Hi-Lift Jack Front Bumper Mount

[f5fstop]

Been asked for this, so here goes:

Original idea was from a posting by PhilD showing a rear bumper mount for the H2. Since the rear bumper on the H3 is not friendly for this type of mount, I decided to try the front.

2-3?X5? X 3/16? STEEL
2-3?X3? X 3/16? STEEL (Used as spacers. If these were not used, it would cause the tow hook brackets to tighten unevenly, and could cause them to break. I believe they are cast steel. Just insurance.)
2-2X1/4? X 2? DIAM. PVC PIPE FITTINGS (Used as spacers to allow the jack to mount out past the vertical brush guard rails).
2-5?X1/2? STEEL BOLTS
4-1/2? NUTS
2-1/2? WING NUTS
6-1/2? LOCK WASHERS
4-2?DIAM. STEEL FLAT WASHERS
Misc. drill bits, tools, and paint.

All the metal cost me $5.00 at the local steel shop; they even cut it to specs for free. I drilled all the holes necessary to mount the steel.

The mounts, as well as the spacers are mounted under the front tow hook brackets. In my case, between the tow hook brackets and the front brush guard brackets. If you don?t have the front brush guard, the PVC pipe might not be required, or a small piece might be required.

MOUNT/SPACER:
I removed the tow hook mounts one at a time and measured they holes for the steel by aligning the steel to be even with the side of the tow hook mounts.
I then drilled a hole for the tow hook bracket bolt, and toward the top another hole for the Hi-Lift jack bolt that is used to attach the hi-lift jack.
For the spacers, I also measured, but there is a locating pin on the backside of the tow mount, and even though not used, I didn?t feel like cutting the locating pin off. So, the spacer sticks out a bit to the outside of the tow hook mount; not a big deal for me. Again, after the location of the hole was marked, I drilled the hole for the tow hook bracket bolt to go through.





Drill two small holes into the end of the Hi-Lift mounted bolts for locks, or for pins. A safety feature just in case the wing nuts back off and the jack falls. I drove around with the jack mounted on MI roads for a week. MI roads are worse than some of the off-road trails in Utah, so I figured this was a good test. The wing nuts, never back toward the locks I installed.

On the mount, I installed the 5? bolt, then one of the 2? diameter washers, then a lock washer and a bolt. After tightening the bolt, I then installed the PVC pipe, placing another 2? diameter washer over the end of the pipe, then a lock washer and then a bolt, and tightened. While doing the final tightening, align the PVC to the large flat washers to the edge of the washers meets the edge of the pipe.



I then painted the assembly, and mounted the mounts to the bumper and installed the Hi-Lift jack. Everything aligned perfectly. After installing the Hi-Lift to the mounts, I then tightened the tow hook mounting brackets to the required torque. When first installing the Hi-Lift to the mounts I left the mounts tight, but loose enough to move slightly to make sure the holes in the Hi-Lift aligned ok with the bolts.

The U-shaped brackets shown in the photos that the wing nuts are up against were from my 4XTRAC brackets from my old Jeep. They are not necessary, a large washer, then a lock washer, then the wing nut would be ok. I had them sitting on my shelf, so I used them.





Been driving around for over a week now on some of the worse roads in the Utah, and so far nothing has come loose.

[stagger_lee]

Awesome. Thanks F5.

[fourfourto]

Looks GR8 I liked the red jack in your other pic ,one of a kind mod

[Wisha Haddan H3]

sweet!

[aws86]

Any pictures of the front end with the hi lift mounted?

[NEOCON1]

theres some on this thread http://www.elcovaforums.com/forums/s...ad.php?t=28255

[evldave]

A great idea!! Wing nuts are easy to remove (aka steal). I'd suggest using a nylon nut and just carry around a wrench. For how little you remove the jack, might be worth that extra security to stop the opportunistic thief from walking away with your hi-lift...

[f5fstop]

Originally Posted by evldave

Hey yeah, also, for someone who has preached repeatedly about the effects of aftermarket products on airbag deployment ( ) what do you think this does to the sensors or how would this change impact dynamics in the event of a colision?

Can't say for sure, but it is mounted below the sensors on the front end. My guess is it should not affect their operation. But I can't be sure. Aftermarket brush guards cover the higher area where the sensors are mounted.
I only preach so people are aware there are sensors for the SIR system. I am aware of the sensors. The only way to tell would be to perform some crash analysis.
So, it is a good catch and I guess I should tell people to remember this MIGHT affect the SIR system. So don't sue me.

As for the wing nuts. I have traveled across the US many times with the hi-lift attached in a similar fashion (previous times was with the Jeep). No one has ever messed with the hi-lift. I have the little master locks, which are primarily used in case the wing nut starts to back off. I guess if someone can cut the master lock or break it with a hammer, they will probably have a wrench of some sort to remove a nut with a plastic insert. Being that the nut would be in the open, all a person would require is a pair of pliers.

I posted after being asked a few times to post the directions.

[aws86]

Thinking about doing this mod. Nice write up. What size hi-lift is that? Does the hi-lift compromise the light from the fogs at all? Also, could you post some close up pics of the finished product with the hi-lift attatched?



In the picture the arrow is pointing to what looks like some sort of padding that sits behind the 3"x6" 3/16" steel spacer. Just wondering what exactely this is?

[CrisB]

Lookin' good, F5, nice mod...now I can recognize you if I see your H3 on the road!