Help with mounting ARB

[JWBehm]

I just picked up my new ARB bumper and I have run into some problems. First one is the main one. It seems the end of the frame on my 99 4Runner will have to be cut off? There is a big plate welded on to the end of the frame so the arb mounts wont go on.

Do I have to do the end cap mod?

Also, do I have to cut off the small crossmember where the skid plate normally bolts onto?

pic of the plate. the circles dont mean anything, I got the pic from another website.

http://www.4x4wire.com/toyota/4Runner/tech/trancooler/c.jpg

[ToyFamily]

Maybe you got the wrong year bracket?

[Lee]

just an fyi, you do not need to cut anything to mount this bumper.

[JWBehm]

It is the brackets for a tacoma, I don’t think they made a bumper actually for a 4Runner. The endcaps on a Tacoma unscrew and come off leaving the end of the frame whereas on my 4Runner it has that big plate welded onto the end of it.

[Badlands]

depends which ARB bumper your talking about.

I had to cut (or grind down) my end plates (ARB Sahara Bar) but not my crossmember?

-B

[MillerPKA]

actually, you do have to cut. the flanges on the end of the frame extensions needed to be grinded down till flush with the frame. after that the mounting brackets slide right on. depending on year model you may have a screw hole on the head of the frame, use the preexisting oem bolt to mount it there, regardless those two screws on the bottom of each need to be secured...and depending on what package came with the bumper you may have to reuse the oem ones so keep those near. and the crossmember stays

[97Limited]

I second what Roor Runner has said!!

Those flanges at the end of your frme rails have to be ground down so they are flush with the frame rails, (the ARB bumper mounts slide over them!) Then there should be a couple extra Bolts supplied... you'll have to drill up thru your frame rails (you'll see an extra hole on the bottom of the bumper mounts) So in total you'll have 6 bolts holding these brackets (4 where orignal Tow-hooks mounted, and 2 that you had to drill) And yes the CROSSMEMBER stays!!!

[tarasgrosh]

Hey everyone,

I have a '01 Limited 4runner 85k which I bought with the $ from selling my '00 Limited w/ e-locker 160k miles, and now purchased an ARB Sahara Bar :) :) :) Thanks for posting about the mods needed to make it fit, but do I need to alter the suspension in any way to prevent sag? I'm not planning on doing any serious offroading, but hope I don't sacrifice too much handling.

[brian2sun]

FYI, those plates on the end of the frame just fall off easy when you grind the welds. I slipped my mounts over the frame rails, bolted each one on with my OEM bolts (2 on the bottom for each side), then instead of doing the end cap mod, I welded the mounts to the frame with 1" strips on the top and both sides (where I could easily grind them if I ever needed to take the bumper off).

Tarasgrosh,
The bumper will sag your front coils about .5" give or take, so you may want to do a spacer in there if it's too much for ya. As far as handling goes, I don't notice a difference.

[2ndGen]

first, you need to cut off the end plate, a sawzall with fine tooth blade will take care of that in 10 minutes.

you will need to drill 2 vertical holes through the frame, that can be a pain in the butt. make sure they are true and using quality drill bit, wear goggles and long sleeves.

by the way, please don't tell me you didn't get installation instructions.

[brian2sun]

2ndGen, your avatar is just wrong dude.