Front bumper frame mount cracked (1 Viewer)

[landcrusher24]

If you weld it back and can somehow have a clevis nut made and installed with a long bolt, you should have less chance of this happening again if at all.

Yeah I am thinking if I can get a sleeve in the frame rail that’s my best bet. And after seeing the other mountings adding a lower part to the frame mount to hit the tow hook and bolt up as well.
The welders/fabricators might be happy but my wallet not so much!

 

[TeCKis300]

Unfortunately you can see the weld is only on the front side of where the tear is. (Aka the two parts don’t have a good divorce ) It’s the frame actually tearing off from the torque of the bumper ( clean edges) I could be wrong…
I like the lug in there.. not sure how much that helps the downward pressure but it looks like the lug hits from the front to that trick little receiver piece and gives some relief.
I am just worried if I just weld the edge it will tear again. That frame rail just isn’t that thick to put a front plate on there and I feel like having a sleeve in the frame is my only solution other than waiting to fail every time if I were to just re weld.

The cap over the tow hook is interesting and I could get on that train if it prevented this from happening but I am not sure that’s a total solution.
Maybe if it had a 1/4 steel piece above the hook so the downward pressure was caught on that but also might be moving the fatigue problem to another area.

I certainly agree this is not a great way to have the heavy ass bumper mounted.

Yes, the break is pretty typical of a weld fatigue type failure due to reoccurring stresses creating microcracks propogating into tears. Welds are often weakest in the heat affected zone (HAZ) where it's more brittle and susceptible to fractures from tensile and fatigue loads. It does need to be welded back, but will also need additional structural support with some of the methods these other products use.

I was debating whether to add additional supports to my HWM winch setup too. Mine weighs 75lbs more than stock but is tucked up tight and close minimizing cantilever, so I figure it would be okay. Still makes me go hrmmm.

 

[tbisaacs]

Total bummer OP. Unfortunately Viper has a reputation for being for being form over function. It sucks that you are dealing with this. I'd find another bumper if it were me. Relying on crashbar mounts is not sufficient.

how it started:

Builds - Odinskind's build thread

I previously owned a Jeep Grand Cherokee Ecodiesel. There is a lot I liked about the Jeep but it was lacking in the reliability department. The diesel exhaust filtration system left me stranded more than once. Vehicle reliability is a must for my upcoming move to Mauritania. Therefore, I...

forum.ih8mud.com

how it went:

Cracked weld need advice

So I was doing routine maintenance on my 200 and decided to inspect my bumper. I unfortunately found that the factory weld between the frame and the stock bumper mount is cracked. The crack is on both sides and facing outwards. The weld is holding around the rest of the frame. I don't know how...

forum.ih8mud.com

 

[tbisaacs]

Bogus viper "sliders" too Builds - Odinskind's build thread - https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/odinskinds-build-thread.971682/page-2#post-10855477

 

[TeCKis300]

Thinking out loud, I think this might be a missing a product in the market. Perhaps someone with some wicked skills could make a nice billet reinforcement for the horns. Paging @turbo8

 

[tbisaacs]

Thinking out loud, I think this might be a missing a product in the market. Perhaps someone with some wicked skills could make a nice billet reinforcement for the horns. Paging @turbo8

Agree but question if you need them. Every other bumper manufacture has solved this problem by using a clevis bolt + tow hook bolts + frame horns to distribute load.

 

[TeCKis300]

Agree but question if you need them. Every other bumper manufacture has solved this problem by using a clevis bolt + tow hook bolts + frame horns to distribute load.

That's true. Though there's a niche of people running HWMs, and some other brands of bumpers like the OP here that doesn't have that?

 

[turbo8]

Thinking out loud, I think this might be a missing a product in the market. Perhaps someone with some wicked skills could make a nice billet reinforcement for the horns. Paging @turbo8

Good timing, since my bumper and crash bar are currently removed for something.

 

[grinchy]

I’m not unhappy with the tow point tie in on my current bumper. But I would like to add an additional frame tie in . . . I suppose if I had the FEA available from the bumper that would mollify the need, but I don’t, and I don’t think the bumper manufacturer did one, anyway.

 

[bloc]

Good timing, since my bumper and crash bar are currently removed for something.

“Something”