Probably it has been posted already...
Australian 200 with chassis problems... (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter viducce
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WOW! I wonder if that's a unique issue to the TJM bull bars, or if it's an across the board issue? Can some of the guys with custom made bumpers weigh in on where they were mounted?
I wonder if that is caused by excessive winching, or maybe fatigue from driving on the washboard roads?
so the stock front mount is made to hold , what, 10lbs of plastic bumper and some aluminum(hence stitch welds).
bolting down a 100lb bumper and 50lbs of winch essentially hanging ALL off that on the front mount is akin to hanging a 150 lb picture frame on a wall with a thumbtack.
a simple preventative measure would be to run a bead along the stitch weld area or cut that stock mount off and weld a boxed mount to the frame.
also- Toyota engineers likely factor the bumper / frame ends as part of the crush/ crumple zone which is designed to fail and absorb vs sending impact thru the chassis. To call it a "cracked chassis" is a bit of a stretch imho.......i would call it user error when deciding to bolt down 150lbs of gear without addressing some basic engineering principles.
Welding the stitch area would likely suffice for added bumper weight- but winching may require a bit more thought. Toyota heat treats the frames post weld which allows them to use a thinner wall thickness on their chassis- so welding to the front frame ends should be done with an appropriately smaller bead/ less heat and penetration commenseurate with the chassis thickness. Overwelding it will introduce a weak/ crack prone area along the edge of the heat affected zone.
bolting down a 100lb bumper and 50lbs of winch essentially hanging ALL off that on the front mount is akin to hanging a 150 lb picture frame on a wall with a thumbtack.
a simple preventative measure would be to run a bead along the stitch weld area or cut that stock mount off and weld a boxed mount to the frame.
also- Toyota engineers likely factor the bumper / frame ends as part of the crush/ crumple zone which is designed to fail and absorb vs sending impact thru the chassis. To call it a "cracked chassis" is a bit of a stretch imho.......i would call it user error when deciding to bolt down 150lbs of gear without addressing some basic engineering principles.
Welding the stitch area would likely suffice for added bumper weight- but winching may require a bit more thought. Toyota heat treats the frames post weld which allows them to use a thinner wall thickness on their chassis- so welding to the front frame ends should be done with an appropriately smaller bead/ less heat and penetration commenseurate with the chassis thickness. Overwelding it will introduce a weak/ crack prone area along the edge of the heat affected zone.
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Thank you viducce. This is valuable info for all who want to alter the OEM bumper set up. Like you, I am surprised at the mild mounting platform for any thing other than stock load. Yes this is a heavy load but it has been done before on lot of other rigs with out failure so it needs to be addressed.
This sound like an area that needs a mod kit of some sort to dist the load before it cracks/fails. Until then, an inspection should be done after heavy use or at each oil change along with greasing the drive line, grease the KDSS bps vlv screws, ect.
This sound like an area that needs a mod kit of some sort to dist the load before it cracks/fails. Until then, an inspection should be done after heavy use or at each oil change along with greasing the drive line, grease the KDSS bps vlv screws, ect.
That was an Ironman bumper, not a TJM. This video was discussed at least a year ago, IIRC.
I personally installed my TJM on my 200 about a year ago and the mounting system is VERY different. It is very robust and frame based. There are probably install instructions available online that detail the mount for the bumper. ARB, from my research, also uses a robust, frame based mount for their bumper, but I've never viewed theirs in person.
Bottom line is that the original mount was fine for the aluminum bumper only. Hopefully Ironman has addressed that issue. Having said that, I don't think I've seen anyone on this forum with an Ironman.
I personally installed my TJM on my 200 about a year ago and the mounting system is VERY different. It is very robust and frame based. There are probably install instructions available online that detail the mount for the bumper. ARB, from my research, also uses a robust, frame based mount for their bumper, but I've never viewed theirs in person.
Bottom line is that the original mount was fine for the aluminum bumper only. Hopefully Ironman has addressed that issue. Having said that, I don't think I've seen anyone on this forum with an Ironman.
