Pre bumper build questions for a disco II

[Mr. Moore]

Has anybody ever used the factory front bumper sub frame to build a bumper off of, and is that a bad idea? I was just thinking about the possibility of using it as a backing plate so to speak to weld onto. Don't be shy about telling me it's a horrible idea. That's why I'm asking!
Thanks

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[Howski]

I can't imagine that would be a good idea. There honestly isn't much to the factory bumpers that isn't plastic so you're left with very little to even begin from

 

[kcabpilot]

It's unclear what you mean by "build a bumper off of" The aftermarket steel bumpers are put on to provide better approach and departure angles, add recovery points and possibly a winch mount. They are bolted to the main frame rails. The factory bumper is designed to be light weight, provide aerodynamics and an attractive facia on which to mount fog lights and license plate that can absorb minor kisses with the likes of shopping carts and such. It can also take a pretty good tap with another vehicle of maybe 3 or 4 mph and only require replacement of the plastic facia and maybe a bracket or two while not destroying the vehicle you hit. So it serves it's designed purpose well but it doesn't provide anything useful for the fabrication of something you want to use to push through obstacles or get pulled out of a mud hole with.

 

[lwg]

Just to add to this, the DII has a very good frame area to build off of. It's a rectangle with 2 good mounting holes on each side. If I were building a front bumper for a DII I'd just start with that. A while back I heavily modified my ARB from a 2 piece to a one piece bumper (and added a winch to a non-winch mount bumper). Also added some proper D-rings directly in front of the frame.

Just my thoughts.

 

[Mr. Moore]

I was meaning using the metal bumper behind the plastic facia and weld plate off of that to make a ARB type bumper since it has the grille contours already stamped into it. My bumper facia was all cracked and so I took it off and was looking at the actual bumper frame and I got curious. I know the aluminum crush cans would be bad for pushing with, but it seems like if you boxed out the bumper frame it would make it pretty stout. Again it was just a thought and I'll most likely scrap all of that and build fresh.


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[Green96D1]

the metal for the stock bumper isn't very thick at all. It would really depend on what type of offroad you would engage in. Light wheeling (dirt roads, easy scenic trails, overlanding) maybe boxing it in the rear and reinforcing the mounting points it might be ok. but for anything Serious it may not be strong enough. I know of a guy who did it on a D1 and he smacked a rock pretty good and His Disco wore a one side "smile" until he replaced it with a Stronger bumper.

 

[Keanan]

I would dump the aluminum crush cans first. You could build on top of the factory metal frame. It would probably be easier to build your own though. I built one last fall for my D2. I used some 5/16" plates and some 2x4 5/16" steel. I chopped up a universal winch mount plate to fit between the frame rails.

It wasn't that hard to build.

 

[kcabpilot]

It depends on what you're looking to do with this. The purpose of steel bumpers is so you can slide the front end over rocks or other obstacles, mount a winch, recovery points and hi jack sockets. Are you planning to go rock crawling? Because if you are you'll need more than just that. When you say "stout" you need to think of the implications. You could bolt a bridge girder up there but when you hit something with it all you're going to do is bend your frame. A good bumper should be just strong enough to do the things you need it to while being as light as possible and weak enough to sacrifice itself rather than destroy the truck it's attached to.

 

[Mr. Moore]

Kcabpilot, that was partly why I was thinking about using the stock mounting and bumper frame to build off of. I am not really into rock crawling. I am looking more at doing mostly two track type roads with the occasional trail run that may be a bit more difficult. I am keeping my disco stock as far as the suspension and drive train goes. I am looking at adding some recovery points and possibly the ability to use a hi-lift jack, but I don't want to have something so stout that it bends the frame of the truck. I also don't have the funds for a Terrafirma or ARB bumper and I have the necessary skills and so forth to weld one up. I am not however an engineer of any kind.

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[kcabpilot]

Well that might work then. My experience with the front bumper is that I rear ended a Kia. Actually I just tapped him, as I was making a right turn and watching for traffic I thought he had already gone. The result was a big crack in my plastic bumper and not so much as a mark on the Kia. I gave him my number and apologized but never heard from him. If I'd had an ARB bumper or even a bull bar I'm sure there would have been substantially more damage to both vehicles. I later replaced my stock bumper facia but yea, it was about 800 bucks so I get your point. Another option for you is maybe a salvage yard but the stock bumper still has to be cut up a bit for front recovery or hi lift points.

 

[Mr. Moore]

I think that is what happened to my stock bumper. I have only had it for about a month but the front bumper cover was cracked in multiple places when I got it so I just took it and the factory fog lights off and have been driving it with just the bumper frame.

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