[Taylor20]

Ready for it to dry up some so we can ride the DBBB

[thezentree]

Say when!

[thezentree]

[fixxor]

Originally Posted by thezentree

No big updates, still waiting for good weather and free time to weld my sliders on. I did order a Coastal Offroad front bumper kit that should be here next week, so I hopefully will be able to put that together and get the sliders on sometime in March.

Did accessory belts and AC tensioner pulley today, and finally got around to mounting my fire extinguisher. I've got big fender washers behind the panel here but I'm still not convinced this isn't going to pull thru or just end up pulling the panel off entirely. We'll see though, and at least it's not in the way anymore.

Just ignore the surf wax melted into the carpet...

What kind of fire extinguisher is that? Have a link? Thanks.

[thezentree]

Originally Posted by thezentree

I guess you can't embed with Imgur anymore....

Anyway, the bumper is sitting a little cockeyed in that pic because it won't quite go the last 3/4" or so. Need to figure that out when I have time this week.

Originally Posted by fixxor

What kind of fire extinguisher is that? Have a link? Thanks.

Not sure what brand, but it's the "shop/garage" fire extinguisher Home Depot carries. I'll check this afternoon and get back to you.

[tgreenwood75]

Originally Posted by fixxor

What kind of fire extinguisher is that? Have a link? Thanks.

That is a Kidde extinguisher, they are the most popular brand. This one, from what is visible in the picture looks like it is most likely an A, B, C extinguisher which is a common choice for carrying in cars.

[thezentree]

Originally Posted by tgreenwood75

That is a Kidde extinguisher, they are the most popular brand. This one, from what is visible in the picture looks like it is most likely an A, B, C extinguisher which is a common choice for carrying in cars.

Kidde sounds right, and it is ABC. Good eye.

[fixxor]

Thanks guys.

[thezentree]

I ordered a Coastal Offroad front bumper a couple of months ago and finally had almost enough time to assemble it last weekend. So I did it anyway.

I haven't seen anyone do much of a build tutorial so I tried to document it as best I could. It took WAY longer than I expected it to, so there's not much towards the end, but no one really wants to see me spend a whole day grinding down my flux core booger welds, do they?

Anyway, here are the pics I did take:

Step 1 - remove your front bumper:


Step 2 - lay out all the pieces and use a paint marker to number them:


Step 3 - cut the bumper mounting flanges off the frame horns. I decided to not cut the welds and leave the frame ends capped. YMMV.



Step 4 - mount the bottom plate using the factory tiedown/tow hook bolt holes and then drill a big (9/16" in my case) hole through the frame. Start with 1/8", then 1/4", then 3/8", then 1/2" or you'll spend all damn day trying to cut a 9/16" hole in the frame.


Step 5 - bolt the upper frame plate on. DO NOT forget to take these bolts back out before you mount the winch plate or you'll have to cut the bumper apart to get them out. I'm a dumbass and neglected to do that, but I thankfully only had them finger tight and was able to get it apart from the bottom. I had to open up the notch in this plate more for the AC line. Also had to bend that ground strap terminal back so it wasn't rubbing. Oh, and tack the front plate on too.


Step 6 - tack the upright plates together and then to the frame plates. You can see that the smaller upright reinforcement plate forms a shelf for the winch plate to sit on.


Step 7 - put the winch plate on. This is where I start having gripes with this kit. The upper frame plate is notched (but not enough) for the AC line, but the winch plate is not. It's also not notched for the reinforcement strap between the hood latch and lower core support. I cut that strap so the bumper will fit, but it took a TON of rigidity out of the core support, so now the hood latch twists easily. I'm going to try to modify the strap so that it mounts to the winch plate, but this is an area where the bumper kit design is lacking.

[thezentree]

Step 8 through Step ? - tack a bunch of stuff together. I'm functionally retarded and just eyeballed all of this, but it came out pretty well. I recommend measuring ..at least some.





Step ? through ?? - tack the grill tubes on. Fitting this up was a *****. I have so much more respect for fabricators who can make a roll cage fit snugly. I got LUCKY that this came out as well as it did. Plan for several hours of fit-up. I didn't take many pictures of this process for a couple reasons: 1. it was frustrating 2. it wasn't pretty 3. I nicked my left hand with a grinder wheel and bled a lot (wear good gloves, kids) 4. too much cussing.


Step ?? through ??? - make sure all your tacks are good and strong, then pull the bumper off - hopefully you took the long bolts out a while ago - and finish weld it all. I focused most of my welding on the center structure between the shackle loops and the frame and the winch plate and the frame. The outer wings of the bumper I was mostly just filling in the groove between edges of the plates.

Step ??? through ???????? - Grind. Grind grind grind. Then grind more. Grind all your exterior welds down. I used a couple of 40 grit flap wheels. I wouldn't use a hard disc for this because it'll leave marks that show through the paint. Seriously though, I killed my harbor freight grinder doing this.

My wife is *****ing at me as I type this to come hang out with her, so I will post more pics later. Maybe tomorrow.

Let me say this though - despite some of the fit-up issues I had, I'm really pleased with the kit. I eyeballed the whole thing and it came out pretty damn good. I'd do it over again if I had to, but I would budget three full days from start to finish.

[Renegade_Medic]

Hey man, on the vibration, have you checked your rear drums? I had aftermarket drums on mine and they were not concentric with the hub and caused vibrations. every single aftermarket drum i looked at was exactly the same, undoubtedly cast in the same Chinese factory with high-grade chinesium.
Also, try jacking up the truck on jackstands with the tires on and put in gear, watch the treads on the tires from underneath to see if the tread bounces. I had out of round tires and the shop just kept saying they were good. They weren't and I had them shaved round (tire truing) and life great after that.

[thezentree]

Couple "finished" pics. I really need to go have this thing sandblasted and spend some time prepping it for paint and make it look good, but at least it won't rust for now.

Originally Posted by Renegade_Medic

Hey man, on the vibration, have you checked your rear drums? I had aftermarket drums on mine and they were not concentric with the hub and caused vibrations. every single aftermarket drum i looked at was exactly the same, undoubtedly cast in the same Chinese factory with high-grade chinesium.
Also, try jacking up the truck on jackstands with the tires on and put in gear, watch the treads on the tires from underneath to see if the tread bounces. I had out of round tires and the shop just kept saying they were good. They weren't and I had them shaved round (tire truing) and life great after that.

I haven't checked my rear drums, and I need to do brakes soon anyway. I'm pretty sure they're OEM, but they could probably stand to be turned. I'm positive it's not the tires though - been through 5 sets of tires across 3 sets of wheels. I'm fairly certain it's either CVs or the rear driveshaft based on the frequency of the vibration. It seems to be 3 (CV tripod) or 4 (4.10 gears) times faster than wheelspeed.

[thezentree]

Finally have some updates worth posting:

This is an older one from January, but it's a cool pic:


FINALLY got my sliders finished:


Shiny stuff:


Firestone 255/75R17s vs KO2 285/75R16:


Diff breather:


Extended brake lines:


I'm not thrilled with the way I had to do this. The lower end of these fit fine (hex, I think 17mm?) but the cutouts in the bracket at the top end are oval shaped and the brake lines have hex's again:


More to come when I have time to post

[Taylor20]

One of my rear brake lines did the same thing. Did you buy them from Wheeler's?

[thezentree]

Originally Posted by Taylor20

One of my rear brake lines did the same thing. Did you buy them from Wheeler's?

Yep. They seem pretty well made but I am disappointed they don't fit the brackets.