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Just Another Winch Bumper

RockMonkey

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Salt Lake City
I just thought I'd share some pics of my winch bumper in-progress. This might be a little different than most XJers do, I haven't really looked around too much for what other people are doing. I wanted to mount the winch in a way that would not reduce ground clearance and would not reduce approach angle by sticking way out in front of the vehicle. I ended up with more ground clearance than stock, and a better approach angle than stock. I also incorporated inner and outer frame plates on both sides, sleeved for strength, and a new steering box mount, with new bolt sleeves that also eliminated the aluminum steering box spacer. I removed the factury front crossmember. I will have to trim the grill a little to give me room to reach in and manipulate the winch clutch lever. There is a Warn M8000 mounted in the bumper. It's a work in progress. I haven't capped the top of the "frame" yet, and the tube that is there is a placeholder for a piece I have not yet bent up. Here are the pics. Enjoy.


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Mosephus said:
Cool, I like it. Are you going to add any more tube to it?

Yes, here is a rough drawing of my concept. The tube will bend up and then back into the fenders, and go up to the top of the grill to form a radiator hoop. I build better than I draw, so try not to judge the finished product based on the drawing. :wierd:

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Nice work Braden, and welcome to NAXJA!
I guess you're answering my RME post over here, which is good to share with the XJ-centric crowd.
Been lots of discussion regarding how to cleanly hide a winch, with that delicate balance of approach angle and access to key components, not to mention not blocking airflow that the XJ's cooling system so desperately needs.
Most are afraid to remove the front X-member, but most haven't/don't reinforce the entire area like you've done. I want my bumper to be a removable unit, which also adds a layer of complexity, but I can now see an easier way around that, by following your lead on the X-member remodel.


BTW, with all the custom stuff that you've done to your rig, this it's a good candidate for the Advanced Mod forum. Feel free to share more!
 
XJEEPER said:
Nice work Braden, and welcome to NAXJA!
I guess you're answering my RME post over here, which is good to share with the XJ-centric crowd.
Been lots of discussion regarding how to cleanly hide a winch, with that delicate balance of approach angle and access to key components, not to mention not blocking airflow that the XJ's cooling system so desperately needs.
Most are afraid to remove the front X-member, but most haven't/don't reinforce the entire area like you've done. I want my bumper to be a removable unit, which also adds a layer of complexity, but I can now see an easier way around that, by following your lead on the X-member remodel.


BTW, with all the custom stuff that you've done to your rig, this it's a good candidate for the Advanced Mod forum. Feel free to share more!

Thanks for the welcome! I sat and stared at it for a while to figure out how to mount a winch without sacrificing ground clearance, approch angle, or air flow. In the end this is what I came up with. I like how it's turning out. I do agree that you need to be very careful when removing the front crossmember. I wouldn't want to just cut it out without something else connecting the two sides. I installed the outside plates, then temporarily welded in that tube to hold everything solid while I cut out the stock crossmember. Then I put in the inner plates, sleeves, bottom plate, and front plate. It's now far stronger than stock, and as far as I can tell nothing shifted during the build. I wouldn't hesitate to do it again, except for all the work that went into it.

I tried to post in the advanced mod forum but I guess I don't have premission. Must not be advanced enough in the ways of the XJ, or something.
 
looks cool. I am starting to dig the round tube stuff a ton more since I started my prerunner build. Keep it up.
 
The reason I tackled the front bumper at this point in my build was because I needed to make a new track bar mount. This was going to require some frame plating, and I knew I wanted to integrate the frame plates into the bumper. So in order to finish my front suspension I had to build the bumper. Today I finally went back and built the track bar mount. Here's a picture of the plating I did on the bottom of the frame, and the nearly finished track bar mount.

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Gravesdiggerxj said:
dang I dig the trackbar mount... wish I would have moved mine forward before I welded it to the frame plates...
I moved my front axle forward enough that the track bar will just barely fit between the differential and the pitman arm at full stuff. Hopefully... :eek:
 
Damn that looks pretty slick, nice and hidden! Love the dimple dies!
 
thats real nice. wanna do mine next? haha. if i could get a cheap bottom mount winch(i have the 8274) i want to try something like that.
 
userbmx1315 said:
thats real nice. wanna do mine next? haha. if i could get a cheap bottom mount winch(i have the 8274) i want to try something like that.
I paid $516 shipped for my Warn m8000. I briefly ran a Ramsey winch many years ago. I had nothing but problems with it so I bought a Warn HS9500i. That lasted through three different rigs, and I'm sure it's still plugging along like a champ in my old buggy with it's new owner. Many (many) first hand experiences with cheap winches has convinced me that for now, there is no replacement for a Warn winch. I bet you could sell your 8274 for enough to buy an M8000. 8274s fully rock, but they sure are huge!
 
i'm wanting a cheap @$$ no name brand. keep looking at flea markets and yard sales. to use as a mock up and tester.
i like the long arm/ish set up. can u post pics of it? maybe in the request forum due to the rules. hahaha
 
userbmx1315 said:
i'm wanting a cheap @$$ no name brand. keep looking at flea markets and yard sales. to use as a mock up and tester.
i like the long arm/ish set up. can u post pics of it? maybe in the request forum due to the rules. hahaha
The front suspension is a radius arm setup using the Ford C bushings. I triangulated the arms so they mount to a crossmember just in front of the transfer case. Triangulating them radically reduces the anti-sway effect inherent to radius arm suspensions. It's obviously not done yet, the crossmember needs some additional support to hold up to the stresses it will see, but the basic structure is just about there. Here is a pic of the front setup.

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There is a double-triangulated four-link lurking in the back too. This took a lot of thought, planning, and work to set up well without sacrificing ground clearance or interior space, and still have the geometry I wanted.

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I'll be using 14" Sway-A-Way coilovers all around.
 
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So, I'm guessing that Carl no longer has your bender.........me likey, keep sharing.
 
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