Member
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Join Date: Oct 2016
Location: Chilliwack BC
Age: 34
Posts: 213
Real Name: William Teichroeb
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Member
Join Date: Oct 2016
Location: Chilliwack BC
Age: 34
Posts: 213
Real Name: William Teichroeb
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installing the 4x4labs bumper
So first of all, I thought this would be much quicker than it actually was. It's not hard at all, but I have some tips to make it easier for you guys.
No instructions came with the bumper, but I emailed Luke and he emailed me the instruction document. It's pretty good but a few things could have been more clear.
After you remove the mud flaps, bumper cover, rear resonator/pipe, and trim pieces, you have to remove the vent cover. There are some holes that will be left exposed after removing the top trim pieces. I just used gorilla tape to cover these holes so water wouldn't get into the vehicle. The best thing to do would be to get automotive body clips and RTV seal them in place. If I ever have to remove the bumper I will do this. I also don't like the idea of the vent cover being off but with mud flaps installed I can't see much getting in there. The vents themselves are just soft rubber flaps that can move freely to allow cabin pressure to vent. They're angled down so shouldn't allow water to enter easily, but still doesn't make my OCD happy.
Also, it wasn't explicitely stated in the instructions but I had to cut about 1/2-3/4" off of the lower portion of the body seam below the vent (where the bumper would first contact on the sides). This was hitting the inside of the bumper and not allowing it to be lifted high enough to bolt in place. I also had to cut a corner of the rear fender flares on both sides to clear that kick outs. If you don't order this with kick outs you won't have to do this, but because of the angle they attached the kickouts I had to. Not a big deal, but I had to borrow a dremal to make it a clean cut.
I then masked around the paint areas and painted everything behind the bumper, including the hatch area, and the frame where I had to cut it. I did 2 coats of automotive satin black paint. I think this makes it look much cleaner. I painted right over the tape I had installed to cover the holes above the vent cover. Hopefully this helps seal it and hold the tape on. Guess we'll find out.
I highly recommend you tap out your holes and preinstall the bolts to make it smoother and easier when actually holding the bumper up. It probably weights a good 200lbs without attachments and my buddy and I did it ourselves by each lifting a side, and resting it on our knees while we reached down with one hand each to start the bolts about 5-6 turns. It's doable but you'll probably be sweating. LOL
Once it's test fit and you mark where you have to drill out the holes to the 3/4" diameter, you have to uninstall it, drill out the holes, spray paint them, install the sandwich plate and then reinstall it. In the instructions they suggest to pack some foam or cardboard behind the sandwich plate before reinstalling. We were able to not have to do this, but it was about 10 frustrating minutes a side while we maneuvered the sandwich plate with curved pliers and an allen key to get the other nut to line up with the bolt and carefully thread it on a few turns. Because I have the winch plate the passenger side was even more "fun." But we got it.
Lastly, I tapped the smaller M8x1.25 bolt holes in the front of the bumper to clean out the threads and installed them. Only 1 wasn't lining up properly, even with the bumper "loose" so I had to drill and file a small section. I also found that the washer's they included for these were too large a diameter to function properly so I bought a larger but smaller diameter hole'd washer to secure these up. I also added 2 washers between the bumper and the frame to space down the bumper slightly, because upon flexing it would hit the body at the fender. It still will hit the body if flexing a ton I think, but much less now. I wish there was about another 1/4" clearance at the front of the bumper to mitigate this. It would also help the bumper avoid that "sagging" look. It doesn't sag at all and it super strong, but the way the lines are it almost looks like it.
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