Finally got it on

[91stranger]

So I finally got my bull guard installed. Found this at my scrap yard in the junk pile. It was not made for a ranger so I had to cut off the mount that bolts to the frame so it would fit on my bumper. Just got it bolted to the bumper for now. I am planning on getting scrap metal to get it mounted to the frame as well but for now it is on, painted and looks pretty good I think. Just in time for deer season. Ever since I got my exhaust fixed I see more deer at night lol. tell me what you think. you wont hurt my feelings if you have something negative to say lol.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Looks good but isn't going to do anything to protect anything how it is right now. More of a liability than anything.

 

[91stranger]

Looks good but isn't going to do anything to protect anything how it is right now. More of a liability than anything.

that doesn't make sense. how is it a liability?

 

[Curious Hound]

Is it held on by anything besides those two bolts we see in the picture? If not, then it isn't secure enough to use for pushing or taking an impact. You've made a good start.

Eric B

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

that doesn't make sense. how is it a liability?

You gave the deer a nice steel sledgehammer to drive into your cooling system instead of the pile of meat they normally carry around.

 

[adsm08]

If that bolt is not in the frame, and not accompanied by 3 more that is going to rip out and smash up the front of your truck worse than just the deer would have. Also, it needs to be spaced out farther from the grille to offer real protection.

I'd un-fix the exhaust.

 

[91stranger]

You gave the deer a nice steel sledgehammer to drive into your cooling system instead of the pile of meat they normally carry around.

no, not really. Still sits higher than the cross member in front of the radiator. bolted to the bumper and the bumper is bolted to the frame so its not like I just threw some self tappers on there. You can grab it and shake and push all you want and it barely moves. I guarantee if I hit something this will not touch anything important. This is just the start of the project. I still plan on added bracing to the bottom of the bull guard to attach it to the frame. Stuff like that is hard to measure and cut right when you are working by yourself. So its easier for me to mount eh bull guard and then take more accurate measurements of what I need so I can fabricate it right. Instead of guessing all my measurements just to find it off center by a half inch or something. Like I said, I'm not done with it. Just glad to have it mounted instead of sliding around my bed.

 

[adsm08]

You can grab it and shake and push all you want and it barely moves.

I can literally jump up and down on both of my properly installed grill guards and the only reason they move at all is because the rest of the truck is moving with them. Unless there is a hinged joint with a hard stop point any movement is too much.

To function properly and not cause extra damage a grill guard needs to be held on by the bumper bolts, or otherwise bolted directly to the frame.

 

[Mark_88]

It's definitely hard to do stuff like that by yourself so it is a good start to get it to where you can do proper measuring and mounting.

If it was my project I would remove the bumper completely and have a good look from that perspective.

I tried mounting a 92 bumper on my 96 frame and it took me at least four tries due to the differences in mounting hardware. Even then it was still waiting for the second bolts to be added when I finally sold it to someone else. I wasn't able to weld or add anything so half the job was rearranging the existing hardware...

Keep working on it...nothing like being able to weld on a few tabs or extra fastening points...to make it stronger...but it really needs to be on the frame if that is in the plans...amazing what kind of force a large deer can apply to the front of a truck...

 

[91stranger]

This is my daily driver and I have no back up vehicle so all my work done to this is on my 1 hour lunch break or the few minutes I get away from the kids at home or after dark. not much time to work on this and I don't have the time to go as far as removing the bumper. Like I said i'm not done. I do plan on bolting this to the frame. The bull guard was not made for this truck at all. I had to grind off the frame mounts that were on it so I could at least get it bolted on the bumper. Now that it is bolted to the bumper I can attach it to the frame. It still is pretty solid no matter what you all say. its a steel bull guard, 3/8" grade 8 bolted to the steel bumper, bolted to the frame. its not like I bolted it to the plastic part of the bumper. nah sayers there will be. I'm happy with it and don't really care what others think. it almost got tested the other day by the guy who delivers out parts to us. I was behind him towing my trailer full of scrap metal to go to recycling and a dog ran out in front of him, he slammed his brakes and locked them up to a dead stop and I barely got my truck stopped in time. probably few inches away from him. I guarantee I would have damaged his little chevy astro and only had a few scratches on my truck.

 

[Mark_88]

The naysayers are not nitpicking for the fun of it...although that was the case on here many years ago...they'd have a field day with some projects...I was targeted for something I did when I first came on TRS so I know this is mostly just friendly advice.

I'm sure you will work out the details and secure it just by the work you put in it already. Sometimes things fit and bolt on with no problems but more often than not they end up being major pains that require rethinking and redoing many times to get them just right.

I've read many posts by the ones commenting and they've all been through some very seriously detailed projects...nobody on here really knows everything and it is a community that helps...sometimes like a parent there is heavy spankings....but for our own good.

My idea was simple...I wanted to do a hockey puck lift as a temporary measure...most of the comments seemed tame enough but there were a few that branded me as a danger to society and little children everywhere. One guy wanted to know where I lived so he would stay clear of the roads where I might be driving...as if I'd do something so stupid as to endanger my own life...

I got over it when I realized they were probably right...I abandoned my Hockey Night in Canada project but did it later on another vehicle...just as a temporary storage place for all those hockey pucks I had sitting around...

 

[91stranger]

I know its all advice with good intention. just gets annoying when people think I'm worse off now than I was before. or so it seems. as I've stated, I'm not done with it. just showing the progress of something found in the scrap yard pile of junk. found it, chopped it, prepped it, painted it, installed it, and now the finishing details of mounting it to the frame. the perfect world would have been it bolted right up to the frame but that was far from the case. either chop the mounts off and make new ones or chop my bumper up hoping it will fit with what I got. don't feel like chopping the bumper so if I screw up chopping a $2-3 bull guard I found in a scrap pile then I don't feel so bad. I screw up my factory bumper then I'm pissed at the world and at my self. lol. for everyone who reads this, I WILL GET THIS MOUNTED TO THE FRAME, There will be at least 4 bolts holding this in place.

 

[pjtoledo]

I know its all advice with good intention. just gets annoying when people think I'm worse off now than I was before. or so it seems. as I've stated, I'm not done with it. just showing the progress of something found in the scrap yard pile of junk. found it, chopped it, prepped it, painted it, installed it, and now the finishing details of mounting it to the frame. the perfect world would have been it bolted right up to the frame but that was far from the case. either chop the mounts off and make new ones or chop my bumper up hoping it will fit with what I got. don't feel like chopping the bumper so if I screw up chopping a $2-3 bull guard I found in a scrap pile then I don't feel so bad. I screw up my factory bumper then I'm pissed at the world and at my self. lol. for everyone who reads this, I WILL GET THIS MOUNTED TO THE FRAME, There will be at least 4 bolts holding this in place.

well, since you used caps it's all good now

 

[Curious Hound]

well, since you used caps it's all good now

Now there's some real cyber humor.