4X4 Labs rear bumper (1 Viewer)

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musthave

Doc says I'm 1 in 120K. Lucky?
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I have had my 4 x 4 Labs rear bumper with tire carrier for about two years now. Yesterday while driving I heard a pop and saw my left side tire carrier swinging on the side of my cruiser. Luckily I was able to pull off on the shoulder quickly. Upon inspection I noticed that the end of the gas compressed shock had come out of its female mount on the bumper.

I think When it came out, it caused the bumper to bounce back-and-forth with just enough force for the latch to come undone.

When I got home I tried to thread back on the female piece. Once I got it threaded on I realized that I have no way to compress 150 pound of force, and I also noticed that the threaded female clip came right off.

Without this piece the tire carrier has just enough back and forth with you to unlock latch. For the time being I have it taped close. I’m not sure what my options are.

Any suggestions?
 
Could you put a piece of material between the swingouts to sandwich and remove the play? Little piece of wood or UHMW? Maybe a hacked up cutting board?

Picture of the busted strut?
 
I’m going to hypothesize that your latch is loose, it opened somehow, and the strut head was pulled out when it swung open. Does your bumper have the stops welded on?
 
I’m going to hypothesize that your latch is loose, it opened somehow, and the strut head was pulled out when it swung open. Does your bumper have the stops welded on?
That could be. I felt that it latches tight, and perhaps it wasn’t tight enough. That would make sense. The stops are welded on.
 
I had one break on mine and replaced them with new gas springs. I used a quick grip clamp to compress the spring in place and push it onto the male ball stud. It takes probably 30 seconds with the clamp to compress it enough and push it on the stud.

You'll need the metal wire to lock the female socket on. You can buy the sockets at McMaster or they have them on Amazon.

JR Products 10 Millimeter EF-PS100-BP
 
That could be. I felt that it latches tight, and perhaps it wasn’t tight enough. That would make sense. The stops are welded on.

Yeah I’ve got some buddies who never put the gas struts on theirs and they stay latched. I’m thinking you need to tighten that sucker up. Ps my wife can’t latch mine on her own... maybe I’m too tight but I had a different bumper swing open before so I’m a little OCD about it.
 
For reference I keep my latch tight enough to prevent the swing arm from rattling, I have to give the handle a firm smack with my palm to get it to latch shut but it stays nice and tight that way with no noise.
 
For reference I keep my latch tight enough to prevent the swing arm from rattling, I have to give the handle a firm smack with my palm to get it to latch shut but it stays nice and tight that way with no noise.

Man I didn’t know that was possible! That’s gotta be tight!
 
Mine does not have the strut. I'm no small guy, 250lbs, and I have to lean into the latch to get it, well, latched. It's tight.
 
To fix the strut contact Luke at 4x4 Labs. They've replaced the plastic strut ends with metal ends. I called and asked about replacement struts and they sent me metal endsfor both struts for free.
For installation, I used a cabinet clamp. It was a little dangerous but I was able to successfully compress the strut and slide it on the ball. BTW, the strut should always be under compression. The strut will pull apart if the swing of the arm is too wide.
 
Luke reached out to me two weeks ago and said he would ship out a replacement strut with the metal ends. Unfortunately, they haven’t arrived. Calls to him went on answered. Now his number is disconnected. I’m not sure what to expect now. A little frustrated.
 
I tightened up the latch on mine today. I could hear it rattling a little over the bumps. Sounds like that is fixed. I did notice that I have a missing nut on one of the gas struts. Anyone know what size it is? Also is there any maintenance that needs to be done to the posts - not sure if the top caps pop off so you can grease.
 
I tightened up the latch on mine today. I could hear it rattling a little over the bumps. Sounds like that is fixed. I did notice that I have a missing nut on one of the gas struts. Anyone know what size it is? Also is there any maintenance that needs to be done to the posts - not sure if the top caps pop off so you can grease.

Top caps pop off and then you can remove spindle nut and bearings to re-grease if necessary. Not sure if there’s a recommended interval.
 
Luke reached out to me two weeks ago and said he would ship out a replacement strut with the metal ends. Unfortunately, they haven’t arrived. Calls to him went on answered. Now his number is disconnected. I’m not sure what to expect now. A little frustrated.
I had more missing parts and issues with my kit than I care to remember. I was very disappointed in their QC and service. But he did eventually get everything corrected. He is very busy so it takes him forever to respond in my experience. Those struts can be ordered from Amazon too. The metal ends can be found online as well
 

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