weekendclimber
New member
4xInnovations Rear Bumper Install
Got the 4xInnovations rear bumper back from paint and installed. I took the previous few weeks to get all the wiring ready (in addition to the rear frame prep on the previous post) so I could just get the bumper installed and wired all together in a day or so I was hoping.
As seen before, I installed one of the newer model pressure vents that have a hole specifically for trailer wiring (thank you [MENTION=148218]JZiggy[/MENTION] for the Daystar firewall grommet idea). I used this to reroute my existing trailer wiring in addition to the license plate lighting, backup camera wiring, and in-bumper backup lights. Everything was wired to plugs inside the driver's side panel so in the event I need to remove the bumper in the future, I can just unplug stuff and not cut wires.
I used some foam from a projector case that I had at work instead of the plastic flap to seal up the pressure vent:
The wiring for license plate lighting (thank you [MENTION=137518]Drron[/MENTION] for the idea!) also had plugs going out of the bumper and into the swing-out and out of the swing-out and into the license plate. Future me is already thanking past me:
I put the backup camera about a 8" to the driver's side of the hitch, which turns out to be just right. I used a Natika backup camera with all the little adjustment gaskets to get the view I wanted. This camera works perfect and has a pretty good image. Best of all, the slim connection wire is the perfect length to connect inside the cab behind the driver's side rear panel.
I did have any issue getting the swing-out installed. Turns out your really don't want to hammer the seals down against the bearings, but instead want to have them hover a little above. If you press them too far in like I did, the inboard lip of the seal will get pressed inward and prevent the bearing sleeve from being fully seated.
Seal is too far in:
This will then cause the hinge assembly to be too tall to fit inside of the mount on the bumper.
Hinge assembly measurement:
Mount measurement:
So, after emailing [MENTION=76968]traxman25[/MENTION] about the issue, I ordered a new bearing, seal, and race kit in order to have new seals to replace the ones I messed up. Thought it would be nice to have the extra bearings and races for the future as well, even though I would then need to source some seals. To my surprise, he included an extra set of seals at no charge with the kit. Now that's customer service!!
For installation of the replacement seals, I inserted the bearing spacers in the seals and then hammered the seals home with a socket. This ensured that the seals did not get pressed in too far.
Properly pressed seals measurements:
Lastly, I decided to get a different license plate light setup as opposed to the included lighted bolts that the kits comes with. The thing I didn't like about the included lights, is that it made it impossible to remove your license plate without having to cut the wires since they go through the license plate holes. I ended up going with a iJDMTOY Universal light that just uses the bolts that hold the license plate to the frame. This has wires coming off of the top and was easy to just add a plug to and subsequently connect to the plug coming out of the swing-out under the jerry can carrier.
Got the 4xInnovations rear bumper back from paint and installed. I took the previous few weeks to get all the wiring ready (in addition to the rear frame prep on the previous post) so I could just get the bumper installed and wired all together in a day or so I was hoping.
As seen before, I installed one of the newer model pressure vents that have a hole specifically for trailer wiring (thank you [MENTION=148218]JZiggy[/MENTION] for the Daystar firewall grommet idea). I used this to reroute my existing trailer wiring in addition to the license plate lighting, backup camera wiring, and in-bumper backup lights. Everything was wired to plugs inside the driver's side panel so in the event I need to remove the bumper in the future, I can just unplug stuff and not cut wires.
I used some foam from a projector case that I had at work instead of the plastic flap to seal up the pressure vent:
The wiring for license plate lighting (thank you [MENTION=137518]Drron[/MENTION] for the idea!) also had plugs going out of the bumper and into the swing-out and out of the swing-out and into the license plate. Future me is already thanking past me:
I put the backup camera about a 8" to the driver's side of the hitch, which turns out to be just right. I used a Natika backup camera with all the little adjustment gaskets to get the view I wanted. This camera works perfect and has a pretty good image. Best of all, the slim connection wire is the perfect length to connect inside the cab behind the driver's side rear panel.
I did have any issue getting the swing-out installed. Turns out your really don't want to hammer the seals down against the bearings, but instead want to have them hover a little above. If you press them too far in like I did, the inboard lip of the seal will get pressed inward and prevent the bearing sleeve from being fully seated.
Seal is too far in:
This will then cause the hinge assembly to be too tall to fit inside of the mount on the bumper.
Hinge assembly measurement:
Mount measurement:
So, after emailing [MENTION=76968]traxman25[/MENTION] about the issue, I ordered a new bearing, seal, and race kit in order to have new seals to replace the ones I messed up. Thought it would be nice to have the extra bearings and races for the future as well, even though I would then need to source some seals. To my surprise, he included an extra set of seals at no charge with the kit. Now that's customer service!!
For installation of the replacement seals, I inserted the bearing spacers in the seals and then hammered the seals home with a socket. This ensured that the seals did not get pressed in too far.
Properly pressed seals measurements:
Lastly, I decided to get a different license plate light setup as opposed to the included lighted bolts that the kits comes with. The thing I didn't like about the included lights, is that it made it impossible to remove your license plate without having to cut the wires since they go through the license plate holes. I ended up going with a iJDMTOY Universal light that just uses the bolts that hold the license plate to the frame. This has wires coming off of the top and was easy to just add a plug to and subsequently connect to the plug coming out of the swing-out under the jerry can carrier.
