so I decided to build a new front bumper

[obex26]

yea as it says I hacked off the old one and have been doing a little research and propositioning of a new one. I posted elsewhere but figured why not show you guys what I am up to as well. first thing first. i "did like my front bumper that i built"but it left me longing something. the more i looked and compared it just did not suit my fancy so for the last hour i have reduced most of it to pieces. it was after this that i ventured back and realized i may not have enough material to build a new one just yet but i have been procrastinating for so long i had to start the vicious cycle and cut it off.

my first issue of progress as follows.

well I have no one to blame but myself. I managed to get the remaining pieces off of the front end from my old bumper so now i have a clean slate to start with. I thought i had gotten all of the metal shavings cleaned up from everywhere on the ground off the truck etc. well apparently not.....

i forgot the hood and fenders and you guessed it. along came the rain almost 2 inches yesterday and no it did not wash the metal and carbide shavings off but rather made them rust right into the paint. i thought i keep a good coat of wax on the truck and had just finished buffing it last month even but it has still managed to sink through. I have tried clay bar, bug and tar remover and even the buffer. last option is to find some 2K grit sand paper and wet sand. only fear is the paint is single stage so i don't think i am going to be faring out too well on this venture. as for bumper progress. i am still weighing out winch options and have decided to build with all components available and make this bumper bolt on.

rust spots stand out really well on lime green paint...

 

[obex26]

ok i made a little mock up progress today after my delay of needing to buy a few supplies like drill bits and chop saw blade i am trying to work it into what functions best again let me repaeat myself these are merely the mock up and not my only support points. the difference between this bumper and the last is i want it bolt on instead of weld on

The pictures are as followed....

 

[obex26]

First and formost i found a quickie solution to keeping my arms from being burned while welding. you know the little splatter that comes of when you weld. I took the pant legs i cut off from a pair of jeans and used them for sleeves. Second wear boxer briefs or grab the goodies underwear. because freeballing and boxers just don't cut it when there are holes in the knees of your jeans those hot little piecies of metal somehow always find their way in... there will be no burning of the tree in my forest.


alright well for starters on building your bumper always make sure the frame is true. Mine is bent in about a quarter inch on the passenger side. no my truck does not pull or track but it did require me to spend about 5 hours yesterday not only figuring out how i was going to start but also how i was going to square it out and make it truely LEVEL...

See the frame bent here but when they did the axle swap they compensated for it. unfortunately it is still a quarter inch off.

 

[obex26]

Alright well I scrapped the idea of bolting on the mounting surface butthe bumper welded on is still in limbo...

I decided to run the angle iron at about 30 degrees only one side of the angle is flush with the two side arms that will be the main bolting points of the winch plate.

instead of worrying about the bumper looking even on the bottom i am focusing on leveleling it from the grill. the quarter inch plate that is over the frame front and the spring hanger was not cut evenly on the bottom by the previous owner. so some of the arms hang lower visually then others.

 

[obex26]

yes I am going to cut off the edges the two supports that are on now are tacked only in theis phase. they were also part of my old bumper. I am trying to use some of it...

 

[obex26]

since it rains so much here I am going to have to make drain holes so that water does not sit inside the channel. I will cap off the openings to resolve the 1/4 inch gap on the four bars..

it is even straight from the top view.

this side is not bent...

you can see from the factory bumper mounting locations the passenger side one is shifted forward.

thats all I have accomplished this morning....I work till midnight tonight and the same thing tomorrow........ so I am going to try and jump on it in the morning... so tell me what you think of the progress so far.

 

[Ulfr]

It looks okay, BUT, I think you've made a little error doing the plate for the winch, my nephew's got a winch and we made a profil link (not sure how to describe it), to attach the winch to the car, so it can easily be taken off, and doesn't look so bad either, also, if other's have profil links on their jeeps they can use it too.

But of course, my T4R is made for extreme snow/glacier driving, so we probably got quite another point of view on this matter.

Pics of the profil link I'm talkin' about (I don't even know if this is called profil link in english, but a better translation I can't find :S ) can be found here: http://www.ulfr.net/Flakkari/index.php?spgmGal=Undanfari/2006.01.13&spgmPic=4&spgmFilters=#pic

Send me a pm if you want a pic of the winch (I don't got a pic of it on the internet)

Anyways, keep on the good welding.

P.S. is that a 1st gen with orginial solid front axle, or did you put it under yourself?

Sinc. Ulfr

 

[obex26]

So Back from the DEAD I had a wild hair this past friday and Dug out the welder and chop saw. Nothing is set in stone and it is basic mock up so far.

I had thought that my welding tech had gone to complete S*** so to test theory I pulled out the second welder I have the first one is a borrowed one. I picked this up from my work about a year ago on clearance. My welding turned out to be just fine apparently the other welder has contact issues causing the circuit to be incomplete.. BTW I am still no pro but my welds are pretty decent...

The squares are actually 7" x 7 1/4"

 

[obex26]

A few more mock ups.. I am pitching it backwards at 15 degrees and I also am making the bottom of the pitch upwards and back at 15 degrees.

 

[obex26]

My work rate is a bit steady today. I made some progress.

prior to any welding being done just mock up on the table top.

 

[obex26]

A few more. I spent more time today trying to figure out reverse geometry then anything.

 

[obex26]

I had to spend a bit of time rounding off some of the edges of the end pieces to get a closer fit. but the gap cleared out nicely.

 

[obex26]

 

[obex26]

 

[obex26]

Thats all I have for now.

 

[gotmud?13]

obex 26, this looks very good so far. i like the look of your first bumper better, but with no possibility of a winch, i can see your desicion more easily. what kind of welder is it? MIG? ARC? was it a contact point in the welder that was screwing it up? because if it was arc, then check what polarity it is set at. satandard welders are DCEN (direct current electrode negative), with the electicity flowing from negative (rod) to positive (working material), so it transferrs the filler metal smoothly and nicely. as soon as you switch it to DCEP (direct current electrode positive), you get magnetic arc stray, which ruins the welds majorly, by randomly moving the arc away from were you want it. if you are using MIG, check your wire feed speed, and also check your argon lines to make sure there is no leak, as no presence of an inert gas (ironic that argon isnt inert, in the name MIG, metal inert gas, as argon is the gas most frequently used) would cause unwanted perosity, and FUBAR the welds. if you have a few extra bucks (like 50) go to marks work warehouse, or peavy mart, or some kind of working clothes store, and pick yourself up a pair of Carhartt bib-style coveralls (most frequently used as it provided more stretch for our of position welds) or the full coveralls. if you are going to roll with the bib-style coveralls, find a synthetic material shirt (NOT cotonm, as you will combust) and put it on underneath. an old hoodie works good. but it looks like your welds are fine, but if you want to get some tricks, feel free to PM me ( i am in welding school, and am holding a mark of 94% and am constantly helping others). keep up the great work!!!
Jake Engel

 

[obex26]

Well for starters I am running a lincoln 100 welder no way to hook up gas... the 140 is the smallest one that gas is adaptable to from what I have read at work (the side of the boxes). As for burning myself. I use the half sleeve gloves almost reach my elbows and well my shirt is starting to have a swiss cheese appearance to it form the back splatter. I have found that the anti splatter spray works tremendous... Well worth the 8 bucks a can.

I got to make more progress today I ground out my welds a bit and capped the ends.

Just tacked in the first few pics before I put a solid bead on both sides.

 

[obex26]

some more...

 

[obex26]

 

[obex26]

Oh yea while trying to release the cable tension on the winch to remove it I managed to fry a ground wire.. Not sure if it killed the winch as well but I have an extended warranty so not too worried about it.

THis is where I am as of now. Still playing with a few ideas but the front just looks naked without something there and besides its only 6 bolts to remove to seperate. No I am not going to bother painting right now its already rusty so whats the point..