WARN JL Rubicon Winch Mount Plate and Zeon 10-S Install

[Murphydog]

Good evening all - so today was the big day, swapping from plastic to steel front bumper and installing the VR EVO 10S. I purchased the bumper used off of these forums and had to transfer over the fog lights.

1. I used the Maxis 3 brackets to mount the fog lights from the plastic bumper. They worked like a charm, though I need to confirm I don't have em upside down. Getting the wiring harness out of the plastic bumper took some time, and we were not 100% sure how to attache it to the steel bumper, but we sorted through it
2. That said, the fog lights look really exposed from the rear? Anybody else have that issue or concern?
3. Fitting the steel bumper back on was a struggle, thankfully my neighbor was able to slam it on while I pushed the winch and plate up at the same time
4. The VR seems pretty solid, however the wires come out the back, so they are pressed tightly to the Jeep just below the grill, I suspect this is going to rub the paint off. I wish it sat 1/2 forward on the warn winch plate. Anyone else have this issue with the VR ?
5. The supplied hardware didn't work for the fairlead, picked up some new bolts tonight and will install in the morning.
   
   

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[Murphydog]

Quick update, I installed the fairlead and all looks good, however when I went to flip the fog lights (yup, upside down) I discovered that loctite will disintegrate the polycarbonate housing. I was sloppy on the application and 3 of the 4 mounting holes literally fell apart as I remove the screws holding it in the bracket…

Lesson learned ( at least for me)

1. Buying second hand doesn’t always save money
2. The Zeon with the internal bus bar connection vs VR EVO with the wires exiting the controller fits better, no wires pressed against the front of the jeep

If I were to do this again ( and my slight OCD may compel me)
A used steel bumper is worth it IF it comes with the fog lights. And for sure I would get the Zeon as the rear fit is way better

 

[Murphydog]

Maybe this vid can help you decide?

Had I realized how the wires on VR EVO would have pressed so tight to the front of my Jeep I for sure would have ordered the Zeon!

 

[Rock Hopper]

Quick update, I installed the fairlead and all looks good, however when I went to flip the fog lights (yup, upside down) I discovered that loctite will disintegrate the polycarbonate housing. I was sloppy on the application and 3 of the 4 mounting holes literally fell apart as I remove the screws holding it in the bracket…

Lesson learned ( at least for me)

1. Buying second hand doesn’t always save money
2. The Zeon with the internal bus bar connection vs VR EVO with the wires exiting the controller fits better, no wires pressed against the front of the jeep

If I were to do this again ( and my slight OCD may compel me)
A used steel bumper is worth it IF it comes with the fog lights. And for sure I would get the Zeon as the rear fit is way better

@Murphydog

A couple of thoughts and observations…

First of all, your install and winch looks great. Unfortunately too many people don’t know that loctite shouldn’t be used or come in contact with plastic parts. I think eventually everyone learns the hard way as you did! There is a product called VibraTite which seems to mimic the “thread fastener” that many auto (and gun) manufacturers now use on threaded parts. A Google search will tell you more and also point you to vendors that sell it. Like anything it has it’s pluses and minuses but I do think it works wonders for its application.

As far as the winch goes, the VR is a tight fit (specially depending on which winch plate it’s bolted to) but it is a great winch for the price and I think what MOPAR offers as an option from the factory. I bought a VR and ordered a Mopar winch plate. The Mopar winch plate came with a clear paint protector to limit or reduce any possible rubbing from the cables. *the clear protector is a long clear pice of 3m film that covers the Trim surrounding the grill. I’m thinking you could purchase some clear 3m paint protection if the contact points are too tight. Additionally you may be able to “possibly” bend the cables in a little or loosen them and reposition them to allow just a little more clearance.

I’m with you-they should have made the winch plate to allow at least a 1/4” more clearance if at all possible.
In the long run I believe if the paint rubs off it isn’t the end of the world as that particular grill trim is replaceable and likely you will always have a winch installed in front of it anyway.

Yep, it’s a tight fit but that’s what makes it look good stuffed in there!

 

[falsename]

I just installed a Zeon 10S on 22 Rubicon.
Some idiot bent the steel bumper so I had to get a replacement.
I needed to swap the 392 bronze top hooks to the replacement bumper so I left the fog light assemblies floating, it made replacing the bumper much easier.
It also left access to the winch mount bolts which allowed me to slide the winch from side to side to get the inner bolts tightened, there is not much room but it would have been almost impossible otherwise.

I left everything very loose and was able to get all skid plate bolts on.

The fair lead bolts are impossible to reach, I used some steel wire to fish them in

Hope this helps somebody else

 

[Murphydog]

Good evening all - so today was the big day, swapping from plastic to steel front bumper and installing the VR EVO 10S. I purchased the bumper used off of these forums and had to transfer over the fog lights.

1. I used the Maxis 3 brackets to mount the fog lights from the plastic bumper. They worked like a charm, though I need to confirm I don't have em upside down. Getting the wiring harness out of the plastic bumper took some time, and we were not 100% sure how to attache it to the steel bumper, but we sorted through it
2. That said, the fog lights look really exposed from the rear? Anybody else have that issue or concern?
3. Fitting the steel bumper back on was a struggle, thankfully my neighbor was able to slam it on while I pushed the winch and plate up at the same time
4. The VR seems pretty solid, however the wires come out the back, so they are pressed tightly to the Jeep just below the grill, I suspect this is going to rub the paint off. I wish it sat 1/2 forward on the warn winch plate. Anyone else have this issue with the VR ?
5. The supplied hardware didn't work for the fairlead, picked up some new bolts tonight and will install in the morning.
   
   

Hello all - I have upgraded to a Rubicon XR (long story, but the $$ worked out such that I now have exactly what I wanted). That said I plan to reinstall this winch, however I do not want to have the wires pinched against the grill going forward. See the first picture of how they were pinched on my first Rubicon

Has anyone run them out of the side of the plastic housing that covers them? Curious if that worked for anybody.

 

[84jeepjohn]

I literally just saw an add on Facebook for some smoked polycarbonate block off plates. If I see it again post up

 

[Malifestro]

Reviving this thread. I just finished an install of a Warn Zeon 10s and used the Warn 101255 winch plate for my install.

My observations:

1. The winch plate itself is now made in Russia not in the USA anymore apparently.
2. Per the new instructions, you do not have to remove and discard the frame horn support gussets.
3. DO NOT install the Fairlead filler plate and fairlead on the exterior of the bumper before mounting the bumper to the frame! If you do this you will sandwich the nut between the winch plate and the bumper! This will cause your bumper to fit uneven (bulged in the middle) against the winch plate and you will thus not be able to connect the bumper skid plate fully! No drilling of the plate is needed!
4. The winch plate came with two super small zip ties, whoever packaged them really messed this up. They were in no way up to the task of holding the winch plate and winch. Do yourself a favor and have (4) heavy duty zip ties on hand.
5. I checked the clearance and did not have to remove the 2 small tack welded nuts on the bottom each of the frame horn bracket.

Yah I noticed that about the fairlead filler plate. Question tho. I can't seem to be able to install the plate and fairlead. How the heck do you get the bolt and nut to come together, there is no room!

 

[TXROCK]

Same setup I went with on the Evo 10s.

 

[cavguy]

Yah I noticed that about the fairlead filler plate. Question tho. I can't seem to be able to install the plate and fairlead. How the heck do you get the bolt and nut to come together, there is no room!

There is a very small amount of room, just enough to squeeze one hand through the front opening of the bumper (where the rope come out) and reach into the inside and thread the nut and washer onto each fairlead bolt, one at a time. Then you can use a combination wrench to hold the nut on the inside while you tighten the exterior bolt with another wrench. I have done this twice and don't think I went through the top area to get the nut on the bolt - there was simply not enough room there to get my hand in.

 

[Murphydog]

Hi all,

Just finished installing the VR-Evo on my 23 XR. I re routed the wires out of the side of the control box to avoid having them pressed tight to the bottom of my grill. I used a Dremel to carve the hole and added longer heat shrink to protect the wires. Pretty happy with the results

 

[Tech Tim]

Hi all,

Just finished installing the VR-Evo on my 23 XR. I re routed the wires out of the side of the control box to avoid having them pressed tight to the bottom of my grill. I used a Dremel to carve the hole and added longer heat shrink to protect the wires. Pretty happy with the results

Great idea and looks good!

Will look at doing that on the next VR we install in a video. Will see if we can use a hole saw and a grommet to give it a factory look.

 

[Murphydog]

Great idea and looks good!

Will look at doing that on the next VR we install in a video. Will see if we can use a hole saw and a grommet to give it a factory look.

A hole saw with grommet will look much better. I am not great with the Dremel, but I ran a file on the edges to smooth it all out and it looks much better. It is too bad the bus bars are only on the higher end Warn winches.

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