for the record: spent most of the day grinding and sanding, since the gas ran out on my welder. Everything was closed today for Turkey-day, so can't refill the tank till tomorrow...
Ha! I'm not alone. I spent the morning welding up my exhaust on one of the crashed sleds I bought (it was crushed and a new one was big $ so I quartered it, hammered it back in shape, and welded it back together) . It sucks to get all fired up for a project and run out of gas or wire, that happens too often!
Fiddled with the spindles today. Hello! Why are there Big fill welds in the seams below the spindles? Oh yeah, coz I'm a DA! Fortunately I have a die grinder and plenty of time on my hands. Naturally the spindles need a little customizing...
for the record: on November 29 I got the latch and stops welded on, holes drilled and tapped for the gas shock ball-studs, and performed a test-mount to make sure everything fits . But I neglected to take a photo
Then we moved to Idaho Falls, on 12/2-12/4. Due to lack of space at the new house, the 80 is just going to have to sit in storage and wait till I have more time again... It was a valiant effort, and I have enjoyed the project immensely so far.
I want to share a positive comment about 4x4 Labs customer service: I received this bumper on 7/8, but did not unpack the materials until 11/21. So 4 1/2 months after receipt, I discovered two of the ball studs were missing, and one of the gas shocks had a cracked end (might have happened during shipping). Sheepishly, I contacted Luke, and he jumped into action sending me extra ball studs, and replacement shock end. -Now that's customer service!!!
May 25, 2017 -Finally made it home for a couple of days before Memorial weekend. Took the opportunity to continue where i left off my bumper build last November. Experimented around with height and angle of spare tire carrier. My objectives were: (1) keep weight as low as possible without sacrificing departure angle clearance, and (2) keep tire as close to body as possible while allowing space for the hi-lift jack to be mounted behind it. (3) Allow Hi-lift jack to be removable in that rare situation where swing-out will not open.
Seems a bit low, but I'm trusting the 4x4Labs kit...
I like the angle, but couldn't get the Hi-lift between tire and tail gate:
Ended up fiddling with tire placement for a few hours and got it right. Forgot to snap pic before I disassembled everything for grinding and finishing
While pre-assembling all the pieces for the spare tire plate, I noticed that 3 of the 4 lug nuts that came with the kit were the wrong pitch for the lug bolts... Will have to get some replacements. I'm thinking may as well get OEM lug nuts. That way I'll have spares...
Had to modify the Hi-Lift mount a little, so that the jack can be removed if swing-out is inoperable. Clearance between spare tire and tail gate is pretty tight... Also found a nice little plastic knob to hold the one lug-nut which will secure the Hi-lift jack. Of course I had to grind 2mm off all six sides of the nut so it would fit inside the knob
The exhaust note sounds pretty good at idle cut off like this. But I Noticed when I accelerate hard, that about 2200rpm it begins to whistle/squeal. Anyone else had this problem? Solutions?
Today is July 4th. I'm trying to celebrate my own independence by getting this bumper assembled and installed so I can go wheeling tomorrow.
Here's my starting point:
The gas shocks for the swingarms nearly sabotaged me today. I could not figure out how to compress them... Fortunately some real-time help from fellow mudders got me past this obstacle. Thanks guys! I'll note the methods used in case it helps someone else down the road.
I had already installed DS swingarm. Spindle nut was tight, cotter pin was in and spindle cap set. I did not want to undo all that. So I looped a ratchet strap around the shock to compress it, popped each end of the shock onto the ball studs, and voilá!
For the PS swingarm I left the spindle nut loose, swung the arm out approx 125 degrees so the shock would pop onto both ball studs, then gently closed the swingarm, which compressed the shock. Then tightened spindle nut...etc
I installed the ball studs on the trailing bottom edge of the arms (per Luke's instructions) and the subsequent cam action keeps the arms tight up against the stop when they're closed. Sweet
FWIW final weight of finished bumper with swingarms and tire carrier is: 189 lbs.
Since I removed 116 lbs of stock items last November (bumper, cross member, tow hitch, spare tire holder...etc) the net gain is 73 lbs.
One last finishing touch: after a little light surgery with a saw and a utility knife...Tupperware restored.
One day when I have time and $$ I'll remove them and Monstaline. But for now this'll have to do
Everything was closed today for Turkey-day, so can't refill the tank till tomorrow...
That means I'm likely on hold for the whole bloody weekend!!!
Got my spindles and swing-outs welded today
Also found a nice little plastic knob to hold the one lug-nut which will secure the Hi-lift jack. Of course I had to grind 2mm off all six sides of the nut so it would fit inside the knob
