I purchased the group buy Strona bull bar about 1 1/2 months ago and finally got around to installing it today at a friend's house. I can't do any car work at my complex. Anyways, everything was going find until I got to the lower mounting brackets. The darn welded lock knob that protrudes from the bracket causes the screw hole to be off by about 1/8 inch. I mounted the bolt into the hole and got it thread to the frame of the truck but the mount sits uneven because of the protrusion not being able to fit properly into the upper hole.

I was thinking that it was just going to be on the driver's side but whe I tried to install the passenger side mount, the same exact thing happen. I tried to hammer the protrusion outward but to no avail.....so both sides are not mounted flush to the frame. I was able to make the Strona Bull bar work but I don't think the brackets are suppose to fit to the frame that way. I also had to cut the little black vertical piece from the inner grill on both sides to get the upper brackets to line up correctly.

My question to others who have installed this bull bar is: Did you folks have the same experience as I did mounting your bars? If so, did you do as I did with the lower mounting bracket and just tighten it up as much as you could catty-cornered to get the bar to mount on your truck? Also, on the inside of the top bar was a white sticker which said "for Lexus GX 470"! Did any of you folks bars have this sticker?

Thanks for any response and I'm sorry for starting another thread about this topic. The other one had over 25 pages with 410 replies.

My lower brackets wouldn't install correctly until I realized that I had to put the welded "nubs" in first then the bolts.

Also, don't tighten all the bolts until they are all in place. Once all the bolts are in then you're able to align the bar and the associated brackets properly.

David

Even with the welded "nubs" in place, my lower brackers still would not allow me to start the bolt. The bolt hole would end up about 1/8" too high.

This really pisses me off as I can't believe that I am the only one who's had this inconvience while mounting this bar.

Like you, my lower brackets were off by a hair, like an 1/8 or so. But just enough that the bolts would not line up correctly or thread. All I did was drill out the holes just a bit to cover the difference, and it fit fine. Took an extra 10 minutes of work. Aside from that the bar went on very easily and looks spectacular.

Steve

I had the same issue with one of my bottom brackets. Took a dremel to the hole and opened it up some. No real big deal. Also leave ALL bolts and nuts loose before tightening any. This will help a lot when lining up the bar.

Mine went on without having to modify any of the brackets. But the upper driver side bracket hits and rubs against the vertical grille slat, the passenger side has plenty of room to clear the slat. All my brackets were able to be tighten all the way and are flush/flat with the frame of the truck. My bar had that white sticker with the Strona part number on the lower cross tube and it's still there (I think).

I think one other member mentioned having to cut the lower grille slats.

So you folks are telling me that you dremeled/drilled out the top hole in the frame of your truck? I didn't have a drill at the time but will considering removing the bracket to correct the problem because my bracket is mounted catty-cornered now.

Thanks for all of your comments! BTW, I cut the slats on both sides of my grille area. They're just cosmetic anyways!

They dremeled and enlarged the bolt hole on the bracket itself by 1/8".

Absolutely, just wanted to reconfirm so there is no confusion. I drilled out the hole on both lower brackets, NOT on the frame of the vehicle.

Steve

Oh shyt! I dremeled out the two upper holes on the frame of the vehicle. I didn't see the above post until afterwards.

Crap.....hope it doesn't rust or that upper frame hole needs to be used in the future.

Should be ok. I don't know if those holes have another use to them other than there's a crush anchor/bolt that goes in them for the OEM accessory skid plate.