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Most stockish way to mount winch?

D

djlarroc

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Denver, CO
Hey guys, I have a winch from my last jeep that's just been sitting around for the last year. Was thinking of mounting it to my '97 xj, that I'm going to keep as stock as possible (as far as bumpers)..

Anyone have any ideas, or pictures of how to go about this? I have done some searching and have not come up with anything..
 
You're probably S.O.L.
As far as I know there was never any Mopar (factory) option for a winch mount.
You'll have to fabricate brackets to go back along the "frame rails" and then tie into some kind of a plate. If your wanting to retain the stock bumper, it'll have to be modified, as well as the front grill and most likely header panel in order to clear a winch. Especially if your planning on running a 10k one, or an older winch with less of a "low profile" to it.
Rigidco http://www.rigidco.com/
Has an excellent mounting system for their front bumpers that you may be able to duplicate for your winch plate mount.
or.....
Detourusa http://detoursusa.com/xjbackbone.php
have the most "stockish" aftermarket winch mount system out there, enabling you to retain your stock bumper.
 
NW99XJ said:
You're probably S.O.L.
As far as I know there was never any Mopar (factory) option for a winch mount.
You'll have to fabricate brackets to go back along the "frame rails" and then tie into some kind of a plate. If your wanting to retain the stock bumper, it'll have to be modified, as well as the front grill and most likely header panel in order to clear a winch. Especially if your planning on running a 10k one, or an older winch with less of a "low profile" to it.
Rigidco http://www.rigidco.com/
Has an excellent mounting system for their front bumpers that you may be able to duplicate for your winch plate mount.
or.....
Detourusa http://detoursusa.com/xjbackbone.php
have the most "stockish" aftermarket winch mount system out there, enabling you to retain your stock bumper.
Click to expand...
actually i believe there was a stock winch bumper for the xj, although it's pretty rare. there's a few threads floating around here about it.


why not just get front and rear trailer hitches and hitch mount it if you need it?
my rig is basically for wheeling only, and i put recievers in my custom bumpers so i can mount a winch like that if needed. this way i wont loose any ground clearance when it's not on.
 
The factory optioned winch mount was designed for a light weight winch mounted foot back. Good luck finding a winch today that can be mounted the same way.

Warn did have a winch mount that tucked the winch behind the factory bumper, like the factory option winch mount. I found one NIB online:
1106111558.jpg

IMAG0115.jpg

Hmmm.... Something in the works.
IMAG0119.jpg
 
Cool, thanks for sharing pictures of that old box! Any dates on it? Could you take another picture of the red XJ frontend on the box?
 
Nice man! i saw one similar for sale on here.. but i didnt jump on it, as i wasnt sure what i was going to do w/the winch.. the winch is a rugged ridge 8k.. about 2 years old. came w/my old zj.. i pulled it off when i sold the front bumper w/a huge ugly stinger.

i'll look into a few posibilities.. i had thought about a front hitch (my brother has one), but don't like how low it would be. the backbone is prob most like what i want, but for $300+, it's pricey.. I could get an aftermarket for close, but i would rather use that money for something else like sliders..

i might just throw the winch up for sale..
 
If you want a "hidden" winch, I would say probably the ActionFab bumper where the winch mounts behind it.
 
kndrewa said:
Cool, thanks for sharing pictures of that old box! Any dates on it? Could you take another picture of the red XJ frontend on the box?
Click to expand...
No problem. The red vehicle is some compact truck, maybe a Nissan. I don't recall. Not a Jeep.

Johnnie Walker said:
If you want a "hidden" winch, I would say probably the ActionFab bumper where the winch mounts behind it.
Click to expand...
This is my basic plan with my MJ. I want to use his blank bumper then 'cap' it with the factory bumper, a la hidden winch.

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?p=14072510
 
ramsey made a factory winch with mopar. hidden behind the front bumper. part of the upcountry package i believe. all you do is move the front bumper bracket forward one notch. that's why there is a mysterious extra hole in it that you would never think to use. one of my buddies just scored one for like 50 bucks haha. working and everything its probably worth 600 to an enthusiast or collector. its awesome and works real nice. i may be able to get pics
 
The stock front crossmember already has the correct holes to mount a winch, though the thin metal isn't strong enough by itself. It would not be difficult to make a plate to cover that crossmember and tie it into two of the bumper bolts on each side. The factory tow hook brackets have two sets of bumper holes, one set for the stock location and one set to move the bumper forward to make room for a winch. The factory doesn't sell those brackets anymore, unfortunately. But, with a little ingenuity that winch can be mounted to that front crossmember behind the bumper.
 
Goatman said:
The stock front crossmember already has the correct holes to mount a winch, though the thin metal isn't strong enough by itself. It would not be difficult to make a plate to cover that crossmember and tie it into two of the bumper bolts on each side. The factory tow hook brackets have two sets of bumper holes, one set for the stock location and one set to move the bumper forward to make room for a winch. The factory doesn't sell those brackets anymore, unfortunately. But, with a little ingenuity that winch can be mounted to that front crossmember behind the bumper.
Click to expand...
This is true, but most winches on the market cannot be mounted with the feet facing backward. If you find a small enough winch, you can mount it feet forward behind the crossmember in front of the harmonic balancer.
 
87warrior said:
This is true, but most winches on the market cannot be mounted with the feet facing backward. If you find a small enough winch, you can mount it feet forward behind the crossmember in front of the harmonic balancer.
Click to expand...

I'm mighty certain you could clock the end cap and clutch lever on an M8000 and relocate the solenoid box and mount it feet back. Most winches that don't have the solenoids built into the body of the winch could be mounted this way.

Anyway, that's cool to see the pics of the actual Warn mount. I knew the tow hook brackets had the extra holes for more room for exactly that, but I'd never seen one of the kits or seen one installed. You can see on the pic on the box how the bumper is spaced out to fit the winch in there.
 
NotMatt said:
I'm mighty certain you could clock the end cap and clutch lever on an M8000 and relocate the solenoid box and mount it feet back. Most winches that don't have the solenoids built into the body of the winch could be mounted this way.
Click to expand...
The M8000 is not designed to mount with the feet of the winch pointing backward. Take a look at the operators manual, pg 7 (pg 6 in pdf), and you will see it is not designed to mount with the feet back.
http://www.warn.com/truck/winches/src/images/61/86541A0_rs.pdf

Relocking the clutch lever is what makes it possible to mount it behind the crossmember with the feet forward.

Winch safety is very important. I don't want anybody to be misinformed.
 
87warrior said:
The M8000 is not designed to mount with the feet of the winch pointing backward. Take a look at the operators manual, pg 7 (pg 6 in pdf), and you will see it is not designed to mount with the feet back.
http://www.warn.com/truck/winches/src/images/61/86541A0_rs.pdf

Relocking the clutch lever is what makes it possible to mount it behind the crossmember with the feet forward.

Winch safety is very important. I don't want anybody to be misinformed.
Click to expand...

Actually, you're 100% right. I didn't even think about the loads on the bolts and how the feet of the winch actually mount to the plate. Mounting an M8000 or similar winch like that is physically possible, but would NOT be safe.
 
I made this. Custom bumper and winch plate. It uses a 5,500 pound winch. milled the custon fairlead. leaves the bumper end caps in there stock location
400385_758300128708_40701160_35168978_1356902616_n.jpg
 
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