I have a 1998 Frontier XE 4x4 4cyl, I ripped off the front plastic bumper valence and I am looking for some sort of additional bumper to cover my radiator and front frame... I am somewhat concerned that the airbag sensors (cant seem to find the darn things) are exposed more than they should be. What can I buy to protect the front end of my frontier? I am looking for a cheap solution, I dont want to pay 800$ for a metal bumper replacement.
I want to get this winch, I think my friend told me they are on sale for 149.99 right now at the local harbor freight... (deffinatly getting the 3 yr warrenty...)
for a winch you get what you pay for, get a ramsy/warn or something along that line the winch on my XJ is a $900 winch i would not trust a 150 to pull my rig out if i was stuck
Yeah dude I can totally design a bumper for you and send you screen shots and PDFs of 2d with measurements. What are you fab skillz??? Tube? Plate? round? square? Trapezoid?
My uncle has a mig welder, I have used it for exhaust many times, i took a few welding classes in high school last year, my welding skills are up to par for making a bumper I would trust. I think I found a solution looking around, I can buy a universal winch plate for my frontier and mount it inbetween the frame rails, The winch will fit perfectly in there, as long as radiator airflow is ok I think it would work great.]
I dont have equiptment to cut and bend tubing so i will probably have to stick to square tubing
You would still need a method of cutting the square tubing,, but a hacksaw can accomplish that. Can you take measurements of the front frame where the bumper support bar bolt to? I'll draw a sketch of what I mean in a short while. I can't measure my truck because I cut 5" off the front of my frame.
I have a huge a metal cutting circular saw, I can cut tubing but it won't fit together well..I am a good welder, I have welded a lot, but I don't do it as a profession by any means...
Frame rail width, (outside width) 28 and 1/4".... frame rail height, (it tapers. I will measure front and back size) Front height is 2 and 3/4", rear is 3 and 1/2".
Inside width between rails is 22".
Here is a pic of the winch plate I just quickly fabbed up on some paper towels....
I haven't had the plastic valance on mine for about a year now. I haven't had any problems. I spray painted everything under there black and it looks a lot better. I have actually gotten quite a few compliments on it. People seem to think it looks more rugged without the plastic.
yea i think im going to do a winch mounted inbetween the frame rails and a nice 3/8 skid plate with reinforcements then paint the rest of the ssupport black