4speedfunk
Well-Known Member
- Messages
- 4,184
- Location
- Tardville
Step 1
Go to eBay and take your pick of at least twenty different JL bumpers for under $500 (with free shipping!). This one was under $300 including shipping, tow-hooks, and LED lighting.
Step 2
Take your stock rear bumper off. Take your stock tow-bar off.
Step 3
Grab a grinder, plasma cutter, and welder. Start cutting! Cut on the bumper itself...most have built-in 2" receivers which must be removed. I chose to keep the stock H3 tow-bar but, it needed some minor trimming as well. I also had to notch the corners to fit the plastic H3 fenders. Some JL bumpers are "wrap around" and you may chose to cut the plastic Hummer fenders instead. Lastly, I had to drill some mounting holes in the top of the bumper to bolt it to the (4) stock H3 mounting points. I drilled and tapped the stock tow-bar to accept the stock M10 lower bolts...very similar to the stock lower bolts.
Step 4
On-off. On-off. On-off. Lots of test fitting, head-scratching, and basically...staring at it.
Ultimately you will need to decide if you want to use the JL bumper as a "cover" (like the stock H3 bumper)...or remove the Hummer tow-bar and use the JL bumper in its original form. I chose to retain the stock tow-bar as it is pretty beefy and rated for 4500 lbs. It seemed easier to cut away all the stuff from the Jeep bumper, rather than try to fabricate new mounts to bolt it to the Hummer. A few hurdles are:
1. The Jeep D-rings are welded to the bumper, and the bumper is bolted to the tow-bar. Unlike the stock D-ring (bolted directly to the tow-bar), the Jeep bumper recovery points are probably not as strong.
2. Cutting and grinding must be very precise, unless you want to re-finish the powder-coat. I touched up all holes & edges with Rust-O-Leum paint, to prevent rust.
3. There is a 1.5" gap between the top/front edge of the bumper, and the body. This is hidden with the door closed but, I plan to install a plastic trim piece to fill this gap.
4. Like the THORparts rear bumper...you must use a relocation kit to move the license plate to the spare tire.
I will post up some more pics of this after final assembly.
Go to eBay and take your pick of at least twenty different JL bumpers for under $500 (with free shipping!). This one was under $300 including shipping, tow-hooks, and LED lighting.
Step 2
Take your stock rear bumper off. Take your stock tow-bar off.
Step 3
Grab a grinder, plasma cutter, and welder. Start cutting! Cut on the bumper itself...most have built-in 2" receivers which must be removed. I chose to keep the stock H3 tow-bar but, it needed some minor trimming as well. I also had to notch the corners to fit the plastic H3 fenders. Some JL bumpers are "wrap around" and you may chose to cut the plastic Hummer fenders instead. Lastly, I had to drill some mounting holes in the top of the bumper to bolt it to the (4) stock H3 mounting points. I drilled and tapped the stock tow-bar to accept the stock M10 lower bolts...very similar to the stock lower bolts.
Step 4
On-off. On-off. On-off. Lots of test fitting, head-scratching, and basically...staring at it.
Ultimately you will need to decide if you want to use the JL bumper as a "cover" (like the stock H3 bumper)...or remove the Hummer tow-bar and use the JL bumper in its original form. I chose to retain the stock tow-bar as it is pretty beefy and rated for 4500 lbs. It seemed easier to cut away all the stuff from the Jeep bumper, rather than try to fabricate new mounts to bolt it to the Hummer. A few hurdles are:
1. The Jeep D-rings are welded to the bumper, and the bumper is bolted to the tow-bar. Unlike the stock D-ring (bolted directly to the tow-bar), the Jeep bumper recovery points are probably not as strong.
2. Cutting and grinding must be very precise, unless you want to re-finish the powder-coat. I touched up all holes & edges with Rust-O-Leum paint, to prevent rust.
3. There is a 1.5" gap between the top/front edge of the bumper, and the body. This is hidden with the door closed but, I plan to install a plastic trim piece to fill this gap.
4. Like the THORparts rear bumper...you must use a relocation kit to move the license plate to the spare tire.
I will post up some more pics of this after final assembly.
