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Heavy bumper = bad for joints?

L

lhamilton1807

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Wenatchee, WA
A mechanic friend of mine warned me about putting the big bumper that I've got onto my 92 Cherokee, saying it'd be really hard on ball joints & tie rod ends. It's a pretty heavy bumper (not sure how heavy - looks like 3/16 steel with a brush/grill guard on it). Should I sell it to someone else or will the Jeep not be hurt by it? Thanks for your input! I've got a D30 front end and the 4.0 I6. Oh, here's a picture of it:
img3000j.jpg
 
VAhasnoWAVES said:
holy anchor batman!

id get rid of it because its big, ugly, and doesnt have tow points.
Click to expand...

Yes, it's big & ugly. This is an old pic. I've ground down the beads (they were huge - took me like 4 hrs) and repainted it and it looks much nicer now. The question really has to do with whether it'll damage the jeep because of how heavy it is. Any ideas on that?

Edit: oh, and I can add tow points later. I have friends with welders & torches. I can always rattle can over the new welds, etc.
 
over time it will cause more wear on the ball joints. but then again alot of people run winches and those arnt light. i'm guessing the average winch bumper and 8k winch prob weighs 65lbs.
 
If you're gonna wheel it its gonna be hard on the ball joints and tie rod ends anyways. Comes with the territory!
 
FlexdXJ said:
If you're gonna wheel it its gonna be hard on the ball joints and tie rod ends anyways. Comes with the territory!
Click to expand...

Kinda what I figured :) I'm new to the game, so I thought I'd ask. The bumper came with the jeep when I bought it, so I thought I might as well mount it. Looks like it mounts in the same spot as the stock bumper. Should I be worried about that? A lot of HD bumpers seem to come with new mounting brackets.
 
lhamilton1807 said:
Kinda what I figured :) I'm new to the game, so I thought I'd ask. The bumper came with the jeep when I bought it, so I thought I might as well mount it. Looks like it mounts in the same spot as the stock bumper. Should I be worried about that? A lot of HD bumpers seem to come with new mounting brackets.
Click to expand...
You'll want some unibody tie in brackets and definitely some tow points. That bumper has none.
 
userbmx1315 said:
over time it will cause more wear on the ball joints. but then again alot of people run winches and those arnt light. i'm guessing the average winch bumper and 8k winch prob weighs 65lbs.
Click to expand...

My JCR non winch bumper weighs more than that. Most winches weigh 80-90 lbs by themselves.
 
XJLI said:
nothing we do here in mod tech is good for the life and longevity of our vehicles.
Click to expand...

Exactly. I have the ARB Bull Front Bumper and an 8000lb winch. I think I added around 160lb to the very very front of my jeep. Adding weight is part of the game here and yes it does wear down the jeep more. It would decrease the longevity of your bushings and TREs but i don't think it would be a huge magnitude.
 
Thanks for the education, everyone. I'll probably add some extra unibody tie-ins & tow points/d-rings eventually. I had planned to eventually do the d-rings anyway.
 
that would be like someone saying you cant give a fat guy a ride because it will wear out your ball joints.
 
The extra weight of a big heavy bumper isn't as hard on tie rod ends and ball joints as big heavy tires. I say build 'em big and build 'em strong. Something you can hang your rig by.
 
what's the back side look like? is it hollow or boxed in? if it's completely boxed in, window it out back there. if done right, it will still be plenty strong and a ton lighter.
 
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