Dissent offroad rear bumper install.

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benc

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It may take me a few days to get a good write up but I will be working on it over the next weeks or so.
 
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Cross member removal.
After the tow hitch and stock bumper are removed now it's time to cut out the crossmember.
You will need a sawzall and at least 2 6" bi metal blades, grinder with a flapper disk, file and a large crescent wrench.

First, you will cut 2 small sections out on each side.
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Next, you will make a cut on both sides of the small pieses still attached to the frame
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Now, take a crescent wrench or big pliers and bend these pieces up and down until the piece breaks off.
Now you can cut the the back of the crossmember out

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Next, you will cut the top and bottom of the piece attached to the frame, cut as close to the frame as possible.
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Now, bend that piece back and out of the way, take the sawzall and cut as close to the frame as possible, you will only need to cut part way through and then it will break off
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Now you will clean up the cuts with the flapper disk and file.
The most important part is the top and bottom of the frame, you don't need to get to carried away on the sides. There is one 1/2" hole that will need to be drilled if you plan to tow,
There is already a hole on the inside of the frame that can be seen in the pic above, you will be drilling a through hole.
Make sure your bit is straight as the hole will be close to the body mount, it does not have to be perfect but close.
Now you will want to take the time to clean up the frame and get a good coat of paint on everything.
While you wait for the paint to dry it is a good time to assemble the swing arm, and center section.
 
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Now it's time to start installing the bumper. I like to apply grease on the top and bottom of the frame, this will make the bumper slide on much easier and help prevent rust. I also like to go over the bumper real well after coating and make sure everything is coated good, I typically will apply silicone on any unwelded seams or anywhere that look like it may have not been coated good on the inside of the bumper. Once you get a thin coat of grease now you can slide both wings into place.
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Go ahead and install the 4 m-14 bolts with oversized washers into to frame on the bottom. Snug them up and then back them off a bit.
Next you will install the supplied frame insert on the inside of the wings with the supplied 1/2"X1 3/8" bolt. Just start these and do not tighten at this time
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Next you will be installing the new crossmember, again, apply grease to the bracket side that slides over the frame.
You will need to remove the exhaust hangers to get the passenger side into place.
Once both sides are in place install all bolts on the frame but do not tighten all the way!
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Now you will assemble the center section.
First install the 2 supplied stainless pads onto the center section with no washers and 4 3/4"X1/4" button head bolts each side, make sure to apply anti seize to all stainless hardware!
Next install the trailer plug with no washers and 4 3/4"X1/4" button head bolts, you will want to install the harness onto the plug before the plug is installed in the bumper.
There were some minor clearance issues that will make the harness difficult to plug in after. This has been addressed but the first 20 will have this issue sorry. The nuts on the trailer plug are a bit of a pain to get to but doable.
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Now the caps can be installed on the center section.
There is a left and right so you will need to make sure they go on the right way, make sure this hole is to the outside.
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Now you can install and tighten all the 1/2" bolts except for the ones on the bottom, the small washer goes on the out side and the oversized washer goes on the inside, you will tighten in this order and get these somewhat tight.
#1 face bolt, #2 top bolt #3 back bolt.
Now it's time to install the center section,
First, apply grease to the crossmember where the center slides over, the slide the center into place while guiding the crossmember into the center section, you may need to tap the crossmember with a rubber mallet as it can be a snug fit depending on the powder coat.
Once in place instal the the face bolts on each side, just finger tight at this point. Now you will need to set the wings, I typically start with 1 shim on each side.
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With the shims installed you can now tap the wing snug to the frame and the shim, then lightly snug up the bolt.
Next you will center the center section on the wings.
Make sure these gaps are the same in both sides.
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Now lightly snug up the face bolts that connect the center to the wings.
Next step will be to align and level the wings. With a block of wood and a floor jack lift the corner of the wing, you will need some kind of straight edge on top of the bumper
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Once leveled you will want to eyeball the face and make sure everything is square to the center section. Now install and tighten all bolts in the caps.
The striker bolt for the latch will take the place of the outer top bolt do you can install this at this time with one washer on top however, one more washer may need to be added. It's a good idea to open the tailgate slowly and make sure ther is not any contact.
This is most important on the lx470 due to the extra plastic trim.
I have yet to see any contact but if one were to run into this issue the only sulition would be to grind down the striker and paint it. Now all bolts will be tightend but the striker bolt will just be lightly snug.
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Next, install the 3 1/2" through bolts into the crossmember, also install the 4 bolts and oversized washers into the wing brace where they bolt to the crossmember.
Now it's time to check the bumper for alignment to the body, you can remove the shims and move the bumper side to side and front to back as needed. Once aligned, re install the shims as needed. This should be enough adjustment on most vehicles but you may need more if your vehicle has ever been into an accident, if this is the case 3 shims are supplied and more adjustment may be needed.
Now you can tighten the bottom bolts on the wings and crossmember, next you will tighten the bolts on the side wing support. Due to many different variations you may need to pry down on this section to get the proper body gap on the sides (seams to be about 50/50)
It helps to have an extra set of hands for this step but not needed.

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Once you have double checked to make sure everything is even and straight go ahead and tighten all 1/2" bolts to 90fp and all m-14 to 95fp.
 
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Now it's time for the assembly and of the swing arm.
This part can be a bit tricky to get everything aligned propperly.
There are several shims supplied and I will give a good starting point that should work on most but in some cases more adjustment may be needed.

First start by assembling the hinge,
Install the tapper roller bearings with the tapper down into the bearing race. Next, install the supplied seals, a block of wood or rubber mallot work well.
Make sure not to press the seals in to far as it can block the grease fitting. You want the seal to be flush with the top and bottom of the hinge.
Now install the supplied grease fittings. Sorry, no picks of this step but it's fairly self explanatory.
Now you will install and assemble the release and linkage, there are 20 3/4" long 1/4" button head bolts and 5 1" long 1/4" button head bolts supplied, the 1" long bolts will be used for the latch and linkage assembly along with 4 s/s washers.
They say pictures are worth a 1000 words so we will start with some pics.

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After taking a good look at the pics above now we can start on the assembly.
First you will install the linkage onto the relese lever with the supplied stainless 1"X1/4" hardware and nylon washers. All moving parts of the relese assembly must have nylon washers and must not be to tight!
There is an assortment of different thicknesses on the nylon washers supplied but the medium size ones typically work fine.
Once you have installed the section of the linkage to the lever with the nylon washers you can install the other 1/2 of the linkage. Refer to the pics above to make sure the offset is Istalled in the right position.
The slotted holes on the linkage will go on the back and should not be visible once assembled.
Use 2 of the supplied 1/4"x1" stainless bolts, nylocks and 4 s/s washers, install to where the front linkage just covers the slotted hole on the back linkage and tighten bolts. This position should work for most but the holes are slotted if more adjustment is needed.
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Now you can install the latch with the supplied m6 bolts and nuts, do not tighten these at this time. Once installed you can thread one of the 1/4"X1" bolts into the latch for the linkage, then install a nylon washer, the linkage, another nylon washer and the nut. Again, all bolts where there are moving parts must have nylon washers and must not be tight!
Now install a 5/16" nylon washer on the top and bottom of the lever and insert the supplied 5/16"x4" stainless bolt with washers and nylock from the bottom of the swing arm up, you will want the nut to be on top of the swing arm. Now install the 1/4"x1" guide bolt on the bottom of the release, this will have a nylon washer on top and bottom but not between the release and the swing arm.
Now install the tension spring onto the linkage bolt closest to the hinge and hook it to the provided holes in the swing arm gussets. Once all is assembled cycle the latch and release and make sure it's working propperly and moving freely, you may want to lube the latch at this time as well. If there is any binding check and make sure nothing is too tight and back the nylocks off a bit if needed.
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Now install the supplied uhmw pad onto the bottom of the swing arm with 2 supplied shims, the shims will allow you to adjust the guide pad according to the load on the swing arm. Shims may need to be added or removed at the end but 2 is a good start.
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Now it's time to install the swing arm.
There are shims supplied for bottom or top of the hinge, start with 1 supplied 1" grade 8 washer on the bottom and the 2 shims on top, this will give a good starting point. You will want to put a coat of paint on the head of the hinge shaft as these come uncoated, or have them powder coated with the bumper.
Just make sure not to coat the or paint the shaft itself!
You will want to apply a thin coat of grease to the shaft as well.
Insert the aluminum hinge spacers into the seals on the hinge, now slide the swing arm into place with washer at the bottom and add shims on top to fill the gap if needed. insert the greased hinge shaft with 1" grade 8 washer to where it's just going through the top tab, hinge and into the bumper, insert the 1" lock nut from underneath and get it started on the shaft.
Once started, close the swing arm while lifting up on the arm just until the uhmw pad is setting on the bumper, do not atempt to latch it.
Be carful during these steps as the swing arm has a lot of play until the shaft is tight and it's very easy to mess up the coating on the bumper.
Now take the remaining uhmw pad shim and insert it between the pad and the bumper,
With a flat head screw driver inserted in the cutout on the bumper for the hinge nut go ahead and tighten the hinge.
Once tight open the arm and check all clearances. The uhmw pad should barely be touching the bumper pad without the tire in place. If there is too much drag you may need to add a shim on the bottom of the hinge or remove a shim on the pad.
Once you get the swing arm set up now you can start the alignment of the latch.
The best way I have found is to close the swing arm slowly, make sure the bolts on the latch and striker are barely snug and still allow movement, check for any interference between the latch and striker and adjust accordingly, now slowly push the swing arm closed until the latch clicks twice, once fully latched pull out on the swing arm as far as you can and this seams to align the latch pretty well. After you pull out gently release the lever while making sure the latch doesn't move, then tighten up the latch and striker, close the swing arm and make sure everything is latching propperly. You may need to repeat this step a few times to get it perfect.
Once everything is aligned you can install the gas strut with the supplied ball studs and strut compression tool.
First remove the clips from the strut, then install the ball studs in the bumper and swing arm,
Pop the body side of the strut onto the bumper, now take the strut tool and place it over the shaft side of the strut. Now using the swing arm to compress the strut until you can get the tool onto both ends of the strut, now pop the shaft side of the strum onto the swing arm ball stud and remove the tool, make sure the strut is fully seated on the ball studs and reinstall the clip.
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With the strut in place you can now use the hinge bolt to tighten the preload on the bearings to give you the desired amount of force and assist by the strut.
One you have this dialed to your likings you will need to set the preload on the latch by adding or removing shims from the bump stop. To much preload and it will be hard to unlatch, to little and you may end up with a rattle.
The trick is to have it as loose as possible without getting any rattles when offroad. You may need to play with this a bit as everyone may like it a little different. Once you have everything where you want it make sure you don't forget to install the grease fittings and grease the hinge!
 
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Now we can install the tire carrier,
If you plan to run a high-lift jack you will need to have that in place first as that will determine the tire location, if no jack is ran then the tire can be mounted however desired. However there is a supplied tire stand off that may not reach if the tire is mounted at extreme angles.
This part can be a bit of a pain to get it where you want but if you get your tape measure out you can get it pretty close to where you want.
I will go into more detail on this later.
 
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I'm not very good at write ups but hopfully this will all make sense in the end!
 
Ben - Thanks for taking my call today during my install! I was stumped and couldn't find the "frame insert" parts.
Your quality and attention to detail is amazing. The powder coater commented that your welds are exceptional.

The mechanic team at the MCB Quantico Auto Hobby Shop added that your attention to detail and your design/build quality is extraordinary.
I've got a better photo, but get a security error when I try to post.

Once I figured out the frame insert was and showed it to them, they were blown away.
It took me 5 1/2 hours to cut the frame support, prep the cuts and welds, paint and assemble/insert the center section and get everything aligned and torqued down
TOTAL TIME INVESTMENT SO FAR: 8 hours.
 
@benc, Can you please send or post a picture of the item(s) that are NOT to be painted or powder coated? My rear bumper went straight from the skid to my powder coater. I didn't open the hardware box, but he is going to start the PC process and I need to tell him which bits, if any, don't get coated.

Thanks!
 
@benc, Can you please send or post a picture of the item(s) that are NOT to be painted or powder coated? My rear bumper went straight from the skid to my powder coater. I didn't open the hardware box, but he is going to start the PC process and I need to tell him which bits, if any, don't get coated.

Thanks!
Everything but the stainless shims and pads, logo and hardware. You will want the head of the swingout hinge bolt coated as well but do not coat the shaft.
I will also send you over a PDF install instructions that @Ramathorn15 was kind enough to put together!
 
Ok so i'm going to be installing this weekend if all goes well. Two questions, what type of grease should I use to prevent chipping of the powder coat in the joints?

Second, in Step 1e, it says to "cut the hanger off the resonator for clearance of the new cross memeber." Once that is cut off how do we support the rear of the resonator?
 
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