Winch behind front crossmember?

[vetteboy]

Looks good guys...it seems like a lot of work only to make it complicated when winching though.

The only thing that makes it more complicated is having to bend down to flip the free spool lever...

(which BTW Hale, I meant 'spooling back in after winching', as in with no load on it. )

 

[lapisxj]

The only thing that makes it more complicated is having to bend down to flip the free spool lever...

(which BTW Hale, I meant 'spooling back in after winching', as in with no load on it. )

Would you be able to clock the gearbox on that winch so that the lever is on the bottom instead of the rear side? That was what I planned to do but if it really isn't that big of a deal then I won't bother...

 

[lapisxj]

Well a few weeks ago I got to get some momentum back to this project. I'll have to get more picts as this is all I have at the moment.

Updates... The adapter plate is all finished and fits great, I got some of the rust spots cleaned off the bumper which is why it looks the way it does. I ordered large trick tabs for the lights (8" 130W pro-comp black housings), cleaned up an old pair of rocklights (rubber housing tractor lights similar to the ones in the wheelwells) to tuck behind the bumper wings. I also started getting switches mounted to the dash for the winch, and also started looking for a place to tuck the winch solenoid pack under the hood.

Still left to do are longer winch bolts, cut horizontal hole in the vehicle crossmember for the cable to pass through, finish mounting switches, mount and wire up solenoid pack, prep and paint. I need to cut some drainholes in the bottom of the bumper tube and figure out how to mount an external controller plug through the bumper. I'm thinking of military grade cannon plugs.

I hope to have it wrapped up by the end of the week for the next ride. Here it's just held on for mockup, final bolt up will sit closer to and level with the grill.

 

[lapisxj]

Got the control switches mounted tonight. I also got most of the supporting brackets painted and the hole cut in the crossmember.

May work on wireing tomorrow...

 

[lapisxj]

Well I got the bumper put back together just in time for the ride this weekend. I didn't get the solenoids or any of the lights wired up but turns out I didn't need either (but at least I had tow points again). Enjoy.

Anyway, here are the picts. I forgot the switch pannel installed and I'll get more when the solenoids are mounted.

Loaded up on the trailer and ready to go...

Shows where the second set of rock lights just perfectly fit between the front clip support and the back of the bumper... Also shows how out of the way the winch is...

Poser shot...

Front shot...

The trick tabs that I used to mount the 8" Pro Comp lights...

The hawse fairlead. The only thing that shows that there is anything back there. No loss of approch angle at all...

 

[srimes]

Hey that's slick. Nice jeep! :yelclap:

 

[87xjco]

Looks great, Nice work and design!!

 

[lapisxj]

Thanks.

 

[asp]

awesome job :cheers:

 

[256offroad]

looks great!!!

 

[reson46]

Nice job. I'm in the process of doing the same thing with an M8000. How much clearance do you have between the winch and the clutch fan? According to the Warn web site, the M8000 has the same dimensions as the M6000. With the winch as close to the steering box as possible I've got less than 1/8" of clearance. :shocked: I figure if the engine flexes at all it will put the fan into the winch.

Thanks,
Willy

 

[lapisxj]

Nice job. I'm in the process of doing the same thing with an M8000. How much clearance do you have between the winch and the clutch fan? According to the Warn web site, the M8000 has the same dimensions as the M6000. With the winch as close to the steering box as possible I've got less than 1/8" of clearance. :shocked: I figure if the engine flexes at all it will put the fan into the winch.

Thanks,
Willy

I also have the winch about as close to the steering box as possible, trimmed the bottom portion of the fan shroud, and I have about 3/8" between the cutout portion of each blade and the corner of the winch motor. I have the MORE bombproof motor mounts so my engine doesn't move much. Another trick I had to do to get the winch to sit a bit lower is there are 2 creases in the crossmember that needed to be ground out that let it drop down another 1/4". Every little bit helps.

I finially got all the wireing done and need to spool the cable back on. I'll try to update with picts in the next few days.

 

[emr1101]

There is a lot of room behind the front crossmember of our 96 XJ and I'm wanting to squeeze a winch back there. Has anybody done this? If so post up! I've read some of the threads on the factory style mount that puts the winch between the crossmember and the bumper but since I already have a custom bumper, I don't want to go that route.

Last night I pulled my custom bumper off and removed the steering box. I also lifted the mechanical fan shroud up to get a bit more clearance. The winch I have will fit back there so that has been answered but now I've got to make the mount work. The winch I have is a warn m6000. I know it isn't ideal but it is about the same dimensions as as the m8000 or even the xd9000. I can always upgrade later, the reason I'm using this one is cause the price is right.

Pict of my current setup.

I would think this would bent the crossmember, thus pinching inward the whole uni-body....nottt something you wanna have happen

 

[reson46]

I would think this would bent the crossmember, thus pinching inward the whole uni-body....nottt something you wanna have happen

Did you read the rest of the thread? That is why he reinforced it.

Willy

Bringing up an old thread. I started on this project and pushed it to the backburner as priorities got shifted, so goes life. :looney:

Well I had the day off so I got some work done on the bumper. A few weeks ago I had a piece of .25" plate bent up to act as my crossmember reinforcement plate. Cost $20.

Here's the passengers side frame plate, the bolt pattern is similar to the C-Rok plate. BTW, I don't normally cut out holes with the torch but this plate was a piece of hardened steel from work so drilling wasn't going well.

These are the side bolt tabs. They will be drilled and tap'd for 1/2"-13 and welded to the end of the bumper mid section. The side mounting bolts will go through the frame plate, then the unibody tabs, then the crossmember reinforcement plate, then thread into these. Right now they are just tach'd in place so I can center punch the hole locations.

Here's the crossmember reinforcement plate.

And here it is mounted up (bolts are just in to hold it up for the pict). Part of the bottom will be cut off to the angles of the front crossmember of the unibody.

And here is a view from down low.

I also scribed a line on the fan shroud to make that cut but I forgot the pict. It looks like it is going to be around 2" and will leave enough material to keep the shroud together and the lower mounting tabs intact.

More later...

 

[RockMonkey]

Here are some pictures from another thread of the winch bumper I'm building. I went a little different direction. I did cut out the factory crossmember after bracing it. My winch is mounted horizontally on it's feet instead of vertically. The tube in the pictures will be replaced with a different design, but the pictures are good enough to see how I went about solving the same problem in a different way than you guys have.

 

[lapisxj]

Very cool, love the dimples and how it ties into the 'frame'.:cheers:

Here are some pictures from another thread of the winch bumper I'm building. I went a little different direction. I did cut out the factory crossmember after bracing it. My winch is mounted horizontally on it's feet instead of vertically. The tube in the pictures will be replaced with a different design, but the pictures are good enough to see how I went about solving the same problem in a different way than you guys have.

 

[DirtyMJ]

Way back when I had front leafs and 35s... My winch was behind the crossmember.

Hang on... There's no cable in that picture. Why? Winch f'd off, I never bothered to fix it, and that was that. So I don't think I even have a picture of the winch actually in there.

How it was built:

Do it again? Probably not. It's still there. Still haven't fixed the winch... I think I'm going to hack the front and put an 8274 in instead, I can fit it now... No rad in the way. The P/S might still be though.

 

[alopeks]

Random...

I like the look of your tires in that last pic. What brand are they? Would you recommend for a DD? I've been on Dayton Timberline M/Ts for a few months, and the noise is driving my wife crazy (I like it...) so I'm looking for a different (quieter) tread that's still aggressive.

AND...

If you're not using it, I'd be happy to take the winch and mounting bracket off your hands!

-alopeks

 

[HTeK]

Random...

I like the look of your tires in that last pic. What brand are they?

Those are Goodyear MT/R's. Mine aren't all that loud - but I wouldn't classify them as quiet...

 

[DirtyMJ]

Random...

I like the look of your tires in that last pic. What brand are they? Would you recommend for a DD? I've been on Dayton Timberline M/Ts for a few months, and the noise is driving my wife crazy (I like it...) so I'm looking for a different (quieter) tread that's still aggressive.

AND...

If you're not using it, I'd be happy to take the winch and mounting bracket off your hands!

-alopeks

The tires are, as stated, goodyear MT/Rs. I've got two sets - those 37x12.5s and a set of 31ish ones on my dodge CTD tow rig. I DD the dodge, and other than being a little noisy I love the MT/Rs on the street. Great traction in wet, dry, and snow and ice handling is excellent with them siped. And the 37s roll nice and smooth at highway speed, and they aren't even balanced. Wheel well in rocks, snow, ice, trees and dirt. Mud definatly not. I'm thinking of getting a set of 33s for my XJ too, just because they are so street friendly for how well they wheel.

And the winch mounting bracket is welded on... I cut out the old front crossmember, it does the job of it. And it had the roll cage welded to it too.