another ARB question

[idaxj97]

ok guys im in the process of buying arb bumper thru a dealer here in idaho and they informed me that when they called arb they said that they dont make the bumper with the grill and head light protection for the 97 and up cherokees anymore had anyone else heard of this? the person that is looking into this bumper said she was gonna look into this more i just wanted to ask everyone if they had heard anything about this. i think someone doesnt know what they are talking about because in my opinion that whole grill guard is arbs signiture, i know for shure its not the dealer im going thru because she is a personal friend of mine. thanks for any info on this guys.

 

[cruiseroutfit]

I would be looking into an ARB dealer that is more familiar with the products. I'm not going to speak for certain as I don't often deal with the ARB Jeep products, but even at that I'm 99% sure they have the same uprights as any other commercial bar. You may check around your local for a shop thats put their hands on one of these bumpers.

 

[Crikeymike]

I think you're right - someone is mistaken. The XJ bars haven't changed.

 

[idaxj97]

well the people im dealing with have been in business since the late 60's and they do deal directly with arb so i think its on arb's side with someone not knowing what they are talking about.

 

[Crikeymike]

This is the bar.

 

[cruiseroutfit]

well the people im dealing with have been in business since the late 60's and they do deal directly with arb so i think its on arb's side with someone not knowing what they are talking about.

That sales reps at ARB are very knowledgeable on their bars, especially considering the fact they don't make any commercial bars that don't have uprights in some fashion. Could have been a misunderstanding but Crikey has posted a pic of the exact bar you need.

 

[idaxj97]

yep thats the exact same bumper im looking at getting. another question do you think the lightforce 140 would be able to be put on the bumper without mods?

 

[Zaphod]

On a somewhat-related subject...

Looking at the bar above, the photos I've seen of Troopers (my truck) with ARB bars, and the photos on ARB's website, I've gotten confused as to whether ALL the newer bars come with the foglight cutouts, the ventilation cutouts, etc., or if these features are ordered when the bar is ordered.

If someone could clarify that for me, I'd appreciate it.

 

[FlyingWen]

Most of the ARB bumpers DO come with the fog light inserts. It just depends on the year of the vehicle. Also, the bumper for the newer vehicles are Air-Bag approved.

With the exception of the 92-97 Trooper (which is NOT air bag approved)
All Trooper ARB bumpers come with:
Recessed Indicators
Tow Points
Antenna Mounts
Powdered Coated Black

The Troopers do NOT come with Recessed Fog Lamps.

Hope that helps you a little bit.

 

[Zaphod]

The Troopers do NOT come with Recessed Fog Lamps.

Bummer!

Would you know the reason why? I'd love to understand if it's a technical reason or something else.

Hope that helps you a little bit.

It certainly did. Thanks!

 

[cruiseroutfit]

On a somewhat-related subject...

Looking at the bar above, the photos I've seen of Troopers (my truck) with ARB bars, and the photos on ARB's website, I've gotten confused as to whether ALL the newer bars come with the foglight cutouts, the ventilation cutouts, etc., or if these features are ordered when the bar is ordered.

If someone could clarify that for me, I'd appreciate it.

The majority of their bumpers do NOT have the fog light capability (keep in mind this is always an additional kit). I won't cover all of the applications, just the popular ones, you can view all of them here . In the case of Jeep, the Liberty, WK an JK have provisions to use the OE fog lamps, all others (YJ, TJ, XJ, ZJ and WJ) do not have provisions.

Hope that helps

 

[Crikeymike]

The bars with built-in fog lights didn't really come out until the 2000's, and the older bars were never redesigned for the change. The older bars are also cheaper than the newer ones with fog light cutouts.

 

[ARBTECH]

Speaking for ARB on this one. Fog light inserts are a relatively new feature ARB added in the past few years. The older designed bars simply did not have those features included and adding them in at this point just isn't likely due to the ever ongoing demands of developing products for new vehicles unfortunately.

As for the original question about the XJ bar. They most certainly are still available, though I believe the bar Crikey posted is for the earlier truck 84-96 vs. the later vehicle which has a few minor differences relating to the returns (or wings) being altered for the slightly revised Jeep bodywork. Finally, we always welcome a quick phone call to the tech department or email for clarification if needed. We're happy to help,
Marc
ARB

 

[idaxj97]

Speaking for ARB on this one. Fog light inserts are a relatively new feature ARB added in the past few years. The older designed bars simply did not have those features included and adding them in at this point just isn't likely due to the ever ongoing demands of developing products for new vehicles unfortunately.

As for the original question about the XJ bar. They most certainly are still available, though I believe the bar Crikey posted is for the earlier truck 84-96 vs. the later vehicle which has a few minor differences relating to the returns (or wings) being altered for the slightly revised Jeep bodywork. Finally, we always welcome a quick phone call to the tech department or email for clarification if needed. We're happy to help,
Marc
ARB

Thanks for totaly clearing that up for me ill be passing this information on to my friend. so from what i got of the reading there is NO place to mount fog lights on the 97 cherokee bumper and that the light tabs were added to the 2000 and 01 cherokee's?

 

[Zaphod]

I suppose drilling and tapping is always an option for mounting desired foglights if the dedicated mounts aren't available?

I'm not completely torn up about this. I've never seen foglights that actually work as well as I'd expected. That means that either none of the foglights I've used have been worth a damn (they have all been whatever came from the factory), or else foglights aren't all they're cracked up to be.

I reckon I need to start asking questions on the topic in another thread. At least now I know what the ARB options are. Thanks for the answers!