Hella mounting write-up

A10MileHusker

A10MileHusker

New member

Alright guys so here is my first write up on how I mounted my hellas.

For this project, I used 6" x 1-1/8" L brackets, 1 1/2 inch bolts, and proper fitting nuts and washers.

First, the mounting bolts that come with the Hellas are much thicker than the hole in the L brackets. To accommodate for this, you will have to drill into the L bracket and make the hole bigger.

Second, you will have to drill into the bumper. However, I drilled where if I take the hellas off, the holes will not be noticeable. The black plastic piece under the hood is 36" long. So, measure 9" from each side and make a mark in the middle. This will be where you drill.

Attach your hellas to the L brackets, and you're ready for mounting!
Here are a couple pictures of the finished product!
Picture024.jpg~original

If you notice the mark by the bolt in the picture above, that is simply dirty water, that is NOT a scratch. :D

Picture025.jpg~original


One thing to note is that the bolt will rub on the bumper. I simply bought some rubber bolt caps put them on and this first week kept an eye on them and haven't had any problems so far. Went off roading today and they were extremely stable.

I'm sorry I didn't take more pictures throughout the process. Let me know if you guys need any more information.
 
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Lights look great, Hella 500's are great lights. I have the Yellow fogs and I love them. Amazing in poor weather.

:)
 
Here's the thread I was searching for! Very nice work! I assume the hood closes properly? Do you notice any wiggle in the beam? Do they stay aligned over time? Any rust on the brackets?

I currently have my 500's mounted on my Safari Bar, and they suck there. I would like to mount them on my bumper this way. Thanks for posting the pics!

I am a little nervous about the way my truck will look with bumper mounted lights and a naked bull bar. Not getting an ARB bumper anytime soon, so I need to keep the bar, mainly because there are only ten people in NYC who can parallel park, and they don't live near me.
 


Kraeken, absolutely LOVE them still. No rust, no wiggle, nothing. The hood opens and shuts without hitting the lights and looks very cool. I just went on a road trip to WA and they were sturdy and helped so much. Driving through Idaho I hit some deep fog and flipped them on and was able to see clear as day.

CJ, Thanks for the link, I'll do that!

Doug
 
great mod. will be doing pretty much similar with the PIAA lights. thanks very much for this post........very helpful:)
 
Damn. My bumper is different. The plastic actually goes all the way to the back under the grille over the metal beam, and there is a lip as well. To do it this way I may have to cut the lip. Also, it seems that I would have to mount the lights somewhat out in front of the bumper to accommodate the swing when the hood opens. I'm going to measure it out now. I may just drill right through the bumper. I don't plan on removing them, so I have no problem doing it.

Whatever I do, I'll be sure to take pictures!
 
Couple of questions:

1) Where did you get the L Brackets?

2) I only see (1) bolt where you drilled into the bumper, did you bolt the bracket anywhere else?
 

Kraeken, that's too bad that your bumper is different! Hopefully you find a way that works out!

Noloc, I purchased the L brackets from a local Ace hardware. I couldn't seem to find any that I liked at a Home Depot. They were all too big or too small.

And yes, there is only one bolt. No bolts on the inside at all. I thought that I might have some movement due to only one bolt but if you get it tight enough they are perfectly fine.

Doug
 

Guys, I am sorry!! I just realized I forgot one step. The hole I have the bolt in (circled in red below) had to be drilled. If I used the one in front, the hood hit it when opening and shutting and if I used the one behind it, it stuck out and looked horrible.

Sorry about that guys. Here's the picture.
Picture025Marked.jpg~original


Doug
 
Noloc said:
What kind of material is that L Bracket made out of? No worries about it rusting?
Click to expand...
No rusting what so ever so far. Tell you the truth I can't tell you what kind of material that is.

[/COLOR]
 
I know this is a dumb question, but is it legal to drive on the road with the Hella Fog Lights on? I was looking into getting some for my light bar, but that was the question I had.

And also, where did you get the black mesh/grill thing for those lights?
 
I installed it, its a little different than Doug's. I'm going out to aim them now. I took a few pictures, I'll post them and describe it later on. Thanks doug for the idea!
 
I hate Canons. I have to wait till tomorrow to upload my crummy pics.

Your front bumper is very different than mine. I don't have much room at all between it and the grille, and less space behind the closed hood. It is also flat and level all the way out.

I couldn't find an acceptable angle iron, so I picked up some "mending plates" which are L-brackets without the L.

Anyway, this is what I did- Using my Dremel, I cut a slot in the lip at the back of my bumper, under the hood, to accommodate the extra length of the plate. Then I measured everything out. I probably could've gone a little closer to the grille with the lights, but I can only cut one hole and I may have thicker lights someday. Right now, the fronts of the lights are a tiny bit over the front of the bumper.

I drilled two holes- one through the bumper plastic where it covers the metal beam, and one up front where the lights would mount. These holes lined up with the holes in the plate. I bolted the plate to the bumper and metal below. Unfortunately these bolts happen to be right where the hood closes so I had to scoop out a little plastic in the bottom lip of my grille for the bolts to nestle in when the hood is closed. It looks perfectly normal.

Up front, I installed the lights. I used the rear bolt as the ground. However, the lights only work when the hood is closed. I have a feeling the bolts aren't right for the ground, and somehow the closed hood completes the circuit better.

I aimed them. They look pretty good! The Hellas are much more useful next to the headlights instead of down below. Its a nice hot spot to complement the wide flood of the high beams.

There is still a tiny bit of beam wiggle though, noticeable when hitting sudden bumps and from engine idle while stopped. But it is MUCH better than when they were mounted on the Safari Bar. But they are what they are- inexpensive lights mounted to a plastic bumper.

I think I am going to paint the mounting plates black or grey. They won't rust because they are galvanized steel, but I want it to look less like a hack job, which is how I feel about my automotive work. :)

I will take completed pics tomorrow and post them all.
 
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