Brush Guard shaking! Any fixes?

TravisM

TravisM

New member
So as the title suggests, I am having problems with my Hunter Brush Guard shaking.
An in depth description of whats happening: Every little bump in the road causes the guard to do a little dance from side to side. I can recreate what is happening by smacking the light guard. It vibrates and jiggles for a second before stopping. I really tried my best to stop it, as when I am driving it looks like it is going to fly off my truck. Many people have only had this problem going 60mph+ but for me it happens even just turning on my car. I temporarly fixed it by taking off the light guards, so its just the center piece, but I would much rather have the light guards as well as they do look really nice. Has anyone that have or has had a brush guard know how to possibly fix this?
Heres a link to the guard as the pictures I emailed to my self haven't sent

2001 Toyota 4 Runner Grill Brush Guard 99 02 Black Bumper Brush Bar | eBay
 
Register to hide this ad
This is purely my opinion, but honestly, those "brush guards" are junk and serve practically zero purpose.

They are affectionately known as "Damage multipliers" on T4R.org. Getting into a collision with one of those one will actually add to the amount of damage to your vehicle.

Anywho, that's besides the point.. I just hate those things. Sure, they look good.. but so do some of the evening "ladies" in Bangkok.

As previously suggested, all you can really do is keep the hardware tight.

If you feel extra bracing might be required, I'd seriously contemplate just junking the piece.
 
SpidermanGeek said:
This is purely my opinion, but honestly, those "brush guards" are junk and serve practically zero purpose.

They are affectionately known as "Damage multipliers" on T4R.org. Getting into a collision with one of those one will actually add to the amount of damage to your vehicle.

Anywho, that's besides the point.. I just hate those things. Sure, they look good.. but so do some of the evening "ladies" in Bangkok.

As previously suggested, all you can really do is keep the hardware tight.

If you feel extra bracing might be required, I'd seriously contemplate just junking the piece.
Click to expand...

:rockon:
 
SpidermanGeek said:
This is purely my opinion, but honestly, those "brush guards" are junk and serve practically zero purpose.

They are affectionately known as "Damage multipliers" on T4R.org. Getting into a collision with one of those one will actually add to the amount of damage to your vehicle.

Anywho, that's besides the point.. I just hate those things. Sure, they look good.. but so do some of the evening "ladies" in Bangkok.

As previously suggested, all you can really do is keep the hardware tight.

If you feel extra bracing might be required, I'd seriously contemplate just junking the piece.
Click to expand...

I personally like how they look, and I am too cheap to get an ARB but Ive been desperately trying to find a fix
 
TravisM said:
I personally like how they look, and I am too cheap to get an ARB but Ive been desperately trying to find a fix
Click to expand...

My guess is that it bolts onto the side of the frame just under the bumper mount with little to no other support (though I see brackets that look like they may try to tie to the radiator support).

Most designs for those brush guards are very weak/wobbly as they tend to bolt onto the bottom of the frame or in some cases use large U-Bolts to mount around the crush zone tubes. You have BOF vehicle so the frame is going to move independent of the body (which makes the wobble look even worse) and trying to tie it to the body (by a strap to the radiator support as I have seen some do) will result in vibrations being transferred to the body and it still wobbling.

They literally are good for nothing other than keeping brush from hitting the vehicle. Typically in a minor collision they buckle and fold over the front of the vehicle turning a fender bender into a total front-end replacement. Hence the nickname "Damage Multipliers" that the forum uses for them.

You're only real options are to make sure the hardware is secure and tight and learn to live with it or just run without it. Even if you did get an ARB Bumper you'll still notice the same issue, to a lesser extent. This is again because the frame will move differently than the body and so it will look "wobbly." The Shrockworks bumper on my 4th gen looks a little wobbly sometimes on rough roads because the frame is jiggling at a different rate than the body of the vehicle (this is with brand new body mount bushings from front to rear)
 
When I bought my 4Runner it had one of those things on it. The rattling caused damage to the driver side quarter panel. Wasn't worth the time or energy to make it better so it came off. Seriously, I would remove that thing, they do nothing whatsoever in the realm of protection and are purely cosmetic.

If you look at my pics you can see what I'm talking about. It was a pita to remove, heat and PB and everything else to get it gone.

0ef1f299e306b7d324aeb47a45231599.jpg
 
Last edited:
Add to the fact that you have the '99+ style Benjamin Buford Blue lip bumper which means that paired with the brush guard, your front end is like a foot longer than it has to be.

I originally wanted a bull bar for mine when I first bought it, as well as a rear spare tire carrier, but that would have made my T4R too long.

I prefer the ability to be able to park my 4Runner in my garage and also makes any parking situation much easier. Maneuvering in a trail becomes easier in some dire situations as well. I dunno, I just don't like having the added overall length, especially if it's purely for cosmetic reasons.
 
BlackWorksInc said:
My guess is that it bolts onto the side of the frame just under the bumper mount with little to no other support (though I see brackets that look like they may try to tie to the radiator support).

Most designs for those brush guards are very weak/wobbly as they tend to bolt onto the bottom of the frame or in some cases use large U-Bolts to mount around the crush zone tubes. You have BOF vehicle so the frame is going to move independent of the body (which makes the wobble look even worse) and trying to tie it to the body (by a strap to the radiator support as I have seen some do) will result in vibrations being transferred to the body and it still wobbling.

They literally are good for nothing other than keeping brush from hitting the vehicle. Typically in a minor collision they buckle and fold over the front of the vehicle turning a fender bender into a total front-end replacement. Hence the nickname "Damage Multipliers" that the forum uses for them.

You're only real options are to make sure the hardware is secure and tight and learn to live with it or just run without it. Even if you did get an ARB Bumper you'll still notice the same issue, to a lesser extent. This is again because the frame will move differently than the body and so it will look "wobbly." The Shrockworks bumper on my 4th gen looks a little wobbly sometimes on rough roads because the frame is jiggling at a different rate than the body of the vehicle (this is with brand new body mount bushings from front to rear)
Click to expand...

It makes sense that a lot of the vibration comes from it just being an on frame vehicle build. I was thinking that maybe put some rubber bushings or rubber washers to possibly dampen the shaking? Also replacing the tierods would help because they are really warn down and I get that steering wheel shake around 60mph. I am going to hold on to the brush guard, so I can mount lights and to protect my end from Bambi.
 
I ran two 1/4 inch thick 1.5 inch wide L-shaped metal bars through the lower valence to the front body mounts. The thing won't shake a bit after that.
 
[MENTION=146139]TravisM[/MENTION] I used to have a brush guard on my '02 Tacoma and liked it. I got in to 2 fender benders and it actually did a decent job protecting the front end.

That eBay one looks like it has multiple pieces that bolt together before bolting to the frame mounts which I don't understand as that needs to be the strongest part. I had one made by Waag and it was very solid. The lights I had mounted to it seemed to bounce less than when I had them mounted on my ARB that I got later.
 
Mgyver1 said:
[MENTION=146139]TravisM[/MENTION] I used to have a brush guard on my '02 Tacoma and liked it. I got in to 2 fender benders and it actually did a decent job protecting the front end.

That eBay one looks like it has multiple pieces that bolt together before bolting to the frame mounts which I don't understand as that needs to be the strongest part. I had one made by Waag and it was very solid. The lights I had mounted to it seemed to bounce less than when I had them mounted on my ARB that I got later.
Click to expand...

Yeah I noticed that! They just seem thin and flimsy. Did you do anything special to your guard?
 
Here you go

TravisM said:
Could you post some pictures if you have any? It would really help
Click to expand...

Pictures
2nd: Notice the metal bar that is running about 10 degree angle to the frame. I have two of those going to hold the grill guard.
 

Attachments

  • DSCN3356.jpg
    DSCN3356.jpg
    117.7 KB · Views: 499
  • DSCN3357.jpg
    DSCN3357.jpg
    120.6 KB · Views: 452
TravisM said:
So as the title suggests, I am having problems with my Hunter Brush Guard shaking.
An in depth description of whats happening: Every little bump in the road causes the guard to do a little dance from side to side. I can recreate what is happening by smacking the light guard. It vibrates and jiggles for a second before stopping. I really tried my best to stop it, as when I am driving it looks like it is going to fly off my truck. Many people have only had this problem going 60mph+ but for me it happens even just turning on my car. I temporarly fixed it by taking off the light guards, so its just the center piece, but I would much rather have the light guards as well as they do look really nice. Has anyone that have or has had a brush guard know how to possibly fix this?
Heres a link to the guard as the pictures I emailed to my self haven't sent

2001 Toyota 4 Runner Grill Brush Guard 99 02 Black Bumper Brush Bar | eBay
Click to expand...

Back in the day, I had a WAAG brush guard just like your on my 01 2WD. Everything was properly installed and torqued down including all of the brackets. It shook like yours no matter what I did. It's just the nature of the beast.
 
nissanh said:
Pictures
2nd: Notice the metal bar that is running about 10 degree angle to the frame. I have two of those going to hold the grill guard.
Click to expand...

Ohh so you got new brackets and replaced the other thin and bad ones? So you didn't mount a total separate new bracket. People say I could weld and stuff but I'm looking for a cheaper alternative
 
All I did is took two 18 inches long metal bars and attached one end to the body mount and the other end to the guard.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Members online

Total: 326 (members: 4, guests: 322)

Forum statistics

Threads
278,310
Messages
3,554,077
Members
248,016
Latest member
Advally Service

Share this page

Trending content

Back
Top