Trouble with ARB bumper install

[RBBailey]

I'm trying to install this DII bumper (early) on my '04 DII. All seems fine till you try to deal with the fact that the four bolts don't hold the thing, so you have to drill a vertical hole, then bolt it that direction to keep it from sagging.

But the factory built obstruction in the center of the end of the box frame does not allow you to bolt it up once the hole is drilled. You can't reach in there to mate the nut with the bolt. I could attempt to drill both top and bottom, but I can't reach it from the top, so I have to go through the bottom with a drill bit that is longer (by an inch or more) to reach to top. Is this really the only way? What am I missing?

 

[RBBailey]

So, this still isn't working...

The photo shows the front end of the frame of the truck (left side) with the mounting bracket (crush cans) for the bumper fixed in place (right side). The arrow is pointing to the alignment hole that you are supposed to put a bolt through after drilling that spot out in the frame.

According to ARB, I need to drill a vertical hole through the frame in order to lock the crush cans into place. Once you've got the crush cans in place, ready to mount the bumper onto, you realize that the two horizontal bolts shown in this picture simply cannot be tightened down enough to keep the bumper from moving. The only way to pin it into place is to make a new hole and lock it in the spot where you need it with a vertical bolt through the frame. This is all detailed, cryptically, in their instructions.

The problem I have it that, as you can see in the photo, the bottom hole for the vertical bolt, the one that matches the hole on top of the crush can, is too close to the horizontal bolts -- they intersect! You cannot put a bolt through the new hole once you have drilled it. In fact, you can't actually drill all the way through the frame at that spot because there is a factory built "bulkhead" welded into the frame at that spot. Even if you take the horizontal bolt out, you still have not way of inserting a vertical bolt through a that spot.

I'm disabled at this point, need to get this figured out, I would appreciate any wisdom anyone can throw at me on this. I know a lot of people have used the ARB on their DII, there has to be someone who has come up with a solution.

Here is the pic: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B2_KfVILgCQreDZ1ZThIaU1faFU/edit?usp=sharing

 

[Finlayforprez]

I am sorry to hear about the problems. I had some issues installing the ARB front bumper on my 2013 LR4, but nothing like this - it was more along the lines of crappy instructions, confusing wiring, and the winch was really tough to set. However, zelatore on here just installed an ARB on his LR3 and he had some major problems with the brackets fitting that required a LOT of modification.

Perhaps he can chime in, I'll send him a note for you.....

 

[zelatore]

I wish I could help but I don't really have any insight. As David said, I had a heck of a time getting the ARB on my LR3 and eventually had to cut and re-weld the passenger side impact absorber bracket.

In your case, can you drill through another spot and insert a bolt to lock it in place? Perhaps forward of the indicated hole?

If it were me, I'd be tempted to just run a short weld bead to lock it in place. You can always cut the bead when the time comes to remove the bumper. That's the joy of working with steel - you can always put more on!

But I'm sure there have to be plenty of DII guys out there with ARBs who can provide you with better info. It's a popular truck/bumper combo. Heck, just last night we had an informal club gathering and there was one there we could have checked out if I had only known. (at least I think it was an ARB/DII combo - David, it was Tom's truck)

 

[Finlayforprez]

I wish I could help but I don't really have any insight. As David said, I had a heck of a time getting the ARB on my LR3 and eventually had to cut and re-weld the passenger side impact absorber bracket.

In your case, can you drill through another spot and insert a bolt to lock it in place? Perhaps forward of the indicated hole?

If it were me, I'd be tempted to just run a short weld bead to lock it in place. You can always cut the bead when the time comes to remove the bumper. That's the joy of working with steel - you can always put more on!

But I'm sure there have to be plenty of DII guys out there with ARBs who can provide you with better info. It's a popular truck/bumper combo. Heck, just last night we had an informal club gathering and there was one there we could have checked out if I had only known. (at least I think it was an ARB/DII combo - David, it was Tom's truck)

Tom's truck is a Discovery 1 and has the bumper from the company that Graeme is working with to bring over bumpers/sliders/etc. Graeme got the bumper in the UK and brought it over for Tom. I can't remember the name of the off-road company there, but he is working to do accessories for D1,D2,LR3,LR4 in the US - already has a business in the UK and Europe.

I actually have a few photos of the LR3/Disco 3 bumper that Graeme sent me, but honestly I don't think it looks steel. He says it's steel, but it looks like the stock plastic bumper with a tire-swing away attached. I'll e-mail them to you to take a look.

I really liked the look and fit of Tom's front bumper.