DIY Front Bumper

[tommudd]

One of the main things I have found with winches over the years was people wiring them up with too small of gauge wiring
Warn I trust, all others I open them and check the wiring throughout as have found some that were not correctly wirded by the Chinese folks who built them

 

[tommudd]

Found this in my search. I am wondering how you hook up the controls for the Winch. Any comments https://jeepmania.eu/en/winch-mount...plate-2002-2008-jeep-liberty-cherokee-kj.html

Works great for a wrangler type mount , but doesn't look like it would stand up to heavy pulls on a KJ
PLUS would be awfully low , have to have a 5-6 lift to keep it out of the mud, rocks etc

 

[Johnny O]

Thanks for the feedback Labrat. Could you point me to some of the others, if I can get one here in the U.S. I would prefer to do that.

All the ones I’ve seen are out of Europe. The KJ aftermarket is pretty much dead, sadly.
There are quite a few vendors in Australia too.
I’ve been buying lots of stuff from Poland and Czechia. (Google.pl and Google.cz - have to manually set your browser to this nodes otherwise localization will only show you US stuff.)

 

[Johnny O]

Works great for a wrangler type mount , but doesn't look like it would stand up to heavy pulls on a KJ

Agreed. I even wonder how good those points are for just recovery hooks…

 

[tommudd]

Agreed. I even wonder how good those points are for just recovery hooks…

I've seen 5-6 front tow hooks pulled out over the years
and when they come off it rips the sheetmetal really good LOL

 

[Johnny O]

I've seen 5-6 front tow hooks pulled out over the years
and when they come off it rips the sheetmetal really good LOL

Yeah, methinks that was not the best design. In all the studying up on solid mounting for bumpers and such, in my mind, ideally a design would incorporate both the recovery hook mounts AND the body channels if a winch is to be incorporated. More steel bolted to more steel is always better.

Saw a KL this morning on the side of the freeway with both recovery hooks and most of the front end pulled off...****

 

[lfhoward]

There was a winch mount for the KJ/KK called the Detoures Backbone that was disguised behind the OEM bumper. They aren’t made anymore but you can sometimes find one for sale.

 

[Johnny O]

Thanks for the feedback Labrat. Could you point me to some of the others, if I can get one here in the U.S. I would prefer to do that.

jeepmania.eu has a bunch of stuff as does mudmaster.pl there was a third I bought bushings from, but Ill be darned if I can remember them. The bushings were all orange. My email doesn't keep anything beyond 30 days. UPDATE: found em

Bushings by TEDGUM brand..... tedgum.pl

 

[nathan909]

You must be registered for see images attach

Sort of see what it looks like
my 04 going from a ARB to the Matrix from JBA, waiting on the Rock Lizard to arrive

Where did you get the Matrix bumper and how much?

 

[tommudd]

Where did you get the Matrix bumper and how much?

From JeepinByAl
no longer made : (

 

[nathan909]

From JeepinByAl
no longer made : (

Ok, that must be why i cant find it

 

[tommudd]

Ok, that must be why i cant find it

Come up used every now and again

 

[welro]

Ok, that must be why i cant find it

found this one in Poland. If I go after it I have friends in Europe who can get it shipped to me

Zderzak przedni Akerman Rider Jeep Liberty KJ — Metalpasja - Innowacyjne Doposażenia OffRoad

Najlepsze doposażenia do pojazdów 4x4 na zamówienie- przedni zderzak offroad Jeep KJ- sprawdź już teraz i umów się!

metalpasja.pl

 

[CTJEEP]

Opened site.... Interesting. ....wonder if they ship.internation...???
Inquired about custom built bumper for 2005 Liberty.

found this one in Poland. If I go after it I have friends in Europe who can get it shipped to me

Zderzak przedni Akerman Rider Jeep Liberty KJ — Metalpasja - Innowacyjne Doposażenia OffRoad

Najlepsze doposażenia do pojazdów 4x4 na zamówienie- przedni zderzak offroad Jeep KJ- sprawdź już teraz i umów się!

metalpasja.pl

 

[CTJEEP]

Unfortunately, the above bumper was custom built on Poland. They wanted the Jeep in their shop to make a bumper.

Sad .... one less choice.

 

[profdlp]

They did a nice job...

 

[Irish Inuit 75]

I do not know what the ARB mounts look like (guess I should have really looked over the dimensions or at least inner photos to see frame work) but I mounted by sandwiching the unibody rail through the center with a 2.5x3 square bar and a 1/4 bottom plate using grade 8 bolts. Started with cardboard ideas.

You must be registered for see images attach

Then made the mounting brackets from bumper to new" frame rails" (now sticking out of unibody frame holes) using 3/16 diamond plate. Connected The square tube rails with 1 1/4 round tubing. Added two gussets on outer edges made from 3/16 steel plate for inner support. Outer shell is all made with 3/16 sheet metal. Gonna use 3/8 Amber led clearance lights as turn signals.

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

I'm sure the shell is as thick as it needs to be if not a bit thicker. Weighs almost 100lbs with shackles and led bar. Debating doing a bull bar and what shape it would be.

You must be registered for see images attach

Finished my shackle mounts earlier and got the bumper ready for paint and lights tomorrow.
Can also take more pictures of inside woods, gussets and better mount photos. Should I tack wild it to the unibody for added rigidity or is it not necessary with the 4 grade 8 bolts I'm using?
Should I put some 1.5-2.5" holes in the lower front edge by radiator?
Will be doing holes in the skid plate in that area. Post photos of that tomorrow too

That looks exactly like what I have been looking for. Nicely done, I feel motivated to try that process and make a few tweeks to that design. Thank you for sharing.