dont like to share there info...so i turn to elsewhere haha

i was planning on pulling the spacer out and making a steel one since they sound to be a weak point. i can get the plates watercut for pretty much nothing so its just the setting out what i want otherwise it will be the iron rock plates, i would just buy them as i dont think they are to expensive but its the shipping to NZ which kills them in the end same as all the other parts i see.
 
IIRC, there were a few member in the NorthWest chapter that worked on templates/CAD drawings. I am sure they would be willing to help you out.
 
Last edited:
I like the ones that wrap around and catch the sway bar bolt holes too. Adding another plane to the picture is a good thing.

JCR makes some similar plates, and for both sides, but they powdercoat them. Powdercoating and welding just don't seem to mix well. I wish somebody at JCR would decide to make an extended version for custom bumper fabrication and leave them bare. Or at the most put on a coat of primer if they feel they need to do something to keep them from rusting.
 
thanks couple of pics there look like i should be able to send off to have cut once i get back on land to check. i like the look also of the mounts that mount on different faces also. once i get home from in couple weeks ill rip the factory bumper off and have a look at what i have to work with. im going to cut the rear quaters and do a rear also once i have the front sorted.
 
while im on here also i noticed the jeeps on the ROTM half exo-cage type setups coming up the a-piller. is there any info on here of these been done as i like the look of it, im not sure what that type of exo-cage would be called to search it.
 
Try searching for "hybrid" cages.
 
skidtoy said:
i like the look also of the mounts that mount on different faces also.
Click to expand...

It's not a bad idea to tie the brackets in with the front crossmember with an "L" along the lines of the type the OEM tow hooks use.
 
I think I will use some angle brackets on the front x-member after looking at the pics as it will take abit of load off the bolt holes abit when the bumper contacts things. Thanks I will look into the hybridcage, exo cages are not allowed in NZ for road use but because it does not outline the whole vehicle there maybe a loophole
 
If you search you will also find some who follow the A-pillar on the inside. If all your vertical pillars come up on the inside but then go through the roof for the horizontal components you can then make it look like a roof rack. Does NZ have any problems with roof racks? If contested, you just needed a really solid roof rack.
 
No its fine to run roof cages etc I have run full length cages on the last 4 4x4's ive had just for the extra load carrying plus I like the look. 1st mod I did to the xj was make a full lenght tray. I will have to do a search and see what I come up with. Otherwise I thought about doing like I have seen on a ouple of wranglers which just had a bolt on type a-piller bar that ran upto the tray/cage.
 
12184f35f0990e1b900ddf03cfd2fd49.jpg
5b77cecb1b77067fe44360a13da09144.jpg
these are the way my rear xj bumper mounts/tie ins are built, these are 1/4 4x2.
 
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