So, been working on installing an xrc bumper. Brackets are on, bumper lifted in place. Holes line up perfect. I cannot get the fn bolts to thread. Nuts are welded, bolts just won’t go.

any tricks?

 

I had to chase ALL the weld nuts with a tap. I also had to buy a bunch of new hardware, as the stuff that came with it was really junky.
Also the instructions are kinda crap, as the inside measurement they give you is WAYYYYYY off.

 

Not what I wanted to hear 12 hours in to the installation. Damn it.

yes, that measurement is off. Had to raise lower loosen tighten things 8-9 time.

m f er

 

Well. By some miracle I got them in. Probably cross treaded, but idgaf.

now to grind down the top of the swing out hinge housing so my hatch clears. 🙄

 

Yeah I totally feel your pain!

Take your time. Ya don't want to strip out those weldnuts.
All the hardware is metric, so metric taps.
Also once you get the bumper on torque it down a couple times.

If you are having to go out and buy a few taps get one for that Allen button head screw that holds down the cam for the tire carrier.
Also buy the right size drill-bit for that too. You are gonna have to probably drill another hole (or two), and tap it for adjusting the tire carrier.
I ended up drilling two new holes for that as well. So I bought better screws (metric same size) and a couple washers as the new button head screws would go to far below where the carrier would hit them.




One other thing I did was use Nutserts and screws to attach the rear armor plates.

 

Another member referred to this Bumper/tire swing as ****-Built. But in truth, even my Tomken had a small misalignment in the holes for the license plate relocator

 

I got one and no matter what I did I couldn't get it adjusted right so the gate would close, they ended up sending me another bumper and it works fine now.

 

I’ve got it installed and am pretty happy with it. Ended up grinding a bit of the top of the hinge pin holder down so I could close my hatch.

tomorrow I’ll button up the lower rear quarters and get the tire on.

not gonna lie. This thing was a ***** to install. All the videos online make it look so easy.

 

Such a shame that a company like Smittybuilt puts all their money into marketing and not quality. Everyone knows these bumpers suck, but people keep buying them because they look good at first glance and they're marketed well. $875 for powder coated Smitty vs $1,650 for powder coated JCR. I guess you get what you pay for, but GD.