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Rebuild of my build...

Justpunchit

NAXJA Member #1291
Location
Jaffrey, NH
Alright so I have a laundry list of things to do before NAC fest, for once I really want me jeep to be at 100% when I get out there it's just to far of a drive to leave anything up for chance. So I'm fixing any and all weak links I can or anything I feel isn't up to par. Today I got my RE 7.5 coils in and my winch came today so I had a few things to do. Also was looking at finishing up my wiring for my accessories and the 0 gauge cable swap.

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All my goodies :D

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This is the front before the new coils, as you can see I got spacers and the coils served there purpose but there old and I want a few more inches with just all coil instead.

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Out with the old in the with new :) I love long arms just unbolt the shock and BLAM installed.

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I did have to use a small spacer to get the exact new height I wanted but hey better than before. With the winch installed and extra bracing everything should level out mint.


For my bumper I'm still not 100% on what I'm going to do so it will adapt the winch but this is the idea I like the most and I'm gonna stick with it.

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I'm going to cut into the bumper and then plate it.

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I feel like it still will stick out pretty far what do you guys think?

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anyways thats all the progress I made for tonight, this ain't know RCman build but I figured you guys will like it anyway.
 
anyways thats all the progress I made for tonight, this ain't know RCman build but I figured you guys will like it anyway.
Hey now, you can't compare your stuff to mine. Don't beat yourself up, it is a very nice XJ! You have a leg up on me being "road legal". I honestly hope you were just kidding. :)
After looking at your mounts, I'd say you need to add another bolt or two (sleeved in the unirail as cal mentioned). Then cut done into the bumper like you have marked out, but possibly a little more and then pushed back into the grill more. They winch is a relatively small profile (no huge integrated solenoid) so you should be able to tuck it in much further.
Also, while you are in there, get rid of those god awful towhooks and add some d-ring mounts that are tied in as far back as you can.
 
haha yea I was kinda kidding, I wish I could tear into my jeep like yours, but it's true I can drive mine to work if I feel the need :D thanks for the compliment though. How far back should I be going with these mounts? Anything in mind?
 
haha yea I was kinda kidding, I wish I could tear into my jeep like yours, but it's true I can drive mine to work if I feel the need :D thanks for the compliment though. How far back should I be going with these mounts? Anything in mind?
As far back as you possibly can. Personally on a winch bumper or anything that gets really used I'd like to see 7 or 8 bolts per side.
Check out these for inspiration.
 
Wow I didn't think that it was really needed to have that many, I guess I underestimated the stress of a winch.
Figure in how much force is really applied to those bolts and it'll really make you think...
You could probably get away with 4 or 5 large ones per side, but WHY risk it?
 
As far back as you possibly can. Personally on a winch bumper or anything that gets really used I'd like to see 7 or 8 bolts per side.
Check out these for inspiration.

Yes, you should at least be tying in 4 to 5 additional bolts per side. Back in 2001 I modded a front Tomken bumper by welding on a winch plate. It worked well, but was only tied on with the factory 3 bolts. I ended up stitch welding it to the uniframe because it didn't matter how hard I tightened the hardware, I would STILL move the bumper when I was winching. After I welded it to the frame it stayed put. I even had to winch someone out of a trail once, dragging them sideways UP a rock face... and it held up well. I have since gone with a different style winch bumper (Rigid FTW!!!).

What material is your front bumper made out of? Wall thickness/ tube size, and whatever other info you have on it. Your design looks good, just make sure you extend the winch plate past the front of the bumper by a few inches so you can weld something on to mount the fairlead. Also, put at least 2 gussets under this extension so you don't bend it under heavy winching. As well, depending on the size of the bumper tube, you may want to find a way to tie it into the front crossmember, similar to how the Rigid front bumpers are tied in.
 
Definitely make sure you have a good thick plate and its welded in there good. I saw a winch widen out the whole on a plate about a 1/2" before ripping off. It was 1/4" plate reinforced but wasnt enough.
 
Definitely make sure you have a good thick plate and its welded in there good. I saw a winch widen out the whole on a plate about a 1/2" before ripping off. It was 1/4" plate reinforced but wasnt enough.


Wow, I never heard of that before.. I wonder if his bolts were tight....speaking of which is there a specific torque I should be setting the mounting bolts of the winch to? I made some more progress today, I used 1/4 plate for the actual mounting point to the bumper, and I sleeved it inside the square tube about 4 inches then welded it inside. I also took the time to try out the new torch set and make some D-ring tabs so I can get rid of those horrible hooks. This is the only pic I have now, I'll upload more later tonight. when I get a chance.


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I still have to make some supports for the front of the plate and a few other small pieces to tie everything in... what do you guys think?

shitty side view

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I dunno if anyone actually is following this but this is what i actually cut into

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Another pic I just thought looked fancy
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Bumper mods look good, I think you had mentioned that you were going to gusset the fair-lead mount, I'd consider putting gussets on the top side too.
 
Bumper mods look good, I think you had mentioned that you were going to gusset the fair-lead mount, I'd consider putting gussets on the top side too.

thanks, and yea I was thinking the same thing, I'll have to see what I can whip up tomorrow morning.
 
nice job, looks good. tucked up nice n close, very nice :thumbup:
 
it's still not bad at all though. consider some other setups out there, you did a real good job. I love my backbone setup, and it definitely is quite a bit further out than your's. I don't think you'll have much for problems with it as-is...
 
That's what I'm hoping for, I was going to do the backbone setup but my stock bumper was TRASHED soo I got $0 into this bumper still, just scraps around the farm thats all. well 40 bucks I had to get more welding wire. Makes me a little nervous making my own winch bumper however.. I mean I trust my welding but haha yano.
 
haha my stock bumper got trashed AFTER i put on the backbone :laugh3:
 
It looks great, and you did a great job notching it/plating it. Although, I am concerned that your going to have a twisting-type deformation in the metal tube right where it is notched under a heavy pull. If you can tie the bumper or mounting plate in to the front crossmember right where the winch mounts, it will manage any twist forces. It doesn't have to be anything fancy and could bolt on. Are the bolts that hold the winch in place going to be located on either side of the tube?
 
It looks great, and you did a great job notching it/plating it. Although, I am concerned that your going to have a twisting-type deformation in the metal tube right where it is notched under a heavy pull. If you can tie the bumper or mounting plate in to the front crossmember right where the winch mounts, it will manage any twist forces. It doesn't have to be anything fancy and could bolt on. Are the bolts that hold the winch in place going to be located on either side of the tube?


Yea I was starting to have the same worries as you too, and yes the winch is centered over the tube so theres mounting bolts on each side, I'll have to devise something to keep it stable under a heavy pull. thanks for the input! :)
 
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