TJM Front Bumper Issues (1 Viewer)

[YellowJacket]

I really liked the look of this bumper and how it follows the 200 lines so well. I hope I don’t regret NOT going with the ARB, as I have in the past.

Issue 1 is bumper to fender clearance. In fact, I drove my 200 through a ditch a little too fast and now my beautiful fender is dented on the driver side. That's the side that doesn't have enough clearance where the passenger side has too much.

Issue 2 is regarding some plastic pieces on each side behind the bumper. I don't know exactly what it is or what it's for, but it's been rubbed down now and continues to rub. It didn't say anything about these pieces in the instructions and I need to know what I am missing there because it's just too tight side to side.

Issue 3, I need to figure out what to do about the front bumper bracket hitting the lower bolt almost constantly. Again, I swear this is not addressed in the instructions. I would love to be proved wrong on any of these things. But at this point, I just need to figure out how to make these things right.

I have a decent amount of experience wrenching and know better than to tighten any bolts until the very last is in, etc. You can also see I had a forklift to help me tweak the bumper around, but still couldn’t get any movement.

I did try looking through some old threads. Has anyone else had similar issues with the TJM front bumper on their 200?

 

[CharlieS]

I won't be much help since I have the 2016 no cut TJM T13 (different design for that generation), but on mine, I removed those black plastic parts that the stock bumper clipped into by the lights.

 

[linuxgod]

#1 sounds like a small vertical adjustment required where it mounts to the frame horn on the driver's side.

#2 I'm pretty sure those exist to attach the OEM front bumper. Whether or not you need them depends on how those TJM plastic wings attach. Sorry I don't have a TJM so I can't confirm/deny if they can be removed in your setup, but if they don't need the plastic then you can remove them.

#3 This shouldn't rub but that's based on my experience with a different bumper. Again I'm thinking it's a very slight alignment issue when mounting.

 

[YellowJacket]

I won't be much help since I have the 2016 no cut TJM T13 (different design for that generation), but on mine, I removed those black plastic parts that the stock bumper clipped into by the lights.

#1 sounds like a small vertical adjustment required where it mounts to the frame horn on the driver's side.

#2 I'm pretty sure those exist to attach the OEM front bumper. Whether or not you need them depends on how those TJM plastic wings attach. Sorry I don't have a TJM so I can't confirm/deny if they can be removed in your setup, but if they don't need the plastic then you can remove them.

#3 This shouldn't rub but that's based on my experience with a different bumper. Again I'm thinking it's a very slight alignment issue when mounting.

Even though you both can't talk specifically to the TJM on a 2013, I really appreciate your thoughts. I suppose I shouldn't have hesitated removing those.

I'll look at the vertical adjustment. I suppose I just need to loosen 100% of the bumper and try again.

Don't know what options I have regarding the touching bolt. Would be awesome to see another similar year with this bumper.

 

[linuxgod]

Even though you both can't talk specifically to the TJM on a 2013, I really appreciate your thoughts. I suppose I shouldn't have hesitated removing those.

I'll look at the vertical adjustment. I suppose I just need to loosen 100% of the bumper and try again.

Don't know what options I have regarding the touching bolt. Would be awesome to see another similar year with this bumper.

Get it aligned correctly first then post updated pics of that bolt. It shouldn’t rub, and it’s entirely possible once it’s positioned correctly it’ll clear. At least I hope so. Maybe @Markuson or someone can take a pic of their TJM KDSS clearance for you

 

[YellowJacket]

Get it aligned correctly first then post updated pics of that bolt. It shouldn’t rub, and it’s entirely possible once it’s positioned correctly it’ll clear. At least I hope so. Maybe @Markuson or someone can take a pic of their TJM KDSS clearance for you

Thanks for tagging him. That could be helpful. I also found this good shot of @MScruiser's rig. It's almost close enough for me to see what's going on with the clearance.

 

[YellowJacket]

What a minute, I see another area I am interested in on this photo! I don't remember this wide-open section on the sides. Is this what mine should look like if I would have removed those problematic plastic parts that I showed above?

 

[kcjaz]

I have a TJM on a 2013. I can share some info when I have some time tonight.

One comment is that you need about a 3/4” gap to the fenders for frame flex which seems like you know know why.

 

[kcjaz]

Some pics:

 

[kcjaz]

Mine isn’t even side to side which bugs me but not enough to have tried to fix yet.

 

[Markuson]

Thanks for tagging him. That could be helpful. I also found this good shot of @MScruiser's rig. It's almost close enough for me to see what's going on with the clearance.
View attachment 3115112

Edit: I see now the hap thing has been mentioned several times already…
——
The problem I see from your first photos is your bumper was definitely mount too close to your fender.

No matter what…a frame-mounted bumper is going to move relative to the body, and that is normal/unavoidable. So… you meed to mount it with a gap to allow for that movement. Yours appears almost flush and that definitely means damage will happen.

If you ever see a slow-motion video of our trucks showing the front as it drives over ruts or washboard, etc., the bumper is constantly moving relative to the body.
That is i escapable. So that gap must be substantial.

Aside—I was a couple feet away when Travis (@Willy beamin on mud) banged into an embankment at a mild water crossing. With a small gap, it pushed right into (and bent) his fender.

An easy way to observe normal bumper movement with your T13 is to closely watch the horizontal line formed by the top of the bull bar in relation to the vertical “line” of the front edge of your hood. It will move a lot & that’s normal. That’s also true on ARB and other steel bumpers, so a substantial gap is needed.

The TJM plastic (aesthetic) inserts are fine once a proper gap is there where the fender line meets the wings. **The OEM plastic piece there at the gap should be removed so you are left with the “wavy” metal piece that extends from the fender metal. With a proper gap, you’ll see a lot of that wavy extension after install.

Here is my (dirty) passenger side wing gap…

My gap is about 3/4” and I do not have rubber edge covers. If I did, that gap would need to be a bit wider still since even compressed rubber could lead to bent fenders since it essentially shrinks the gap there. If anything, an even larger gap is better if you wheel hard. I managed to touch my driver side fender once…

I’m not sure I understand your bolt contact on KDSS. Mine isn’t close there.

 

[kcjaz]

I don’t have kdss issue either

 

[YellowJacket]

Thank you @kcjaz and @Markuson for your thoughts, and photos! Very helpful and clearly I was supposed to remove the plastic behind the factory bumper on each side, even though I swear it wasn't mentioned in the instructions. It also appears that clearly the other two issues should be resolved by loosening every bolt and once again trying to move the bumper around as it seems I am the only one with these issues. It actually makes me happy if nobody else has these problems.

I'll include a better photo of the bolt rubbing.

 

[kcjaz]

For the 2013, all of the OEM plastic comes off as it is a “no cut” bumper. I think there some side to side adjustment possible to take care of your KDSS issue. I didn’t originally do the install on mine but I have taken it off and put it back several times.

One part my original installer missed was drilling the hole for final “pin” bolt once the bumper was fit where they wanted it. There should be 4 bolts on either side. 3 with slots and one you drill. Going from memory here. I’d really have to go look to be 100%.

 

[kcjaz]

Just remembered I had put the missing pin thing in this thread. Post #12:

TJM T13 instructions

So my 200 had a surprise meeting with a large Palo Verde tree a few days ago during one of our token Phoenix monsoon storms. Front bumper cover is part of the insurance estimate, so figured it’d be a good time to upgrade to a bumper. Called Slee and turned out they actually had in stock so I...

forum.ih8mud.com

 

[bloc]

The front sway bar can slide to side a bit and is retained from doing so further by the metal clips beside the front sway bar to frame bushings. I’d verify neither of those seem to have slipped.. also you may be able to loosen the sway bar mounts and push the bar away to make more room between that bolt and the bumper.. using as much extra play in the bolt holes as possible.

It won’t be much, the holes are pretty tight, but does look like you aren’t hitting by much either.