tex
That's Mr Asshole to you
This is how I installed my bumper. It worked for me but I am sure there are more ways to get this put on. I put these instructions together since there does not seem to be many out there. The bumper fit perfect and all of the holes lined up with out any issues. I only wish the bolts for the license plate were included but this is no big deal.
I started by getting the bumper ready to put on. I cleaned it with Duplicolor grease and wax remover. Sprayed it with self etching primer and got about 2 coats on it. It took 2 ½ cans.
Primed
After the primer dried over night I sprayed it with paint. You can use what ever you like but I used VHT roll bar paint and would NOT recommend it. Just from the install the paint is not durable at all.
The paint dried for a few days till I was able to get the bumper on.
To start getting everything apart I unscrewed the license plate lights. You can unplug the bulb from the housing and feed it back through the bumper and reattach the bulb to the housing.
Next I unbolted the factory 7 pin plug. Cut the wires holding the plug but leave about 8 inches of wire attached to the plug incase it needs to be reused for anything. I bought a new plug from Northern Tool that has the 7 pin and a 4 flat. I think it was for a Ford but all of the wires match up color wise except the red wire on the plug.
Next I unscrewed the fender support brackets. There are 2 10mm bolts that you can reach through the wheel well. Save these bolts to reuse them for the new brackets.
Before you start to unbolt the bumper there are some wires attached to the factory receiver that are held to it by some plastic bracket with a zip tie. I used wire cutters and cut the zip tie.
Now you are ready to take off the bolts for the bumper. They are 17mm. I think there are 5 on each side holding it to the frame. Once the bolts are removed there are some alignment pins and you will need to pick straight up and then out. Once the bumper is off there are brackets on the very back of the frame that are hold on by 2 17mm bolts. Take these off as.
This step is not necessary but it made it easier to get the bumper mounted and if you plan to use your truck off road do this. Cut off the exhaust tip. A sawzaw works best for this but I used the grinder since it was handy.
Again this step is not needed but made things a lot easier. Lower your spare tire about half way. This will allow you access to the bolts that mount the side legs to the frame.
The fun part is here! I used a builders square to make an even line from the bottom of my light to the rear wheel. Just painters tape works for making the lines. I then measured 5†below the line and made my first cut. For the cut I used an angle grinder with a cut off wheel. Once I got to the inner fender a box cutter or razor blade worked great for cutting the inner fender.
After the first cut I mounted the bumper up to get an idea how much more I needed to cut. The amount you cut now will depend on how much gap you want between the bumper sides and your fender. I should have measured another time on my drivers side since the gap is about 7/8†and I only wanted ¾â€Â. MAKE VERY SURE YOUR LINES TO CUT ARE WHERE YOU WANT THEM. I don’t have any good pictures during the cutting process since I was busy cutting and mounting the bumper. I think we mounted the bumper 2 times to measure and get the cuts right.
Cut off wheel I used. Get 2 for this job.
License plate light
Trailer light plug.
After the fenders are cut it was time to mount the bumper for the last time. To make things easier I would go ahead and mount the license plate light and trailer light plug to the bumper. There are 2 small allen bolts that came with the bumper used for the license plate light. The factory bumper bolts are reused with the provided washers. I put the bolts in about half way to leave a little room to make adjustments.
Now you are ready to mount the legs to the frame. There are 4 small plates that come with the bumper. The bigger plate will mount between the frame and the side support leg. Put the bolt through and use the small square plate as a washer on the inside of the frame. This bolt is ¾ and I started with this one when tightening them up. I stepped away and made sure the bumper was where I wanted and then tightened all of the bolts.
Side support leg
Now mount the new fender support brackets that came with the bumper. The 2 holes mount the truck with the 2 10mm bolts that held the factory bracket. Once you get this lined up where you want it get your drill and ¼†bit. BE VERY CAREFUL NOT TO DRILL THROUGH YOUR FENDER FLARE. From the inside of the fender well drill a hole to mount the bracket to the fender. There is metal fender behind the flare and that is all you want to drill through. Use the bolt and washer that came with the bumper to secure the bracket to the fender. The bolt head is 7/16â€Â.
This shows the fender flare pulled back to get a visual of the bolt holding the support bracket to the fender.
Picture of the hole that I drilled through the flare. DO NOT DO THIS!!
In order to connect the wires for your license plate light cut off the factory light on the passenger side. Connect the wires to the supplied light and test to make sure it works. I covered the license plate on the driver side with electrical tape and zip tied up as high and out of the way as possible. Now connect the wires for the trailer lights. I just matched the color wires and the red wire from the plug connected to the only remaining wire from the truck. Zip tie the slack so it is out of the way.
Attach your license plate to the hinge. I did not have any small enough bolts so I used some zip ties for a temporary fix until I get some from the store.
I used factory touch up paint to go over the exposed metal from cutting the fenders. You can do this before or after you mount the bumper.
The last thing to do is put on the door edge molding along the cuts so it looks cleaner and helps protect the exposed metal. I have not done this yet so I just have pictures of what I am going to use.
Mounted to the frame
Notice how much the bumper sticks out from the sides to offer great protection.
Head on shot of the bumper.
I started by getting the bumper ready to put on. I cleaned it with Duplicolor grease and wax remover. Sprayed it with self etching primer and got about 2 coats on it. It took 2 ½ cans.
Primed
After the primer dried over night I sprayed it with paint. You can use what ever you like but I used VHT roll bar paint and would NOT recommend it. Just from the install the paint is not durable at all.
The paint dried for a few days till I was able to get the bumper on.
To start getting everything apart I unscrewed the license plate lights. You can unplug the bulb from the housing and feed it back through the bumper and reattach the bulb to the housing.
Next I unbolted the factory 7 pin plug. Cut the wires holding the plug but leave about 8 inches of wire attached to the plug incase it needs to be reused for anything. I bought a new plug from Northern Tool that has the 7 pin and a 4 flat. I think it was for a Ford but all of the wires match up color wise except the red wire on the plug.
Next I unscrewed the fender support brackets. There are 2 10mm bolts that you can reach through the wheel well. Save these bolts to reuse them for the new brackets.
Before you start to unbolt the bumper there are some wires attached to the factory receiver that are held to it by some plastic bracket with a zip tie. I used wire cutters and cut the zip tie.
Now you are ready to take off the bolts for the bumper. They are 17mm. I think there are 5 on each side holding it to the frame. Once the bolts are removed there are some alignment pins and you will need to pick straight up and then out. Once the bumper is off there are brackets on the very back of the frame that are hold on by 2 17mm bolts. Take these off as.
This step is not necessary but it made it easier to get the bumper mounted and if you plan to use your truck off road do this. Cut off the exhaust tip. A sawzaw works best for this but I used the grinder since it was handy.
Again this step is not needed but made things a lot easier. Lower your spare tire about half way. This will allow you access to the bolts that mount the side legs to the frame.
The fun part is here! I used a builders square to make an even line from the bottom of my light to the rear wheel. Just painters tape works for making the lines. I then measured 5†below the line and made my first cut. For the cut I used an angle grinder with a cut off wheel. Once I got to the inner fender a box cutter or razor blade worked great for cutting the inner fender.
After the first cut I mounted the bumper up to get an idea how much more I needed to cut. The amount you cut now will depend on how much gap you want between the bumper sides and your fender. I should have measured another time on my drivers side since the gap is about 7/8†and I only wanted ¾â€Â. MAKE VERY SURE YOUR LINES TO CUT ARE WHERE YOU WANT THEM. I don’t have any good pictures during the cutting process since I was busy cutting and mounting the bumper. I think we mounted the bumper 2 times to measure and get the cuts right.
Cut off wheel I used. Get 2 for this job.
License plate light
Trailer light plug.
After the fenders are cut it was time to mount the bumper for the last time. To make things easier I would go ahead and mount the license plate light and trailer light plug to the bumper. There are 2 small allen bolts that came with the bumper used for the license plate light. The factory bumper bolts are reused with the provided washers. I put the bolts in about half way to leave a little room to make adjustments.
Now you are ready to mount the legs to the frame. There are 4 small plates that come with the bumper. The bigger plate will mount between the frame and the side support leg. Put the bolt through and use the small square plate as a washer on the inside of the frame. This bolt is ¾ and I started with this one when tightening them up. I stepped away and made sure the bumper was where I wanted and then tightened all of the bolts.
Side support leg
Now mount the new fender support brackets that came with the bumper. The 2 holes mount the truck with the 2 10mm bolts that held the factory bracket. Once you get this lined up where you want it get your drill and ¼†bit. BE VERY CAREFUL NOT TO DRILL THROUGH YOUR FENDER FLARE. From the inside of the fender well drill a hole to mount the bracket to the fender. There is metal fender behind the flare and that is all you want to drill through. Use the bolt and washer that came with the bumper to secure the bracket to the fender. The bolt head is 7/16â€Â.
This shows the fender flare pulled back to get a visual of the bolt holding the support bracket to the fender.
Picture of the hole that I drilled through the flare. DO NOT DO THIS!!
In order to connect the wires for your license plate light cut off the factory light on the passenger side. Connect the wires to the supplied light and test to make sure it works. I covered the license plate on the driver side with electrical tape and zip tied up as high and out of the way as possible. Now connect the wires for the trailer lights. I just matched the color wires and the red wire from the plug connected to the only remaining wire from the truck. Zip tie the slack so it is out of the way.
Attach your license plate to the hinge. I did not have any small enough bolts so I used some zip ties for a temporary fix until I get some from the store.
I used factory touch up paint to go over the exposed metal from cutting the fenders. You can do this before or after you mount the bumper.
The last thing to do is put on the door edge molding along the cuts so it looks cleaner and helps protect the exposed metal. I have not done this yet so I just have pictures of what I am going to use.
Mounted to the frame
Notice how much the bumper sticks out from the sides to offer great protection.
Head on shot of the bumper.
