JV1
10-31-2005, 03:18 PM
Went to install my H3 OEM brush guard yesterday. Don't want to complain too much because I love my H3 but the engineer who designed the "D" link tow hook failed miserably in the beginning........
The technical publication for the install says to remove the bolt that holds the link. Then it states to remove the two bolts that hold the link bracket to the frame. It then goes on to say that if the brackets cannot be removed at that point, it is necessary to remove the entire front bumper. No explanation why. Hello? No mention as to how much force to use etc. etc. After toying with the bracket for 20 minutes, I finally decided that the front bumper needed to come off. The instructions say that both inner wheel well panels need to come off, amongst other things. After studying it, I decided that was untrue.
What I did:
I removed the aluminum rock guard panel underneath the radiator (or whatever it is called). I then removed two bolts that connected the lower portion of the bumper to another panel. Then, I had to remove one plug-in plastic connector on each side and while holding back the plastic wheel wells, I was able to remove the two bumper bracket bolts on each side. There are many other attaching bolts but this was enough to wiggle the bumper assembly about six inches outward to find out what the problem was. Apparently some engineer decided to attach those "D" link brackets to the bumper from the INSIDE with a little 10 mm bolt on each one. Uggggg. So this simple twenty minute install turned into a three hour job. Apparently at some point someone at GM woke up and realized that they couldn't attach the brackets like that if they wanted dealers to install the brush guards........
Also, when installing my side steps, I noticed tons of little yellow paint dots, green paint lines, and blue paint lines on the chassis. The yellow paint dots were everywhere. Next to holes that needed nuts welded on, bracket welds, all over the place. Must be their quality control program checking everything out. I think based on the VIN, mine was the 565th off the line. I wonder how long they keep doing those quality checks?
On a side note, it looks like the aluminum rock guard panel needs to be removed to access the filter every time you want to do an oil change?????
The technical publication for the install says to remove the bolt that holds the link. Then it states to remove the two bolts that hold the link bracket to the frame. It then goes on to say that if the brackets cannot be removed at that point, it is necessary to remove the entire front bumper. No explanation why. Hello? No mention as to how much force to use etc. etc. After toying with the bracket for 20 minutes, I finally decided that the front bumper needed to come off. The instructions say that both inner wheel well panels need to come off, amongst other things. After studying it, I decided that was untrue.
What I did:
I removed the aluminum rock guard panel underneath the radiator (or whatever it is called). I then removed two bolts that connected the lower portion of the bumper to another panel. Then, I had to remove one plug-in plastic connector on each side and while holding back the plastic wheel wells, I was able to remove the two bumper bracket bolts on each side. There are many other attaching bolts but this was enough to wiggle the bumper assembly about six inches outward to find out what the problem was. Apparently some engineer decided to attach those "D" link brackets to the bumper from the INSIDE with a little 10 mm bolt on each one. Uggggg. So this simple twenty minute install turned into a three hour job. Apparently at some point someone at GM woke up and realized that they couldn't attach the brackets like that if they wanted dealers to install the brush guards........
Also, when installing my side steps, I noticed tons of little yellow paint dots, green paint lines, and blue paint lines on the chassis. The yellow paint dots were everywhere. Next to holes that needed nuts welded on, bracket welds, all over the place. Must be their quality control program checking everything out. I think based on the VIN, mine was the 565th off the line. I wonder how long they keep doing those quality checks?
On a side note, it looks like the aluminum rock guard panel needs to be removed to access the filter every time you want to do an oil change?????