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Front "BUILDER" bumpers....

4speedfunk

Well-Known Member
Messages
4,212
Location
Tardville
Or install some spinners on the wheels. That way while they are spinning forward, you can throw the truck in reverse and "moon-walk" your way across the mall parking lot. :giggle:
 

06 H3

a.k.a. "The Jackal"
Messages
9,350
Location
Meridian, ID
Heres an update. Got the winch installed the grille behind it. It should of been done a while ago just time is always a killer. Anyways, I ordered 2 9in knock off ARB clone round LEDs tracking says thursday, they are coming straight from China lol

heres a picture they are massive!!!

http://www.fjcruiserforums.com/foru...6469029-arb-intensity-led-lights-img_1725.jpg

It should cover the space well.

Here are some pics.







Now heres the big part of this. I recommend it for people who wheel hard. CJ has had a good amount of installs for his thor parts bumpers and he has never had an issue with things lining up, I am an exception I guess. my bolt holes wont line up at all. I then took the bumper back off and sat there with a ratchet strap and pulled the frame rails inwards. SCARY!

To boot guess what GM added on 08-10 models?? A middle support bar, there must be a reason for that. So I took 1.75x.120 wall DOM tubing, strapped the frame rails put them where they should be and welded it on. Now its solid. Not sure it was the SAS or the hard pulls and abuse from the so cal trails we have. Either way if GM added that "support bar" after 3 years of production I think its safe to say it might have been an issue in the past. Between that bar and the THORparts bumper bolted on I wont have to worry about it again.

 

4speedfunk

Well-Known Member
Messages
4,212
Location
Tardville
I don't think GM added the crash bar in 08 for any sort of frame enhancement...its way too flemsy to be called a crossmember. Also the way it attaches does nothing to actually stiffen the front frame rails. I think it has more to do with protecting the lower tank of the plastic radiator, or possibly adding a tad more tinfoil to the already tinfoil front bumper to "up" the impact rating. Whatever it is...the 08-up bar is useless as any sort of "enhancement" and I find they make great pull-up bars if you screw them to your garage ceiling joists.

Back to your fitment issue...
I think the root of your problem with your frame rails moving around, is the lack of any crossmember forward of the motor. You were probably okay with the IFS because the factory rack & pinion crossmember (along with the drop-out diff crossmember), makes for a pretty stiff package. But when you did the SAS...all that got removed, and the only real crossmember remaining was the two motor mounts and the engine block. Then once you add the steering box (instead of IFS) you are doubling or tripling the lateral forces on the frame rails. You can literally push & pull the frame rails apart from each other, making for a very bad scenario. This is a common issue with all big-tire 4x4's and Jeeps are famous (especially uni-body XJs) for this same problem. No doubt the stock H3 front bumper does nothing to control the flex.

I've been running a THORparts front bumper for years...both before and after the SAS. It never occurred to me how flemsy the frame would be without it (after the SAS). It is essentially...a bolt-on crossmember, and I sort of ignored any frame flex issues because I knew the bumper would account for the missing crossmembers. But, now that I have seen how crooked your rig is...I think anybody contemplating an SAS needs to address this problem by using a thick, strong, aftermarket front bumper...or by welding-in a crossmember like you did. You do some pretty extreme rock crawling, so its not a huge surprise that Squeaky is tweeked that much. What is a tad surprising, is how easily it can be manipulated with nothing more than a ratchet strap. Good job, and let us know if you can feel any difference in the steering, now that the frame is secured.
 

4speedfunk

Well-Known Member
Messages
4,212
Location
Tardville
How bout a 3/4 view pic (not straight-on)? Things look different from an angle.
Have you tried those out at night yet? They look like something off a Boeing 767.
 

06 H3

a.k.a. "The Jackal"
Messages
9,350
Location
Meridian, ID
I'll get some side pics today. I also just got the bright idea of finally ordering my tube bender die. I have had a jd2 model 32 bender sitting in the garage for a year with no die. Just ordered a 1.75 die. they are backordered so it should be here in 2 weeks. I have some 1.75 .120wall Dom sitting around. That will finish the bumper off and a good first project with a bender
 

06 H3

a.k.a. "The Jackal"
Messages
9,350
Location
Meridian, ID
Yes. Sorry I will still get side pictures. The lights are bright as hell!!! Lol tube bender did is ordered
 

06 H3

a.k.a. "The Jackal"
Messages
9,350
Location
Meridian, ID
sorry for lagging guys, Getting a side shot while it sat for a week in the driveway was no good. Now shes finally driving with the header so I could take it out. These mother ****ers are bright!!! I still have to trim more plastic and maybe fill some more gap.

 

06 H3

a.k.a. "The Jackal"
Messages
9,350
Location
Meridian, ID
Its the same as the THORparts regular bumper. I am not too sure to be honest because I have never mounted the newer skid, when I was IFS I had the oldschool H3 logo skid.
 

4speedfunk

Well-Known Member
Messages
4,212
Location
Tardville
The THORparts bumper takes the early style (06-07) front skid, or the THORparts front skid. No drilling required. Alpha skids are the same as 5-cyl. skids....and all are the late (08-10) style. The two styles do not interchange.
 
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