Advice on rear bumper build LX470 (1 Viewer)

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Looks like you've got this well under control! Great progress.

My only comment would be that (in particular on the wing connections) is try shorter stitches to keep heat down with the thinner gauge you're using. My experience is that when I get a lot of heat into work like this I end up with more movement and 'warping' than I'd like and my fitment ends up wonky.


Thanks, it's been a great learning experience for sure. I do plan to weld small sections in opposing areas to keep the heat from getting too concentrated in one spot. Hopefully it doesn't warp up too much.

I'm not looking forward to the final phase .......painting......IH8PAINT. I am not good at it at all. I can never seem to get an even coat with spray paint. Any tips on that would be greatly appreciated. I usually wipe the whole thing down with mineral spirits, apply primer, then paint.
 
Thanks, it's been a great learning experience for sure. I do plan to weld small sections in opposing areas to keep the heat from getting too concentrated in one spot. Hopefully it doesn't warp up too much.

I'm not looking forward to the final phase .......painting......IH8PAINT. I am not good at it at all. I can never seem to get an even coat with spray paint. Any tips on that would be greatly appreciated. I usually wipe the whole thing down with mineral spirits, apply primer, then paint.

Depends how nice of a finish you're looking for!

My recommendation is bring it to a local powder shop. I've painted a lot of my own stuff over the years and after paint, supplies, time invested, etc...you can typically get something simple like this powder coated for the same price and have a more durable, even finish.

When you hit stuff like this with a grinder, flap disc, whatever else to clean up welds...don't forget to hit that area with an orbital sander and some 200 to smooth it out. Powder does a nice job of hiding stuff though so less finish work is needed.
 
Thanks, it's been a great learning experience for sure. I do plan to weld small sections in opposing areas to keep the heat from getting too concentrated in one spot. Hopefully it doesn't warp up too much.

I'm not looking forward to the final phase .......painting......IH8PAINT. I am not good at it at all. I can never seem to get an even coat with spray paint. Any tips on that would be greatly appreciated. I usually wipe the whole thing down with mineral spirits, apply primer, then paint.
Truck bed liner. Most brands go on great.
 
Very impressive! Great job!
I'm looking a way to carry the spare tire on the back, and also improve the towing capacity of the factory hitch built in the rear bumper, like this:
1606313102533.png


I knew this can be done by a rear bumper but can't afford or justify its high cost. So I thought of the idea to build something by attaching to the same factory hitch installation location on the cross member and the attach point for after-market hitch, with minimum modification to existing bumper cover. Would you mind giving me some advice?

Also, with 0 experience on welding, but willing to try and learn, do you think how possible to do the welding myself? What kind of welder will you recommend?

Thanks!
 
Very impressive! Great job!
I'm looking a way to carry the spare tire on the back, and also improve the towing capacity of the factory hitch built in the rear bumper, like this:
View attachment 2506179

I knew this can be done by a rear bumper but can't afford or justify its high cost. So I thought of the idea to build something by attaching to the same factory hitch installation location on the cross member and the attach point for after-market hitch, with minimum modification to existing bumper cover. Would you mind giving me some advice?

Also, with 0 experience on welding, but willing to try and learn, do you think how possible to do the welding myself? What kind of welder will you recommend?

Thanks!


I found a very interesting thread in the 80 series section where a guy made a swing out and kept the stock bumper in place. Maybe something similar could be done on the 100. I actually thought about trying to go this route......maybe I should have. I like the idea of not ripping my whole plastic bumper off if it gets caught on something though.


There is also a hitch mounted swing out option by Wilco off road, but it will hang off the back a bit. Hitchgate™ Solo

I learned everything I know from YouTube and forums. You can most definitely learn to do this yourself if you put in the time and are moderately decent with your hands. I ain't passing a welding certification test anytime soon, but MIG is pretty easy to learn to stick metal together with. Just get some scrap and start practicing. It's pretty damn fun. You shouldn't be building anything that could kill someone ( a trailer for instance) but you can definitely be good enough for a project like this with practice. I'm not sure if I would rely on beginner skills to "increase the towing capacity" of the stock hitch though.

As far as a welder, again I am no expert I have only ever welded with a Miller 211 at work, and the Harbor Freight Titanium 140 I have at home. If you have the budget I would recommend getting a 220v welder as you will have a much wider range of thickness you can weld. I think the new Harbor Freight stuff is great for a hobbyist like me. You will see tons of good reviews online for the Titaniums and Vulcans. I have had a couple actual professional welders be impressed with the welds I got out of even my little 120v Titanium (even on 1/4" steel). The 220v is worth the price as you can weld pretty much anything you will ever need to in a single pass. You will need a 220 plug in your garage or shop. You can run an cord from your dryer outlet if it's nearby though.

Maybe this one? I like my Titanium so far


I am using flux core for this build (no need for shielding gas) but I would get a machine that has a gas hook up and is 220v ideally. I just bough $70 worth of flux wire otherwise I would have purchased a gas bottle and solid wire for this build.
 
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Thank @thebeedeegee for the detail response. Just checked the 80 thread and it's very close to what I used to think. Guess I may move to that route.

Your experience definitely encourages me to learn welding.

Thanks again!
 
Slowly welding it out. It did warp slightly even though I've been careful. The passenger side mounts pulled outward slightly so those holes don't quite line up. I think it was welding the seam of the front plate and it kind of bent outward. It fits but its tight, ill either have to ream those holes bigger or try heating and bending.

Once it's all welded out I will see how it fits along the body and then cut out the cap piece for the wings.

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Well, first bit of fitment issues since welding. I was super careful. Literally did one side, then the other side in a different area. Skipping all around . The driver side is perfect but the passenger side is off by like 3/16".

Any ideas? Put the driver bolts in then heat with a torch and try to bend? Slot the holes?

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Slot the holes and let it be the shape it wants to be, as long as it lines up with the body well enough for you. :)
 
Slot the holes and let it be the shape it wants to be, as long as it lines up with the body well enough for you. :)

After watching this video below I realized my mistake. I welded short sections and skipped around, but on that front plate I most always welded from left to right. According to this video the direction of the weld actually effects warping more than which side the weld is on....which I did not know.



I'm wondering if I put welds on the inside of the joint traveling the other direction if it might pull it in some. The picture below shows what happened. So what I'm thinking is if I weld the inside of the top plate and front plate going right to left. In theory it should pull that passenger side back in.....any welders out there got advice? As long as it wouldn't pull the bumper in the opposite direction this would be easier than reeming the holes out with the tools I have at the house. I drilled the holes in the brackets before the bumper was built using a drill press at work, it's going to be really hard to make them bigger now.

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Here's where I am after about 4 hours today, gusseted up, and the top caps cut and tacked on. Also reamed out the holes and everything seems to be able to line up. Next I need to use a tap and clean out my frame threads.
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Bought a cheap 14mm x 1.5 tap and die off of Amazon and it worked great to clean up the frame threads and the bolts that had some smashed threads.

Amazon product ASIN B0872T9LMD
Now I am on to the grinding stage....my neighbors hate me right now. I'm going to start figuring out my swing arm layout here soon, I ordered two 3/4" heim joints for the pivot.

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Made a little more progress. Tacked up the mount and cut the main tube sections. 3/4" heim joints with a 3/4" grade 8 bolt.

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Looking good! Right about now most ppl start inquiring where the bottle opener will mount. If you need a bottle opener to open a beer your doing life wrong. Keep up the good work!
 
Looking good! Right about now most ppl start inquiring where the bottle opener will mount. If you need a bottle opener to open a beer your doing life wrong. Keep up the good work!

haha thanks man. Yeah don't think I'll be adding the bottle opener, but it is a cool touch.

For you more experienced welders.....should I double ( or triple) pass this connection for the tire plate since it is so thick? the tube is 1/8" wall and this plate is like 3/8". I triple passed the swing arm bracket (about 5/16" thick) since it holds a lot of weight and I only have a 120v machine.

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Do you make the tire plate by drilling all the holes or buy from somewhere?
 
I
Do you make the tire plate by drilling all the holes or buy from somewhere?
I Ordered that from Ruffstuffspecialties.com

I dont have a drill press so it was a great shortcut. They have a bunch of bumper fabrication parts
 
Great job on building a rear bumper with swing away tire carrier!

I did one a few years ago for my FJ40 but using a spindle. Not as slick as one made by a pro welder but a great learning experience.
 
Great job on building a rear bumper with swing away tire carrier!

I did one a few years ago for my FJ40 but using a spindle. Not as slick as one made by a pro welder but a great learning experience.

Thanks, and yeah definitely nowhere near as nice as anything from one of the vendors on mud, but for someone balling on a budget like me it will work. I learned a lot over the course of this, and my welding has gotten a lot better as well.

I welded the latch on last night. I'm going to add a tab for a safety pin in case the latch comes open on the road, and I got some UHMW poly plastic stuff that the bumper will latch down onto. I need to drill and tap screws into the bumper to hold that in place. I added a short section on the back side that covers the gap between the bumper and the body as seen from the back, too. Still need to clean some stuff up and then get ready to paint.

Still gotta buy a 5th K02 as well, the 275/70 spare I have is useless since my K02's are 285/75

So far I think I'm about $400 in this with the steel, grinding wheels, and all the fittings and paint.....plus a lot of hours.

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