Ebay Rubi Steel Bumper (not a knock-off) pretty legit!

[PensDevil]

Mine arrived yesterday and I installed it today. I bought mine from Ebay seller Best-Autoparts. The box arrived in good condition so I was hopeful nothing inside was damaged. Just like most, one of the fog light bezels is scratched up as is the metal hoop bar and some smaller scratches on the middle/center plastic insert. Otherwise it's in good condition. I've contacted the seller who asked for pictures and I'm awaiting a response.

On to the installation. It comes with a ton of hardware that I didn't need as I'm not installing a winch. As mentioned there are no instructions included so I watched a video and if you're just swapping bumpers without a winch, there's not much to it. I checked that the fog lights worked before install and they seem very bright and match well with my factory LED lights. In order to use these lights you need to take the factory harness off the old bumper and "attach" it to the steel one. This requires removing about 20 small screws to pull apart the old bumper, pull out the factory plastic screws that hold it down and transfer it to the new bumper. There are a few holes in the steel bumper that fit the push screws, but not nearly enough and I ended up zip tying the excess wire. If anyone has a better solution, I'd love to hear about it. Mounting it just required lining up the 8 bolts to the frame. Easy enough right? Mine wouldn't line up on one side, while the other side was fine. I ended up needing to remove the fog bezel that gave me access to one of the bolt heads in the front and I backed it out completely. Once I did this the other 3 on that side slipped right in and I was able to screw back in the 4th bolt once the others were seated. I think it was just luck that the only bolt I had access to from the front did the trick. I installed the hoop after the fact and it wasn't an issue with the bumper mounted first. I plan to replace the hoop and the driver's bezel when the new one arrive (hopefully).

There doesn't seem to be a way to attach the air dam but I was able to re-use the original cover that goes between the grill and the bumper on top. It's only attached with 2 push tabs, but it will do for now. I'm sure I'll order the correct part soon. I ordered the plugs mentioned in this thread off Amazon and they fit just ok. There were 2 different sizes in mine and some needed a little duct tape on the threads before snapping them in for a tight fit.
I realized as I was putting things away that it includes brackets to mount your original fogs if you choose to.

When I installed mine, one of the bolts on the passenger side wasn’t aligned properly to the plate on the end of the frame. I loosened the two bolts on the side of the pate that attaches to the frame to gain a little wiggle room. The bumper bolts slid right through with it loosened. Tightened it all up afterwards.
There was a large flat piece that was pretty flimsy In The box with my bumper. I assumed it went between the bumper and the grille. Secured it with two push tabs as well.

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[gr8ridn01]

My bumper is a mopar bumper purchased from the dealer. Inside the bumper is a label from mopar stating the part number and serial number of the unit. It was in perfect condition, no scratches or dents. OEM lights and OEM wire harness that simply plugged in. I went with a Warn winch plate and everything lined up.

 

[davidafuller]

Any best practices from the vets in this thread on how to lift and align such a heavy piece (sic) of steel?

 

[CptFloridaMan]

Any best practices from the vets in this thread on how to lift and align such a heavy piece (sic) of steel?

Aside from having two people, it seems aligning the winch plate a zip tie should be used, and if you have a jack high enough to help you align if you’re alone.

 

[gr8ridn01]

I had to align the two frame side plates bolted to the frame that give additional support to the backside of the bumper mounting plates. I found them to be slightly misaligned and this was causing difficulty in installation. I took the frame side plates off and straighten them on a vice until they aligned perfectly with the mount plate holes. After doing this the bumper easily pushed on fully. This will also aid in removing the bumper at a later time should it be required.

I used a motorcycle/atv lift to support the bumper and elevate it the correct height. The Lift also had wheels and a wide support base so the bumper was well supported. Simply pushing forward allowed a one person installation and later removal to install a winch and mount plate. You need something like this or the help of another person to safely install the bumper safely without damage. If you are younger or stronger than me you could do it yourself but make sure the mount holes on the frame are aligned with the back plates as mentioned above. This will save a lot of frustration and possible injury/ damage.

 

[seanjonesSUPERTRAMP]

are these bumpers heavier than the OEM steel bumpers? Quadratec has the OEM stubby weighing about 75 lbs. are the endcaps removable?

 

[davidafuller]

are these bumpers heavier than the OEM steel bumpers? Quadratec has the OEM stubby weighing about 75 lbs. are the endcaps removable?

end caps removable, yes. I’d estimate this bumper is about 75 lbs without the end caps yes. Seems almost identical.

 

[bull1055]

end caps removable, yes. I’d estimate this bumper is about 75 lbs without the end caps yes. Seems almost identical.

Is the 75lbs including winch plate? I saw a video from trail recon stating the OEM bumper itself was 53lbs. I emailed some of the eBay sellers but they have no info.

 

[2020JLURUBICON]

Another question for everyone- did you install crash cans with the steel bumper? The crash cans that are on the plastic bumper are part of a thin stamped steel piece that is almost as wide as the full bumper and obviously won't fit with a steel bumper. For the Mopar steel bumper folks, did they come with crash cans built in? For the ebay steel bumper folks, did you order the crash cans and add these in, modify your ones from the plastic bumper, or just install without them?

 

[mghoodlum]

I have read this full post but am still not sure if I need anything else (other than what comes with the ebay bumpers) to remount my stock LED fog lamps that are in my plastic bumper right now. Any help is appreciated and if I overlooked this already stated, my apologies.

I changed out the fogs with the factory one. There was a bracket included in the kit. I’m not quite done with the install. It seems that some of the bracket is going to be in the way of some of the bolt holes. I’m sure a bit of grinding will fix it but it was nice to see the brackets were included!

 

[mghoodlum]

Has anyone installed the winch plate. I thought it may just mount up behind the bumper but that’s damn hard to actually do. There are a few mounting brackets that I’m not sure what they do. I’m thinking they might be part of the winch install... anyone?

 

[mghoodlum]

Finally got this installed the other day as well. It was a bit confusing with all the parts it came with and no instructions. I ended up with a lot of leftover parts as well since I didn't install a winch. There's a lot of great aftermarket bumpers but nothing compared to an OEM steel bumper to me. There was just no way I could drop the $$$ for it. I was skeptical at first and had this bumper sitting in my cart for about 2 weeks. Glad I finally went through with it as it looks great!!!

I bought the plugs as well for but it looks like I missed one lol

What are you using the lower red piece for? It is labeled “lower trailer bracket” in the parts list.

 

[CptFloridaMan]

So as a professional idiot i’m left with a lot of extra nuts and bolts. I’m assuming it’s all winch plate hardware which I couldn’t really figure out.

I put the winch plate in, but I feel like there’s a bracket I should have installed to support the rear of it. I only have it bolted up to the frame as of now.

Otherwise the front fitment is great, the rear was a pita with the brackets on the sides cause it seems like I was missing hardware for it. Found some nuts and reused some oem bolts and it’s all buttoned up.

The only issue I have now, is the lower fender liners aren’t installed as they don’t line up with the bracket, and the end caps are too short to match with the sport fenders.

Does anyone know of a solution for the end caps on the rear bumper for sports?

I’ll post pics tomorrow in the light.

 

[mghoodlum]

So as a professional idiot i’m left with a lot of extra nuts and bolts. I’m assuming it’s all winch plate hardware which I couldn’t really figure out.

I put the winch plate in, but I feel like there’s a bracket I should have installed to support the rear of it. I only have it bolted up to the frame as of now.

Otherwise the front fitment is great, the rear was a pita with the brackets on the sides cause it seems like I was missing hardware for it. Found some nuts and reused some oem bolts and it’s all buttoned up.

The only issue I have now, is the lower fender liners aren’t installed as they don’t line up with the bracket, and the end caps are too short to match with the sport fenders.

Does anyone know of a solution for the end caps on the rear bumper for sports?

I’ll post pics tomorrow in the light.

The winch plate also mounts to the frame using the two “L” brackets and 6 of the large nuts and bolts and 12 washers. The l brackets go under the plate and mount in the slot using 2 nuts/bolts on each side. The bracket should be angled back to the frame and there are holes in the frame that the bracket bolts to. You didn’t say if you had installed a winch yet but if you did don’t winch until you put those brackets in. I set my winch in while the bumper was still loose and just had nuts barely threaded into one stud on each side. I’m not sure I could have gotten it in if it had been tight. Also use some zip ties to help secure and align the winch plate before trying to mount the bumper.
I could tell you 10 other ways not to do it!

 

[Spdu4ia]

for anyone needing the link to the fog bezels. I"m putting this here so i can find it later

https://www.quadratec.com/p/mopar/fog-lamp-bezel-jl-steel-front-bumper/passenger-side

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