LoD Jeep JK Wrangler Front Winch Bumper
Installation Write-Up

March 6, 2007 wayoflife Bumper Mods, Jeep JK Write-Ups 26

LoD Jeep JK Wrangler Front Winch Bumper
 If you’re looking for a great heavy duty front bumper that looks great, is made out of 3/16″ thick steel, has a narrower width to give you amazing approch angles, allows you to keep your factory fog lights, come with D-Ring mounts, has a winch plate that is recessed between your frame rails and a price tag that won’t break the bank, the LoD Jeep JK Wrangler Front Winch Bumper is for you. The new LoD Jeep JK Wrangler Front Winch Bumper is super easy to install and this write-up should be all that you need to make it happen. Please read through the check list on the left to make sure you have everything you need before you start and if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask.

What You Will Need

• 11/16″ Socket & Wrench
• 18mm Socket
• Ratchet
• Ratchet Extension
• Torque Wrench – Ft. Lb.
• Phillips Screwdriver
• Flathead Screwdriver
• Small Pry Bar
• Needle Nose Pliers  

What You Will Need
for Fog Light Installation

• Wire Cutters
• Wire (2 different colors)
• Soldering Iron or Gun
• Solder
• Electrical Tape or Shrink Wrap  

Other Components
You May Want to Consider

The LoD Jeep JK Front Winch Bumper comes equipped with shackel mounts designed to accept 3/4″ D-Rings. Also, if you looking to purchase a winch for your bumper, the mounting holes are designed to accept most WARN winches including the new PowerPlant.
   

Instructions
1. Begin the installation of your new LoD Jeep JK Wrangler Front Winch Bumper by unscrewing the 4 plastic screws securing the factory air dam to the bottom of your front bumper. A phillips screwdriver will be needed for this job.
2. Once unscrewed, you should be able to pull out both the plastic screw and insert with little effort but if you find that your screws are just spinning (as several of mine did), you will need to wedge a flathead screwdriver or small pry bar between your JK’s plastic bumper and air dam to help you force it out as shown in this photo.
3. Now, climb under the front of your Jeep JK Wrangler and using a phillips screwdriver, remove the remaining 2 plastic screws securing the air dam to the lower cross member. As before, if these screws just spin in place, use a flathead screwdriver or small pry bar to help you force them out. Your air dam should now be free of your Jeep and it can now be discarded as it will no longer be needed.
4. If your Jeep JK Wrangler came equipped with factory fog lights, climb under the front of your Jeep, look up behind the front bumper, locate the wiring harness plug, lift up the clip and then pull it off as shown in this photo.
5. Using a pair of needle nosepliers, pry off all the fog light wiring harness connectors on the back of your Jeep JK Wrangler’s front bumper.
6. Using an 18mm socket, remove the 4 bumper mounting nuts (2 on each side) located next to the inside of your Jeep JK Wrangler’s frame rails and fog light holes. 7. Using an 18mm socket, remove the 4 bumper mounting nuts (2 on each side) located next to the outside of your Jeep JK Wrangler’s frame rails. 8. Remove the backing plates off the bumper mounting studs as shown in this photo.
9. Carefully pull off your Jeep JK Wrangler’s front bumper off the frame rails. If your JK came equipped with factory tow hooks, grab and use both of them to carefully pull your front bumper off the frame rails.
10. Using a phillips screwdriver, remove the 2 plastic screws securing the top plastic cover in place.
11. Again, if you find these screws to just spin in place, use a flathead screwdriver or small pry bar to help you lift up the cover off the frame rail and force the screw out.
12. Again, if your Jeep JK Wrangler came equipped with factory fog lights, use a phillips screwdriver to remove the 4 screws securing them to the bumper. Then, pull the fog lights out and set them aside until you are ready to install them in your new LoD Front Winch Bumper.
13. If you purchased an LoD Jeep JK Wrangler Front Winch Bumper with a winch mount, you’ll need to install your fairlead first and then your winch on to it at this time. To the best of my knowledge, most WARN winches will bolt up to the LoD front bumper including the new PowerPlant. Please refer to the instructions that comes with your specific winch and fairlead for torque settings and proper installation.
14. With the help of a friend, lift up and place your new LoD Front Winch Bumper onto the frame rails of your Jeep JK Wrangler. Then, secure the 4 outter mounting studs (2 on each side) using the nuts provided with the bumper. An 11/16″ socket will be needed for this job.
15. Secure the 4 inner mounting studs (2 on each side) using the nuts provided with the LoD Jeep JK Wrangler Front Winch Bumper. An 11/16″ socket (or wrench if you have a winch installed) will be needed for this job. Then, tighten all the nuts to 65-70 ft. lbs. of torque.
16. Install the factory fog lights to the mounting studs on the LoD Front Winch Bumper using the nuts provided. The factory wiring harness on your Jeep JK Wrangler will be just a bit too short to reach the plugs on the fog lights and so you will need to splice on additional lenghts of wires to extend them.

And that should be it. You now have the front end of your new Jeep JK Wrangler armored up with an LoD Front Winch Bumper as well as some extra change in your pocket. Please let me know if you have any questions.
 

Additional Photos

 

 

26 Comments

  1. Just wanted to offer another tip on those plastic screws which don’t really seem to want to un-screw.. Just hand turn in a drywall screw enough to catch a few threads into the top and they pull right out.

  3. Hi Mike,
    In a word, yes. Contrary to what some might have you believe, the crush cans inside the bumper pads are not responsible for activating your air bags. There is a gyroscopic sensor in the center of your Jeep that takes care of that. The crush cans are designed to absorb low impact crashes preventing the air bags from deploying at that speed. However, they are only as good as if they are hit. If you hit a tree dead in the middle of your bumper and miss the crush cans altogether, they do you no good. Need I say again, yes, this bumper will work with your airbags 🙂

    Eddie

  6. Hi Mike,
    I don’t know for sure but I have heard of several guys that are using it with a tow bar successfully. Sorry, I wish I knew what brand it was.

    Eddie

  8. How much does it weigh compared to the factory bumper? Will there be any front end issues due to extra weight for example?

  9. Use a Blue Ox towbar with flat mount base p/n BX 1108. they bolt on but I welded mine as well (why not?)

  10. Eddie,

    Installed mine, no problem. Problems arise with fog lights. Holes in fog lights not wide enough and spacing slightly off. I was trying to figure out which way the lights go on – from front or from the back. It now appears that they go in the back and that the bolts in the bumper just barely keep the light on, versus bolting them all the way down. The problem is that the fog light appears to be too wide. There is a bracket in the back that seems to restrict the fog light. Am I missin something?

  11. Hi JC,
    Honestly, I’m not entirely sure I understand what the problem is you are having as I did not experience any. Have you tried contacting LoD directly about this?

    Eddie

  12. I didn’t have factory fog lights so I’m looking for some that will work. The factory lights are over 600.00 dollars if I buy whats needed.
    Has anyone done the research to figure out what works best?
    I like PIAA lights but the mount will be a problem I think.

  13. Also, I had the top left bolt break off when I instaled my bumper and I don’t think I was near the 65 LB of torque.

  14. Hey George, did you contact LoD about your break? That doesn’t sound right and I’m sure they would want to know about it and would think they would have no problems taking care of you.

  15. No, I didn’t contact them.
    I have fog lights now that I found on Craig’s list and the Jeep is still in the shop getting 4.88 ring and pinon gears installed.
    I plan to have a shop in Kent, WA re-weld the stud on when I have them install my rocker guards next week.
    I guess I’ll just have the paint touched up because having it powder coated seems like too much since I’ll most likely ding this up in the woods this summer.

  16. I am about to instal the same bumper with Warn 9000sti winch. I have a 3/4″ spacer in front (3″ BD Lift) will this suffice the difference in weight from the stock bumper?

  20. I live in a state that requires front license plates. I’ve been looking at varous bumpers for my JK Rubicon and I really don’t see any options for front plates. I’m not averse to drilling and tapping an aftermarket bumper to find a location, but I thought I’d tap your vast expertise and ask what are the best options for front-mounted license plates?

  23. Thanks for the reply Eddie. The problem with the superwinch is the width from what I hear. I already have the winch, that’s why I’m wondering.

  25. Hi, I’ve had my bumper on for a little while now so I thought I would provide a much belated write-up. I have a MileMarker winch in it that went in reasonably well, I did have to tilt the control box forward with a bracket mod to fit against the grill but no big deal. The biggest problem I had is that the bumper would not mount up right. I called LoD and they said it was built on a jig, but that I may have to clear out the holes on the frame mounts some. They did give me the option to return it if I couldn’t get that done, but that sucker weighs a ton! 🙂 Anyways, I cleared the mounting holes and eventually got those to line up but it was still hitting the winch plate struts on the front cross member. I cleared the winch bracing on the bumper slightly with an angle grinder and it slid on. It looks great now, but I would not call this the easiest bolt on bumper I’ve ever done. Basically, the way I would sum it up is that it is a very good bumper for the money, I got an early one so maybe the jig wasn’t dialed in, this was also when they were moving to a larger location and they were waaaaaay backed up on orders so who knows, maybe there was a QC issue. Also, when it arrived, they used a hodgepodge of packing materials and it was beat up in shipping, the box was tweaked and a piece of powdercoat had chipped off. Fortunately this was on the inside and I covered the area with some flat black paint. The powdercoat on the D-ring mounts was a little too thick and my shackles wouldn’t fit out of the box – again with the grinder with a rotary tool and they went on. Finally, the factory foglights wouldn’t fit with the mounted bolts (too big) – drilled the mounts out as well and they fit. So, am I happy with it? Yeah, I think it looks great and the few times I’ve winched with it it has worked well. Was it as easy as it should have been? No, I think there may have been a little case of “you get what you pay for” here. Frankly for the powder coat and various mounting issues, LoD should have offered to discount the bumper some for the extra hours I put in – If I had a shop doing the labor it would have added up quickly – but if you are ok tackling some simple grinding work yourself if necessary, you will get a nice bumper. I Hope this is helpful!

  26. I received my front bumper today at 11:30 AM, and drove to work with it installed, making it by 3:00 PM. That even allowed time for me to find the square head nut out of my winch that crawled off when I set it down.

    I started by talking to Chris at LOD. He answered all my questions. My bumper shipped on the afternoon of Friday 1-25-08, and DHL had it at my door this morning (1-28-08). This meant I had the bumper in hand 14 days after I called LOD and ordered it. I’ve read of some past issues on their lead time. They definitely appear to have this resolved.

    The packing job was SUPERB. It was in a wooden frame, inside a cardboard box. Not only did this mean it arrived in perfect condition, it also gave me a great platform for holding the bumper while I installed the fairlead, winch and fog lights. The powder coat was flawless.

    The studs LOD supplies to hold the fog lights in place are 1/4″, while the factory holes are smaller. This just necessitated enlarging the holes in the plastic. Very quick and simple. Otherwise the fog lights go right in,and couldn’t look better.

    LOD has changed the design, so that the mounting studs are now on a separate plate. However, I liked the look of the original style better, and fortunately caught one of the last of that type. Chris warned me that the variances in Jeeps mean that some drilling may be required to get the studs to go in the holes (the new design eliminates this issue). Mine lined up to the point that I could get all eight studs into the holes on the frame. However, the bumper wouldn’t slide back. Being the mechanical genius I am, I had my friend hold 2×4’s between the shackle brackets and the concrete wall, and pushed the bumper on by driving the Jeep forward. This worked perfectly (I was very careful). After words I got to thinking about it, and realized this would be a great way to either snap a weld, thus breaking off a stud; or badly damaging the threads, making it impossible to thread the nuts on. However, neither of these things happened to me. I guess I would say I don’t recommend this method, even though I got away with it.

    All and all I think this is likely the best JK bumper on the market, and definitely the best for the price. If it makes any difference, my Jeep is an ’08 Rubicon 2-door (Steel Blue).

    Any questions please drop me an E-mail:

    Harris
    Denver, CO
    OMEINV@ricochet.com

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