I finally installed the winch (Smittybilt X2O Gen2) on my Artec bumper. It has been several months since I installed the bumper. This thread helped me a lot, saving me tons of time. Thank you guys. And thank Armando from Artec Industries sending me the 4pcs shims and all your prompt response. I did not meet any other unexpected problems during the winch installation. Below are the jobs I did to finish this

1. Remove installed Artec.
2. Cut the hood latch, I tried to trim the whole down part off but found it was difficult with my rotary tool, it was too slow. So I turned to cut horizontally in the middle as an edge, and fold the parts below. I recommend doing this of cutting off. It saved some time and should provide enough space for winch.
3. Installed the control box on the motor, which made it contact with the silver radiator pipe, so I pushed that thin pipe away a little bit. It’s easy, pipe is quite soft.
4. Lifted and bend the black steering coolant hose slightly, so it no longer touch the control box. It’s just a slight lift.
5. Put two pcs of shims on each side mount. I used tape to bind two pcs together, then used tape to attach them to the bumper. It works well, the plastic bumper no long pop out near the front wheel well.
6. Torqued all 8 OEM self-tap bolts to 45lb.ft.
Below are something I did differently

1. I found my car jack cannot reach my bumper. So I turned out to use an old computer chair(dissembled the back and arm rest) to work as a jack. And it held the winch well in both removing and installation.
2. I installed a front rock camera in the bottom Artec logo. The size fit perfectly. The view angle is not perfect since it did not include the two front wheels. But still helped on wheel placement on trails.



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