4Plus rusted bumper pivot (1 Viewer)

[tonytone]

Hey folks,

I have a 4Plus tire carrier and rear bumper install on the HJD80, and its been giving me issues since spring. I think the pivots may have rusted over the coarse of the truck's first minnesota winter, and now it is incredibly difficult to swivel open the bumper and access the back hatch -- it's gotten stuck before, to the point i need help pushing it shut. Attaching pictures below. I've tried applying anti-rust gel around the joints: anyone dealt with this or have ideas?

Thanks

 

[cahill]

I don't know much about rear tire carrier spindles/pivots but I would guess it needs some grease. If it has a bearing does it have a way to preload the bearing or adjust the tension? Maybe it is adjusted too tight. Again, I have no idea about these or how they are made. Just throwing out ideas and giving you a bump. The bumper looks nice and seems too clean to have rust be the issue.

 

[leonard_nemoy]

My 4x4 labs bumper did this. The dumb powder coat shop that installed it after I welded the kit bumper didn't pack the bearings with grease or seal the cap. Needless to say after 2 years the bearings rusted and seized. I had to replace them.

On the 4x4 labs bumper the spindle basically uses a wheel bearing. So they definitely need to be packed with grease like a wheel bearing.

I am assuming you got the same situation going. Call the manufacturer and double check. They should be able to get you a replacement bearing.

 

[tonytone]

Thanks guys, I emailed the manufacturer and they sent instructions for disassembling the hinge post and greasing it up. Doesn't look too involved, but we'll see. They seem to think it just needs some lubricant.

 

[Kernal]

From one photo it appears to use brass/bronze bushings, one option might be to lube with a Moly paste along with a Moly grease?? The paste shouldn't wash out, at least not for many years. One downside to Moly grease/paste IME is if it gets on your clothes it's never coming out.

Amazon.com : loctite moly paste

FWIW there are bronze bushings available that have graphite or even PTFE impregnated into the part so they're sell-lubricating. So replacing the original bushings might be an option if the bushings installed are a standard size??

Either way it would be interesting to see what the bushings look like when you first pull it apart. Post up some photos.

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[tonytone]

Closing this out: forgot to take pictures of the bushings, but in short, I needed my mechanic's help to get the swing arm off. We managed to lift off the pivot a few inches with a crowbar, but that was scratching the coating, so mechanic had to use his mechanical lift to basically pull car up while we pulled the pivot down. After that we greased it up really good and reattached. Would recommend either frequently lubing these or drilling in and frequently lubricating.

 

[MUDZLLA]

drill and tap for a grease nipple while you're at it