I wanted to share my experience with installing the
ARB bumper on my 3rd gen 2002 4runner. I also did the "end cap mod" because I plan on using the winch and this vehicle is really used for off-roading. See picture below.
I hired a welder to fabricate a 2in x 3in a piece of sheet metal that was 1/4in thick to be welded on the end caps of the frame. With this piece, he centered and welded a 1/2in (inner diameter, 19mm outer diameter) nut. The bumper slips would be bolted to this pieces and create another (much stronger) anchor point. Once they were welded in place, I painted the end caps to ensure no future rusting would occur (just some black Rustoleum spray paint).
At this point, the bumper was ready to be installed. It's important to note the bolt that screws into the welded "end cap mod" nut needs to be 3/4in length (1in might be too long). If it's too long it will hit the other bolt you need to install the bumper slips, perpendicular. Any shorter and it will not catch enough threads in the welded on nut. For the bumper install, I certainly needed help getting the bumper mounted on the truck, but with a couple of pairs of hands and a rubber mallet, it will mount and fit.
I installed a
Smittybilt X20 Comp 10K winch
into the bumper and it fit great with no fitting issues. I did need to clock the clutch/free spool/engage handle. I did not clock the power hook-ups, but I advise clocking it. It was a b**** to install the cables without clocking it, but once the bumper is on, I really don't want to have to take it off.
I decided to mount the control box for the Smittybilt winch under the hood, specifically under the truck battery. There was a bracket that came with the ARB bumper that pairs nicely with the control box bolts on with some other ARB-supplied bolts under the truck battery (there are several accessible holes down there from the wheel well). Remember this bumper is for a Taco so most of the supplied hardware is not used.
I also mounted these
7in LED lights and used this
wiring harness to install and mount the button to my dashboard. I did not need to drill holes into the bumper as the light mount holes were already available and pre-drilled.
Here are the
D-hooks/shackles I used that are in the pictures.
Here are the prices and costs for the parts, and costs for the welder and a helping hand:
ARB Bumper........$1,137.14
Smittybilt Winch...$666.62
7in LED Lights......$42.39
Light Harness.......$15.36
D-hooks/shackles..$20.99
Welder Cost..........$220.00
Helpers Cost.........$125.00
Total................$2,227.50
Here are some of the resources I used to make sure I didn't mess things up too terribly:
https://www.youtube.com/c/TimmyTheToolman
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4jo...index=2&t=222s
ARB Bumper: End Cap Mod vs. Welding Brackets
ARB Bumper Bull Bar p/n 3423020
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DuRi4vEGWsc&t=673s
Here are images if you’re on mobile
https://photos.app.goo.gl/hc9hRsTvyGJgPsvN6