Rugged Ridge XHD, Rear Bumper install issue
#1
JK Enthusiast
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Rugged Ridge XHD, Rear Bumper install issue
I put on my XHD front, end caps, hoop today. Went well, fit well. The rear bumper is a different story.....
The bumper is 1/4" off from the holes on the bumper mating up w/ the brackets that are installed on the frame. Argh! There is NO room for being off with this heavy ass piece of steel. I will call the Vendor / Rugged Ridge on Monday. Not sure if they had a batch of brackets made incorrect or what.
Has anyone else had this problem w/ theirs??? Mine is a 2012.
The bumper is 1/4" off from the holes on the bumper mating up w/ the brackets that are installed on the frame. Argh! There is NO room for being off with this heavy ass piece of steel. I will call the Vendor / Rugged Ridge on Monday. Not sure if they had a batch of brackets made incorrect or what.
Has anyone else had this problem w/ theirs??? Mine is a 2012.
#2
JK Enthusiast
I had to man-handle it to make it fit. I don't think I was off 1/4 of an inch, but it didn't line up exactly for me. I have an '07 though, I know there's a ton of changes from '10 on.
#4
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Yeah, I'm like WTF?! There is no man handling this one. The bracket itself is 1/4" off on the right side and the one bolt wont align. Thinking I may have to enlargen the one bracket hole to get all bolts in that, then also enlargen the bumper holes. Not what I want to do, but thinking if RR does happen to send me a new bracket it will be the same deal.
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Just a little FYI so please don't take the wrong way. The farthest to the right top hole were the bumper mountie welded on the frame is smaller than then other holes. If you take your bumper off and look at the two mounting plates you will see the other holes are oval slightly. You must start at the farthest top right hole and work from there. The only reason I know is I installed my second bumper the other night and had to drill out that hole. If you put the bolt through the holes you can verify yourself. Use a step up drill bit and widen it a little.
#6
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I will look at it again and see if I just missed the alignment somehow. My right side bracket seems to be my issue. Thanks for the info!
#7
JK Super Freak
Its been two years since I installed mine but I remember having the same problem. I wish I could tell you how I did it, but I do remember thinking " I can't believe this bracket is so far off " I eventually got it to line up without drilling anything. Good luck.
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#8
JK Enthusiast
You need to leave all the bolts loose untill you have everything started I remember it being a real aggrevation. If you bought the tire carrier as well do yourself a favour and return it now the thing will always rattle... I gave up on mine and sold it.
Last edited by rexicon; 03-25-2012 at 09:00 AM.
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So I went and got a 'unibit' to enlargen two of the holes I needed to on the brackets. Of cousre the POS bit (at $44) is shot after only 2 holes! I still will have to oversize the remaining 8 holes where the tow rings bolt it all together. F-this! I'll call the vendor/RR but am not hopeful. Not sure if it is just a 2012 issue being this far out of whack or what?! I don't have an issue w/ a little tweaking or modification - but this is ridiculous. $1k for a bumper & carrier and this much trouble sucks....
BTW - I did leave bolts loose and have tweaked it all I can.
BTW - I did leave bolts loose and have tweaked it all I can.
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Originally Posted by 65Cobra
So I went and got a 'unibit' to enlargen two of the holes I needed to on the brackets. Of cousre the POS bit (at $44) is shot after only 2 holes! I still will have to oversize the remaining 8 holes where the tow rings bolt it all together. F-this! I'll call the vendor/RR but am not hopeful. Not sure if it is just a 2012 issue being this far out of whack or what?! I don't have an issue w/ a little tweaking or modification - but this is ridiculous. $1k for a bumper & carrier and this much trouble sucks....
BTW - I did leave bolts loose and have tweaked it all I can.
BTW - I did leave bolts loose and have tweaked it all I can.