Would you cut your bumper pinch weld?

JeepinJarhead03 · **Posted:** Mon Feb 08, 2010 4:32 am

i'm pretty sure what you seem to think is going to be needed is the same thing that was needed for the Trailready's and the RockLizard bumpers which both tuck very tight and have gargantuan mounts

and with that amount of steel bolted in place, in effect, i think would overrule that cross member even being there, but were only talking about two notches i believe if i'm following boiler correctly

our kjs didn't come with steel bumpers, it came with plastic, and i think that rear crossmember serves part for resisting chassis twisting and spreading or otherwise deformation, and rear impact protection (as if...)

it also supported the fascia from pulling down

i'd have to pull my bumper off to confirm, but i believe the amount of notching necessary fit between pinches

in any case, i've pulled from the rear about as jeepingly possible and then got snatched backwards when the tree actually fell (it was about to fall on my friends house) and nothing shifted, nothing spread or showed gaps etc

btw don't try that 'at home' unless your friends elderly bedridden grandmother is about to have have her bedroom smashed in by a three foot wide pine tree

ihatemybike · **Posted:** Mon Feb 08, 2010 8:45 am

Think that part of the pinch weld could be folded down without cutting?

JeepinJarhead03 · **Posted:** Mon Feb 08, 2010 8:55 am

probably beat the **** out of it with a huge flat nose chisel and a good hammer otherwise you'd probably end up beating the whole thing down before you flattened it out flat enough for it to tuck

can be difficult to get it in the first time

so to speak

Boiler · **Posted:** Mon Feb 08, 2010 11:22 am

JeepinJarhead03 wrote:

probably beat the **** out of it with a huge flat nose chisel and a good hammer otherwise you'd probably end up beating the whole thing down before you flattened it out flat enough for it to tuck

can be difficult to get it in the first time

so to speak

Thats what she said! :roll:

Yeah I thought about just folding it over without cutting, but you'd probably have to beat over a 10" section just to get the 3" section you need to lay flat. I won't wait for modeling, tonight I'll take a picture.

Boiler · **Posted:** Tue Feb 09, 2010 1:44 am

Please realize this is a very rudimentary mock up of the rear of the KJ. You see my gas tank skid, mounted to the "frame", and the crossmember behind it in question. I only modeled two surfaces of the cross member. It is in red, as are the undercarrage / frame and the tailgate surface. The mopar tow hitch (minus the receiver) should give some perspective on what / where you're looking. The bumper plastic is removed, leaving the crossmember exposed. The crossmember has about a 3/4" to 1" pinch weld extending downward on the outside face.

If you bolt your mounts against the hitch and have them extend straight back toward the bumper, they will intersect / interfere with that pinch weld. You can see the grey angles crossing through the tip of the pinch weld. What I'm talking about doing is cutting vertically on the pinch weld on each side of the bumper mounts, then bending the pinchweld up and forward, so it sits flat against the crossmember and out of the way of the bumper mounts. Probably have to cut / bend two tabs approximately 3-1/2" long out of the way.

Originally I thought "I'll just space the angle downward with a 3/4" flat." Well this is a problem as the angle / flat / hitch / skid plate mounts get so thick that they might interfere with the exhaust.

Does this clear things up?

MojaveKJ · **Posted:** Tue Feb 09, 2010 1:56 am

Yeah, I think I'd have to go for it...and I'd enjoy doing it too. Can I use a sawsall, really? And a BFH?

I'm in.

(insert innuendo's here)

, MojaveKJ

tommudd · **Posted:** Tue Feb 09, 2010 8:58 am

Thanks Boiler
this will make it easier for people to see what they may have to do if they go your way.

JeepinJarhead03 · **Posted:** Tue Feb 09, 2010 10:59 am

thats pretty much how mine mounts, except with a gigantic piece of channel instead of angle

Boiler · **Posted:** Tue Feb 09, 2010 11:19 am

JeepinJarhead03 wrote:

thats pretty much how mine mounts, except with a gigantic piece of channel instead of angle

How do you keep the other leg of the channel out of your exhaust? or is it cut off in that area?

JeepinJarhead03 · **Posted:** Tue Feb 09, 2010 11:47 am

hmm, it's a tight fit but not THAT tight?

i think the difference is that the bumper slides straight in instead of being lifted up to be bolted in

ahhh
yeah i remember now (looks at my hand) haha

yeah it's tight, but huge channel WILL fit above the exhaust, but it has to be slid in instead of lifted up, when you're sliding the bumper in, once it seats against the vehicle, all it takes to hold it there is someone to lean against it due to the chassis lip/protrusion that it tucks against, if its a tight tuck, itll have a good 5 inches or so to rest on

then you just use a long bolt to get it started, and secure it from falling, then use your knees or a jack to lift the supports flush, then get the bolts started and torqued

i did have trouble getting TO one of the bolts with the exhaust still hung, but.. there was enough flex in the hanger that i was able to use a long extention to move it over and get my allen head socket and extention in and into the bolt head (i used big arse allen socket head bolts from fastenal)

but yeah, just by looking from the bottom, yeah big channel would never make it up there

but if you look from the rear, it'll go, won't even contact the exhaust in the process

Boiler · **Posted:** Tue Feb 09, 2010 12:48 pm

JeepinJarhead03 wrote:

hmm, it's a tight fit but not THAT tight?

i think the difference is that the bumper slides straight in instead of being lifted up to be bolted in

ahhh
yeah i remember now (looks at my hand) haha

yeah it's tight, but huge channel WILL fit above the exhaust, but it has to be slid in instead of lifted up, when you're sliding the bumper in, once it seats against the vehicle, all it takes to hold it there is someone to lean against it due to the chassis lip/protrusion that it tucks against, if its a tight tuck, itll have a good 5 inches or so to rest on

then you just use a long bolt to get it started, and secure it from falling, then use your knees or a jack to lift the supports flush, then get the bolts started and torqued

i did have trouble getting TO one of the bolts with the exhaust still hung, but.. there was enough flex in the hanger that i was able to use a long extention to move it over and get my allen head socket and extention in and into the bolt head (i used big arse allen socket head bolts from fastenal)

but yeah, just by looking from the bottom, yeah big channel would never make it up there

but if you look from the rear, it'll go, won't even contact the exhaust in the process

What makes it more fun is the high quantity of custom exhausts.

tommudd · **Posted:** Tue Feb 09, 2010 4:22 pm

Boiler
If the exhaust is a problem then just build the tail pipe into the bumper :wink:

be up high, won't get crushed , can connect existing tail pipe to the bumper :idea:

JeepinJarhead03 · **Posted:** Tue Feb 09, 2010 4:43 pm

well if the exhaust is custom, just have to drop the exhaust and put it back up when you're done

if the exhaust is tucked so close to the underside that you can't clear the channel once the channel is put in, you shouldn't have been a dum dum with your exhaust pipe bender lol

durangotang · **Posted:** Tue Feb 09, 2010 9:18 pm

*may not be compatible with aftermarket exhaust systems*

BAM.... problem solved :SOMBRERO:

JJsTJ · **Posted:** Tue Feb 09, 2010 10:25 pm

New tail pipe at shops I have dealt w/ are about $50 out the door. Benefit is you can get them to tuck it up tighter after the bumper is installed so there is less chance of hitting it.

Boiler · **Posted:** Wed Feb 10, 2010 2:11 am

JJsKJ wrote:

New tail pipe at shops I have dealt w/ are about $50 out the door. Benefit is you can get them to tuck it up tighter after the bumper is installed so there is less chance of hitting it.

Excellent point.

Boiler · **Posted:** Thu Feb 11, 2010 3:47 pm

Did any of the "no" people change their mind after seeing my picture?

MNKK · **Posted:** Thu Feb 11, 2010 4:23 pm

JeepinJarhead03 wrote:

hmm, it's a tight fit but not THAT tight?

i think the difference is that the bumper slides straight in instead of being lifted up to be bolted in

ahhh
yeah i remember now (looks at my hand) haha

yeah it's tight, but huge channel WILL fit above the exhaust, but it has to be slid in instead of lifted up, when you're sliding the bumper in, once it seats against the vehicle, all it takes to hold it there is someone to lean against it due to the chassis lip/protrusion that it tucks against, if its a tight tuck, itll have a good 5 inches or so to rest on

then you just use a long bolt to get it started, and secure it from falling, then use your knees or a jack to lift the supports flush, then get the bolts started and torqued

i did have trouble getting TO one of the bolts with the exhaust still hung, but.. there was enough flex in the hanger that i was able to use a long extention to move it over and get my allen head socket and extention in and into the bolt head (i used big arse allen socket head bolts from fastenal)

but yeah, just by looking from the bottom, yeah big channel would never make it up there

but if you look from the rear, it'll go, won't even contact the exhaust in the process

Boiler, you missed one... "That's what she said"

JJsKJ wrote:

New tail pipe at shops I have dealt w/ are about $50 out the door. Benefit is you can get them to tuck it up tighter after the bumper is installed so there is less chance of hitting it.

lol... I'll go away now... :lol:

L.O. · **Posted:** Sat Feb 13, 2010 12:00 am

It is a different deal with me that all you are really doing is "notching" the pinch weld rather than trying to hammer down the whole thing. I didn't realize that when I voted no.

Xodius · **Posted:** Mon Feb 15, 2010 4:14 pm

hehe, I say cut, hammer, lube and weld, lol. Then again I have no prob doing any of those things to my Jeep or to my wife's crappy Toyota, lol. Now I can say that with humor.

Would you cut your bumper pinch weld?

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