Westin bullbar??

[danny4runner]

Ok I've had my Westin Bullbar on my '07 for awhile now and I thought it was installed right... well it is but I think its not bent correctly...? I've seen a lot of Westin's around town and they all seem to fit more snug to the bumper and be more upright as mine is slanted away from the bumper and is a little loose? All the others I've seen on Taco's and Tundras are real close to the bumper where mine is 3-4" slanted away. It's kinda getting on my nerves to be honest! Can someone with a Westin on a 4th gen post a few pictures for me to see? Here is what mine looks like.:dammit:

 

[Slvr RnR]

No pics to post right now but I had one on my 07 SR5 and it looked exactly the same. I hate it. That's why I yanked it and sold it. Every other Westin I've seen on other vehicles have a nice snug fit. On the 4runner it's got an underbite. Mine looked exatly the same as yours in the pics above.

 

[danny4runner]

Damn!! :wtf: I pulled it for awhile but put it back on today after a good polish. I think I'm going to make some different brackets....? yeah post some pics when you can...

 

[jonz]

danny4runner, got your pm and replied. It's hard to tell with all the chrome, but your bar does appear to set a little further away than mine. The "slant looks the same. Not sure when I can get some day time pics of mine, but I think my install method will be more rigid than the Westin method. I'll try to post pics in a few days.

 

[jonz]

Well decided to post pics now. Sorry for the crappy cell phone pics. ...best I could do right now. And it's night, so I photo shopped them best I could so you can see what my clearances look like. The Westin brackets are mounted flush against the bumber. Not between the factory bumper nuts and Westin supplied nuts as Westin instructions say. I would assume this method compromises the bumper integrity somewhat.

 

[danny4runner]

thanks for the pix Jonz! Some day time pix would be great when you get time. I'll try your method as I was thinking about doing that today as I reinstalled. If I figure out anything that works better I'll keep you posted.
:cheers:

 

[danny4runner]

tomorrow I'll measure the distance from the bumper to contact with bullbar (CENTER)... do the same if you have time...to see the the difference is before and after removal of factory nuts.

 

[jonz]

tomorrow I'll measure the distance from the bumper to contact with bullbar (CENTER)... do the same if you have time...to see the the difference is before and after removal of factory nuts.

I measure 1/2" or less on both my 04 and the 09.

 

[danny4runner]

I measure 1/2" or less on both my 04 and the 09.

Mine measures 2 1/4".... I guess I'll try to get the factory nuts off.

 

[jonz]

Mine measures 2 1/4".... I guess I'll try to get the factory nuts off.

fyi...you'll need a 14MM deep well socket to remove the six factory nuts. And them suckers are on there pretty darn tight. I broke mine loose with a breaker bar and rubber mallet.

One other item to note....After I finished, I still had a small amount of "flexing" with the bull bar. I managed to "shim" the bar by wedging a piece of wood dowel about 2 - 3 inches long between the tow hooks and the Westin bracket. It's a jury rig, but it seems to work pretty good on my truck. If I knew someone with a welder, I'd have them tack-weld the brackets to the tow hooks to make it a more rigid set up.

 

[danny4runner]

fyi...you'll need a 14MM deep well socket to remove the six factory nuts. And them suckers are on there pretty darn tight. I broke mine loose with a breaker bar and rubber mallet.

One other item to note....After I finished, I still had a small amount of "flexing" with the bull bar. I managed to "shim" the bar by wedging a piece of wood dowel about 2 - 3 inches long between the tow hooks and the Westin bracket. It's a jury rig, but it seems to work pretty good on my truck. If I knew someone with a welder, I'd have them tack-weld the brackets to the tow hooks to make it a more rigid set up.

Thanks for the info!