ARB bumper install pics

[Greg B]

I was dumping some pics of my camera today and came across a couple I hadn't posted when I did my install of the ARB bar. There was a couple of things that made it easier on the install.

One, don't mount the black bumperettes until the very end because you have to tighten the bolts that hold the bumper to the mounting frame through an opening that is eventually covered by the bumperettes.

Two, I was able to use a 3/8 slim-head socket wrench with a short socket to tighten the bolts that hold the bumper to the mounting frame. This was a lot faster to get the bolts snugged up to adjust the bumper spacing to the fenders than using a regular wrench. The bumper wall is at a funky angle and a regular socket wrench won't fit. You'll see what I mean while you're in there.

Overall, it was a pretty easy install. I was surprised to see that there was a separate mounting frame that holds the bumper to the frame of the 100. A winch mounts directly to the mounting frame and not to the bumper. I've had 2 other ARB bumpers and the winch mounted directly to the bumper on them.

The Air bag crush cans (the accordian looking section in pic 3) are in front of where the winch mounts, so you don't have to worry about the bumper shifting while pulling with the winch. This happened easily on the ARB on my LR Disco 2.

I've wheeled with it once now, and so far I like it a lot. I'll be adding a winch after Christmas, so I'll have to take the bumper back off then to mount the winch.

The first pic is with the factory bumper and grill removed. Now that's some crazy approach angle! The second pic is with the grill back on and the mounting frame installed. And the last pic is a close up of the mounting plate. The square plate in the middle is where the winch mounts.

 

[Greg B]

I've posted this pic before, but I wanted to put at least one pic of the finished product here too.

 

[turboale]

Looking good Greg!
I like the TJM on 4Runners, but the ARB looks a lot better on the Crusiers. Looks great! I like it better than the sahara bar too... Not sure if it would work quite as well on the LX, but looks right at home on your crusier!

 

[hoser]

Looks great, Greg!

Turboale, that bumper will not fit an LX. Only the Sahara bar.

There was talk on the LCOOL list awhile back about the accordian mounts. Guys have reported their bumper being misaligned and near falling off in the outback. The heavy bumpers might be too much weight for the mounts. A piston type mount would hold it up better but might not provide as good impact absorption, especially in a non-head-on crash.

 

[stewbo]

Those 295's look huge without the bumper. When you put the bumper on they seem to shrink. Some sort of optical illusion.

 

[cruiser4life]

Wow! Great looking rig. Really like the bumper addition!

Can't wait to do that on mine!!

 

[Greg B]

There was talk on the LCOOL list awhile back about the accordian mounts. Guys have reported their bumper being misaligned and near falling off in the outback. The heavy bumpers might be too much weight for the mounts. A piston type mount would hold it up better but might not provide as good impact absorption, especially in a non-head-on crash.

Yeah, that was common to see them go crooked after an impact on my LR Disco 2. Once, I drove up on a ledge, couldn't get up it all the way, and had to back down. When I backed down, the bumper landed on the ledge and the crush cans bent allowing the bumper to rotate upward.

I hate that about these "air bag compatible" bumpers. They just aren't as strong as the older ones. The accordian mounts suck. Straight, solid mounts are just better.

One difference on the 100 is a tab that you drill through once the bumper is mounted. Then you put a bolt through it to lock it in place at that position so that the bumper doesn't pivot on the mounting plate. But, if you do hit something, the accordian mounts will still bend.

I may just go ahead and re-inforce the crush cans while I have it off to mount a winch. You can do this by cutting out one side of the accordian part on each frame rail and welding steel plates in their place. Not easy, but is enough to stiffen things up.

The downside is that the air bags may go off at a slower speed than normal because those accordians won't absorb some of the impact. If I could buy one, I'd buy an older style that's not air bag compliant like on the 80 series and be done with it.

 

[Greg B]

Those 295's look huge without the bumper. When you put the bumper on they seem to shrink. Some sort of optical illusion.

Don't they? I thought the exact same thing when the bumper came off. I guess it's because you can see so much more of the tread with no bumper in the way.

 

[macneill]

Nice! I gotta do my t-bars and diff drop!

 

[3rd Cruiser]

Looking good Greg!!

I had a tough time deceiding between the delux bar like yours and the sahara. I wanted fog lights so the sahara was the only option for a 98 LC.

The air bags raise a couple of issues I'm not thrilled about.
!. No recovey points on the bumper.
2. No jack points on the bumper.

According to ARB folks, inadvertant air-bag deployment is a concern. If you pull on the bumper instead of using frame mounted recovery points or jack the vehicle up using the front bumper there could be airbag issues.

Now that I have the slider/steps it's not that big an issue, but I'm still disapointed in that regard.

 

[rzpapp]

Hmmm... I just did the ARB bull bar on my 2004 LC. And the mount was different. Mine used the newer bar with the fog lights that look like the ones on the Sahara bar. The winch mounted directly to the bumper and not to a seperate structure. And it was a pain cause one needs to dissassemble the winch end cap to rotate it such that when mounted one could reach the clutch release. Second getting the bumper on an aligned was a pain. But in the alignment one drilled holes so that it align just right. Its a tight fight, getting on the brackets. Mine had the same airbag compliant crush brackets.

 

[dclee]

According to ARB folks, inadvertant air-bag deployment is a concern. If you pull on the bumper instead of using frame mounted recovery points or jack the vehicle up using the front bumper there could be airbag issues.

Why _wouldn't_ you want to use frame-mounted recovery points? Even on my 80, which does not have airbags, I won't recover from the bar itself. It's just thin plate steel, it won't take the forces involved in a serious recovery very well.

For safety, I would say always use frame-mounted hooks of the proper rating (like the OEM Toyota ones that came with the truck).

My $0.02,

 

[DMX84]

Looking good Greg!!

I had a tough time deceiding between the delux bar like yours and the sahara. I wanted fog lights so the sahara was the only option for a 98 LC.

The air bags raise a couple of issues I'm not thrilled about.
!. No recovey points on the bumper.
2. No jack points on the bumper.

According to ARB folks, inadvertant air-bag deployment is a concern. If you pull on the bumper instead of using frame mounted recovery points or jack the vehicle up using the front bumper there could be airbag issues.

Now that I have the slider/steps it's not that big an issue, but I'm still disapointed in that regard.

I don’t think pulling or jacking up the vehicle using the bumper is going to cause the air bag to go off. I don’t remember the sensor being on the bumper it self.
I think the main reason is the crush points will expand with undesirable results.

Has anyone done anything to the bumper that caused it to get into the fender or front clip? It seems to be pretty close and could possibly cause some collateral damage.

I haven’t done this yet, but mentioned it to landpimp about using a hook form an fj62 to replace the stock 100’s hook. The 100’s hook hangs real low and is useless after the bumper install. I recently found my fj62 hook and plan on putting it on.
Maybe John will chime in and let us know if it worked, but it looked like the same bolt pattern, just closer to the frame.
I’ll try and get mine on in the next few days and let you’all know.
DMX

 

[3rd Cruiser]

I don’t think pulling or jacking up the vehicle using the bumper is going to cause the air bag to go off. I don’t remember the sensor being on the bumper it self.
I think the main reason is the crush points will expand with undesirable results.


This may be the real issue, I was relating a converrstaion I had with ARB folks at the Pomona Offroad expo regarding the sahara bar.

I agree with dclee about using frame mounte recovery points for any serious recovery work. I was thinking of using them as jack points with the Higlift attachment.

Don't get me wrong, I think the sahara is great. I love the look and the increase in frontend clearance. Also I'm looking forward to installing a winch in it some day.

I went looking for tow hooks to replace the old long hook and the tie down hoop. The local Toyota dealer wants $50.00 each, yikes. I'm still looking for a better source.

 

[spressomon]

I don’t think pulling or jacking up the vehicle using the bumper is going to cause the air bag to go off. I don’t remember the sensor being on the bumper it self.
I think the main reason is the crush points will expand with undesirable results.


This may be the real issue, I was relating a converrstaion I had with ARB folks at the Pomona Offroad expo regarding the sahara bar.

I agree with dclee about using frame mounte recovery points for any serious recovery work. I was thinking of using them as jack points with the Higlift attachment.

Don't get me wrong, I think the sahara is great. I love the look and the increase in frontend clearance. Also I'm looking forward to installing a winch in it some day.

I went looking for tow hooks to replace the old long hook and the tie down hoop. The local Toyota dealer wants $50.00 each, yikes. I'm still looking for a better source.

FWIW: I couldn't find any rated recovery loops/hooks with the correct LC bolt spacing. I moved the rear to the front and added another OEM hook for now. But as others have mentioned these are not rated. I am thinking about either making (or having them made/cut to order) a recovery point/bracket for the front. I am confident it would be quite satisfactory with respect to WLL...but I won't have any way to test them beyond a shadow of a doubt.

 

[3rd Cruiser]

FWIW: I couldn't find any rated recovery loops/hooks with the correct LC bolt spacing. I moved the rear to the front and added another OEM hook for now. But as others have mentioned these are not rated. I am thinking about either making (or having them made/cut to order) a recovery point/bracket for the front. I am confident it would be quite satisfactory with respect to WLL...but I won't have any way to test them beyond a shadow of a doubt.

spressomon,

Great minds think alike! I took off one of the front tie down hoops and am planning to take it to a fabrication shop to see what they can come up with. I was thinking same design but much more heavy duty. I like the idea of attaching the recovery strap to a D-ring which would be attached to the recovery point. I hope that made sense.

I'll post what I come up with.

 

[SWUtah]

Whats the difference in weight between the stock bumper and the ARB? Any frontend sag?

 

[spressomon]

Well I didn't weigh my stock bumper when I removed it...but it is hard to imagine it being more than about 15-20lbs. My TJM T3C is about 80lbs and the ARB is heavier....but I don't know how much more it weighs.

 

[spressomon]

spressomon,

Great minds think alike! I took off one of the front tie down hoops and am planning to take it to a fabrication shop to see what they can come up with. I was thinking same design but much more heavy duty. I like the idea of attaching the recovery strap to a D-ring which would be attached to the recovery point. I hope that made sense.

I'll post what I come up with.

I have drawn up a recovery 'hook' that features an enclosed 'eye' that will enable a 7/8" D shackle (1" diameter pin) to be utilized for recovery strap attachment. A buddy at work has an auto cad program we are going to use to determine WLL for the design. I'll post back as soon as we know more...

 

[Greg B]

Whats the difference in weight between the stock bumper and the ARB? Any frontend sag?

It was a pretty substantial difference. I'm not sure of the exact numbers as I didn't weigh either bumper. It dropped my OME t-bars down about an inch. I just cranked them up a little bit and I was back to previous height. The weight of the ARB helped soften up the OME t-bars a bit. The 100 is riding really nice now.