hawairish Posted May 10, 2015 Share Posted May 10, 2015 I was pretty sure he didn't re-use any part of the OE brackets. Doesn't look like you'd be able to re-drill or use the parts of the new bumper's bracket that you have to cut off? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ferrariowner123 Posted May 10, 2015 Share Posted May 10, 2015 I may have asked you this before, but what did you do with your old fender flares and hardware? Im in the market for some. -Kyle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CDN_S4 Posted May 10, 2015 Author Share Posted May 10, 2015 I was pretty sure he didn't re-use any part of the OE brackets. Doesn't look like you'd be able to re-drill or use the parts of the new bumper's bracket that you have to cut off? From his DIY you can see that he use the "step up" brackets from the original bumper to mount the cut off RC brackets onto. Otherwise the bumper would sit much lower. He said to drill an additional hole into it as the original only has 1 bolt and 1 slide on rail with a nut and bolt. I wouldn't even dare mount the bumper to that even without a winch. The original bumpers are extremely flimsy and thin. Hardly weigh anything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CDN_S4 Posted May 10, 2015 Author Share Posted May 10, 2015 These are theexbrit's pictures. This might help explain what I'm talking about. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CDN_S4 Posted May 10, 2015 Author Share Posted May 10, 2015 I may have asked you this before, but what did you do with your old fender flares and hardware? Im in the market for some. -Kyle Sorry man mine never came with fender flares. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hawairish Posted May 10, 2015 Share Posted May 10, 2015 These are theexbrit's pictures. This might help explain what I'm talking about. Ah yes, that bottom pic. I thought I saw something more substantial than that, but you're right. I thought it tied in lower with the boltholes for the OE tow hook plates. I've pulled my bumper before and those plates are very weak (I had to bend one a little). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CDN_S4 Posted May 10, 2015 Author Share Posted May 10, 2015 Exactly!! That is why my brackets will be 1/4 steel and bolt onto the tow hook location AND OEM bumper location with cross braces and such. My "guy" has a great plan to make this bullet proof. He said with this I can winch the truck up a tree lol. Gonna cost a bit more than I had hoped initially but a job done right is well worth it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hawairish Posted May 10, 2015 Share Posted May 10, 2015 Give this a look-see: http://www.nissanpathfinders.net/forum/topic/23286-tjm-t-15-install/ ARB's bracket design is a little more elaborate, and I've seen a 3rd bracket style somewhere that was overkill, but the TJM seemed about right...allows for crumpling, but solid enough for pulls. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CDN_S4 Posted May 10, 2015 Author Share Posted May 10, 2015 Nice find! Yeah that's in line with what I was talking about but I think this one still doesn't give much support for downforce weight. Those braces connecting the 2 bolt on locations don't seem all that thick. But definitely MUCH better than stock. Nothing should be mounted to stock brackets other than stock bumper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hawairish Posted May 10, 2015 Share Posted May 10, 2015 I actually have the pics of the other brackets on my iPad, but no way to upload them until tonight. I think I found them on an Aussie site. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CDN_S4 Posted May 10, 2015 Author Share Posted May 10, 2015 Trying to find those TJM brackets on the interwebs. Seeing if that might speed up the process of getting this done before my May 29 trip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CDN_S4 Posted May 10, 2015 Author Share Posted May 10, 2015 Anyone know anything about the Volant 12633 cool air intake for the 3.3 L Xterra? Looks like a closed in system, which would be great for protection from water. My lower water separator box is totally destroyed and I need a better system. Not so sure about assembling my own. I'm also in need of a new exhaust. My current one rattles. I'm thinking of just asking a muffler shop of putting on a larger diameter than stock. Throw on a free flow muffler and call it a day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ferrariowner123 Posted May 10, 2015 Share Posted May 10, 2015 Sorry man mine never came with fender flares. Oh, I thought it did. My mistake. Hope you find some brackets soon! Progress is looking good! -Kyle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hawairish Posted May 11, 2015 Share Posted May 11, 2015 (edited) Nice find! Yeah that's in line with what I was talking about but I think this one still doesn't give much support for downforce weight. Those braces connecting the 2 bolt on locations don't seem all that thick. But definitely MUCH better than stock. Nothing should be mounted to stock brackets other than stock bumper. Meant to reply to this earlier, but ran short on time. Although I know you're already trying to source a set, I think the TJM brackets are actually a really good KISS solution. Far simpler than the others I've seen (see below). The way I see it, these are designed for a winch bumper similar to the ARB. The folded-over metal on the upper part of the bracket does a lot to add rigidity. It's also designed to succumb to significant impact so that in a collision, the bumper moves downward to deflect impact (the angled tie ins prevent the bumper from wrapping upward). But in direct collision, it's simple enough to distort inward, and even retains the stock crush cans. You want something to have a weak point here, otherwise, the rest of the vehicle and it's passengers absorb the impact. But as you can see, it's also designed to distribute pulling forces from winching. I personally think this is the perfect solution. Now, compare to these: The gray ones are ARB. I don't know about the black ones. These are ridiculous from a manufacturing standpoint; tons of cuts, welds, punches, bends, gussets...and they all do the same thing: hold a bumper, collapse on impact. I'm sure they're solid, but they reinvented the wheel to get there. I can't even imagine the amount of man hours on these...no wonder ARBs cost so much. I'm not even sure I like the tow points on the ARB. TJM = 3 pieces of steel + 1 bend + 1 hour of welding. That's the direction I'd go. Edited June 12, 2018 by hawairish 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ferrariowner123 Posted May 11, 2015 Share Posted May 11, 2015 I have a picture of a pathfinder that was in a bad crash. It had a TJM front bumper, let's just say it's didn't fair well. But I don't know the specifics, plus pathys don't do all that well in crash tests in the first place. I'll post it up when I get home from work. -Kyle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CDN_S4 Posted May 11, 2015 Author Share Posted May 11, 2015 Yeah there isn't a lot holding these rigs together. Nothing will withstand a head on collision unless it's made of armour or rubber lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CDN_S4 Posted May 21, 2015 Author Share Posted May 21, 2015 Bumper is coming along, but it doesn't fit as well on the face lifted as the pre-facelift. The face lifted pathys are more rounded at the nose whereas the older ones are more flat like an XJ. This requires some additional fabricating and modification of the bumper. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xxLOUDOGxx Posted May 21, 2015 Share Posted May 21, 2015 LOOKS SICK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CDN_S4 Posted May 21, 2015 Author Share Posted May 21, 2015 All done!!! 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hawairish Posted May 22, 2015 Share Posted May 22, 2015 Looks good, man! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ferrariowner123 Posted May 22, 2015 Share Posted May 22, 2015 Holy Jebus that looks awesome!! Making me reconsider part of my conversion.... DAMN YOU!! Looks awesome dude. Keep it up! -Kyle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CDN_S4 Posted May 22, 2015 Author Share Posted May 22, 2015 Thanks Kyle. But this bumper fits better on pre facelited rigs so I would NOT do a conversion if this is what you're planning on doing. Or if I were to do it again, I would probably remove te centre grill entirely and move it back further so it doesn't stand out quite as far. However not sure how that would look aesthetically. Might be ok due to the winch, light bar and lights filling up that space. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CDN_S4 Posted May 22, 2015 Author Share Posted May 22, 2015 Or, just thought of this, cut the grill in a way to allow the light bar to recess into it. That would reduce the overbite quite a bit. Maybe later or if this setup should turn out to not be strong enough, although with 3/4" steel on all mounting points this thing should be bullet proof. But if not I'll have to look into some redesigning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kingman Posted May 22, 2015 Share Posted May 22, 2015 Looks good! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patqx4 Posted May 23, 2015 Share Posted May 23, 2015 (edited) truly sweet rig man, If you're ever in halifax area and want someone to wheel with, hit me up! Edited May 23, 2015 by patqx4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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