enkrypt3d Posted August 16, 2014 Share Posted August 16, 2014 So after waiting about 2 months, I finally got my new bull bar: Its very well made but I'm trying to figure out how the tabs directly behind the main bumper attach to the truck... It appears as if I might need to drill some holes in the 2 upright tabs: This is the view from the rear along with the OEM brackets off of the truck which don't appear to be useful. Here is a close up of one of the uprights: Let me know if you guys have some ideas. For the lower mount, it has some brackets that wrap around the bottom I believe... its 1/8" inch steel so it might be pretty tough to drill through.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enkrypt3d Posted August 16, 2014 Author Share Posted August 16, 2014 Mods feel free to move this if its not in the best section thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nefarious Posted August 17, 2014 Share Posted August 17, 2014 (edited) 1/8 in steel is easy peazy to drill through just get some titanium or cobalt drill bits and some lube and you will be fine. What is that bumper from? Is it meant for a w/d21 chassis? I dunno about you but I wouldn't trust the stock stamped steel bumper brackets to hold all that weight... you will want much beefier brackets to mount that beast on or it will bend down or fall off just by breathing on it. Edited August 17, 2014 by Nefarious Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enkrypt3d Posted August 17, 2014 Author Share Posted August 17, 2014 Yea its from Tactical Armor Group... the OEM brackets aren't going to be used as I don't see how they'd work anyway. I'm guessing the 2 uprights are going to need to be drilled with the same holes that the OEM brackets have to mount it directly on the frame. I dont have a drill strong enough unfortunately. I guess I'll have to take it to some shop to get them to do it.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CDN_S4 Posted August 17, 2014 Share Posted August 17, 2014 Looks really good. Is this going on a WD21 or R50? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enkrypt3d Posted August 17, 2014 Author Share Posted August 17, 2014 (edited) Sorry its going on this: WD21 The build quality is good... it might need a few spots to be spray painted on the back but that's no big deal. Well worth the wait. Also trying to find what lights will fit in the holes on either side of the winch..... Edited August 17, 2014 by enkrypt3d Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahardb0dy Posted August 17, 2014 Share Posted August 17, 2014 See this thread, post number 24 and on: http://www.nissanpathfinders.net/forum/topic/37073-how-to-build-a-winch-bumper/page-2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enkrypt3d Posted August 17, 2014 Author Share Posted August 17, 2014 Hmm its kind of hard to see how the oem brackets are used.... it looks like they've been modified? How do they mount to the front of the truck? Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahardb0dy Posted August 17, 2014 Share Posted August 17, 2014 (edited) Per the pics in the link, the stock brackets are bolted to the flat one's that stick out behind the bumper, no idea if the other bumper owner had to drill holes or not. The stock brackets do not look modified. The main bracket bolts to the tow hook holes and the bottom of the bumper, you did get that bracket with yours right? Edited August 17, 2014 by ahardb0dy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enkrypt3d Posted August 17, 2014 Author Share Posted August 17, 2014 Yes they do come with the lower brackets... I'll snap a pic tomorrow and post it up. my OEM brackets look nothing like yours since they have a 90 degree bend in them.... and 4 holes on the flat part... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahardb0dy Posted August 17, 2014 Share Posted August 17, 2014 It's not mine, I see what your saying now, your truck is a 95, my 93 hardbody has the same bracket, the other thread with the winch bumper, his truck is an 87 with the smaller brackets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nefarious Posted August 17, 2014 Share Posted August 17, 2014 If it were me I wouldn't reuse the stock upper brackets as they are barely strong enough for the factory sheet metal bumper let alone a heavy aftermarket bumper but I'm sure they will hold it on in a pinch. Just wouldn't want to see what would happen if u hit a deer or something with those stock ones there. Might have a wrecked front end! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enkrypt3d Posted August 17, 2014 Author Share Posted August 17, 2014 So can I bolt it directly to the frame? Not sure if those tabs are long enough...? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Precise1 Posted August 18, 2014 Share Posted August 18, 2014 (edited) It looks good on the outside, but I really don't understand how it was ever intended to mount. The top mounts are mainly just so the bumper isn't pulled down during winching, the real attachment is underneath on the frame where the tow hook(s) mount. It seems to me like you have a bumper that needs to be fitted by a professional shop with fab/welding ability. I have an ARB bumper hanging in my garage right now, so I'm pretty familiar with the way it needs to be. Let me see if I can find the thread with some info... B Here it is. That reminds me, I need to finish it up. I can get you the mount dimension info fairly soon if it will help... http://www.nissanpathfinders.net/forum/topic/37073-how-to-build-a-winch-bumper/page-2?hl=+winch%20+bumper Edited August 18, 2014 by Precise1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedPath88 Posted August 18, 2014 Share Posted August 18, 2014 They (upper mounts) also control the bumpers rebound during recovery operations, such as winching. But like B said, the load bearing mounts are the lower ones, they take the force placed on the bumper by the winch. It could be that they designed it around the 87-93 bumper designs and if so, you'll need to acquire a couple of older brackets. Or do as the second shop did on my ARB (while fixing the botched job the first one did while extending it for a 3in BL) and weld a plate to the bumper to bypass the brackets completely and bold directly to the frame mounts. Oh and another consideration could be that the original design was on a HB, I can't say if the brackets are different than either versions on the Pathfinders, but I would imagine they are given the body height difference between HB's and PF's. Someone here should know for sure if they are different. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enkrypt3d Posted August 18, 2014 Author Share Posted August 18, 2014 Thanks guys yea B if you could let me know how long those upper mounts have to be in order to directly mount it to the frame instead of using brackets that'd be best I think.... I dont know if they are long enough though. I'm sure I could get some shop to weld on another piece of metal but I dont want to modify it too much... And yea the mounts underneath seem pretty beefy... those things weigh probably 10-15 lbs each hah! I have to get the AC condenser replaced at the same time along with a ton of other stuff... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enkrypt3d Posted August 18, 2014 Author Share Posted August 18, 2014 Just measured the tabs and they only stick out 3" which isn't long enough for it to fit inside the holes on the front of the truck unfortunately... Also trying to figure out what to do with the 2 holes on each side of the winch mount... they are 3" wide by 2" tall... wondering what LED lights would fit there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedPath88 Posted August 18, 2014 Share Posted August 18, 2014 Might be the reason they list these lights on their site? http://www.tacticalarmorgroup.com/TAG-Bumper-Store/Rigid-Dually-Diffused-Pair-Flush-Mount Here is the manufacturers listing of "Dually" and "D2" lights http://www.rigidindustries.com/search-products/Dually%20D2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahardb0dy Posted August 18, 2014 Share Posted August 18, 2014 Your going to have to do what was said and either switch to the older style bumper brackets or have something made custom that matches the bumper bracket, you don't need the right angle part just the part that mounts to the frame and to the side of those 3" tabs sticking out, could probably make or have made something a little heavier such as 1/4" thick steel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enkrypt3d Posted August 18, 2014 Author Share Posted August 18, 2014 Your going to have to do what was said and either switch to the older style bumper brackets or have something made custom that matches the bumper bracket, you don't need the right angle part just the part that mounts to the frame and to the side of those 3" tabs sticking out, could probably make or have made something a little heavier such as 1/4" thick steel. Yea based on the old style brackets, they are only attached with one bolt on each bracket to the frame? That doesn't seem very secure... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahardb0dy Posted August 18, 2014 Share Posted August 18, 2014 the lower bracket supports the majority of the bumper, I think the top brackets are just there to locate the bumper and prevent it from pulling forward. I beleive the thread I linked to shows 2 bolts into the stock brackets. I f you make your own upper brackets you could put as many bolts in as you like. I would get a stock older style bracket, lay it out on a piece of steel and just drill the holes where it mounts to the frame, trim it as is necessary to fit than mount it to your new bumper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enkrypt3d Posted August 18, 2014 Author Share Posted August 18, 2014 the lower bracket supports the majority of the bumper, I think the top brackets are just there to locate the bumper and prevent it from pulling forward. I beleive the thread I linked to shows 2 bolts into the stock brackets. I f you make your own upper brackets you could put as many bolts in as you like. I would get a stock older style bracket, lay it out on a piece of steel and just drill the holes where it mounts to the frame, trim it as is necessary to fit than mount it to your new bumper. Yes 2 bolts onto the bumper and one bolt onto the frame... I suppose that would be fine. Now I just gotta find the brackets hah Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahardb0dy Posted August 18, 2014 Share Posted August 18, 2014 one bolt into the frame where? The bumper brackets have 2 bolts into the frame each side Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Precise1 Posted August 18, 2014 Share Posted August 18, 2014 Thanks guys yea B if you could let me know how long those upper mounts have to be in order to directly mount it to the frame instead of using brackets that'd be best I think.... I dont know if they are long enough though. I'm sure I could get some shop to weld on another piece of metal but I dont want to modify it too much... And yea the mounts underneath seem pretty beefy... those things weigh probably 10-15 lbs each hah! I have to get the AC condenser replaced at the same time along with a ton of other stuff... I'll get you some pictures/dimensions tomorrow. I'd definitely avoid brackets if possible, just one more thing for a bolt to come loose or another bend/shear point. I might be asking you for some more pictures/dimensions of what you have though, just for community in general. You don't have CAD per chance? B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enkrypt3d Posted August 18, 2014 Author Share Posted August 18, 2014 I'll get you some pictures/dimensions tomorrow. I'd definitely avoid brackets if possible, just one more thing for a bolt to come loose or another bend/shear point. I might be asking you for some more pictures/dimensions of what you have though, just for community in general. You don't have CAD per chance? B No CAD but I did measure the width between the 2 upright top mounts it's 28.5" and each mounting plate is 3" from the back of the bumper. I wish these were 6-8" long so I could just drill holes in it directly. Let me know what info you might need and any better ideas than using the OEM brackets... ahardb0dy, on the old style brackets I only see one bolt that attaches to the frame: (screw 62042A) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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