Well, my method wasn’t as clean as BigJimSlade’s with his metal straps (that was a good idea BigJimSlade!), but unfortunately I wasn't as clever as you!
Would really like to see a pic when you get a chance, Scott!
Well so since the mopar ones are on backorder and I had a few beers and was on amazon, I fabbed this up. Lights are 4 Rigid Industries Radiance pods with the white back light. Matches my Jeep LED’s really well. I did steal this idea from @BigJimSlade.
It looks great!!!Well, my method wasn’t as clean as BigJimSlade’s with his metal straps (that was a good idea BigJimSlade!), but unfortunately I wasn't as clever as you!
Anyway, first I took off the strip fascia between the bumper and the grill, then removed the lower plastic protector behind and under the bumper. This gave me a good view and access to the back side of the bumper itself.
After looking carefully at the structural part, I found there's a gap between the top plastic facade of the bumper and the actual steel innards. I thought about fabricating a spacer to shore up that gap, but instead drilled through a structural plastic "box" that is between the steel and the plastic, near where the plastic curves upward to the tow hook part.
Doing it that way gave me more horizontal space between the KC's so they weren't so close together on the bumper.
The KC's come with 1" bolts, so I removed them (a 5 second job!) and replaced them with 2.5" bolts. Yes, there is a 7/16" hole in the plastic part of the bumper, but I don't ever intend to remove the lights and even if I do, I can install a black plastic panel plug in the hole.
Am I satisfied with the setup? Yes and no.
Yes, because it looks great and the lights don't vibrate and they will be much more difficult to steal unless the thief doesn't want the mounting brackets (no getting around that). The lights are easy enough to swivel, but this will scratch the plastic bumper unless you loosen the bolts first. The lights look awesome and are a great addition to the Jeep (I like the old-school look of the KC's), and add a measure of safety while driving at night because of the critters we have so many of around these parts. I'm glad I went with round lights as all the other lights on the front of the Jeep are round as well. I'm also glad I chose to mount them on the bumper rather than wait on A-frame mounts to come out. That Firecracker Red hood is bright enough without having a couple of 100w lights blasting down on it at night!
No, because I had to drill a hole thru the plastic, which will be visible if the lights are ever removed. There is also a minor amount of deformation in the plastic when the bolts are tightened, which I'm sure will leave a square mark on the bumper should the lights ever be removed (I may make a rubber shim under them soon to hopefully keep that from happening). Lastly, the lights are not as blue-white as the factory LED's, but it's not a major difference (see the fourth picture .
I've included 3 pictures below (click on them for larger versions). All in all, I'm satisfied, and it's on to the next project!
PM me if you want more details, and thanks for your interest!
By the way, the front plate is velcro'd onto the bumper. I may trim it down to get rid of the mounting holes, however.
Jim, I've been trying to track these down. Tried my local Home Depot, Lowes, and specialty hardware store, but nothing that was a perfect fit.Also, I notched the trim piece that goes behind the bumper, reinstalled it, then slid the brackets through it and installed them by accessing the bolts from underneath.
