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

[Martindfletcher]

Mopar Winch Guard: I installed mine yesterday and the winch guard makes contact with the winch...the guard needs to be raised by roughly 1/2 inch, and I don't want to use washers to make it work.
Just spoke to rubitrux. Maximus is coming out with their JL winch guards in three heights. they expect them in 2-3 weeks. Perhaps this might help those of us who've installed the Zeon Platinum and used the Warn mounting plates.
Judging by their past low profile guard, it should be just a little higher than the Mopar guard.

I just tightened the bolts and let it push on the winch. Very slight interference fit on mine.

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[mer43]

I installed mine last night and am unable to use the Mopar bar similar to you and don’t want to raise it with washers. How have you resolved it? I like the overall height and look but need one just a half inch taller.
Thanks

Good chance I'll raise it with as thin of stock as necessary. Sort of stuck with it, till I take the bumper back off and find a way to lower it, OR move the winch back, if possible. Maybe elongate the winch mount holes. It doesn't need much.

 

[Big Katz]

Thanks for the write-up! Took it out to the snow to play!

 

[Bearman95]

I just put 3 small washers under my winch guard on each side.You really can’t even see them. I tightened the bolts down and have it away from the winch about the thickness of 5 pieces of copy paper. It’s has stayed tight for about a month now.

 

[Tech Tim]

Thanks for the write-up! Took it out to the snow to play!

Awesome! Love the Mojito JL, that's sharp looking.

 

[jm355]

How do you tension and spool the rope, when you can't see the winch drum?

 

[aug0211]

I cannot, for the life of me, get the bumper on.

I literally have two steel Rubi bumpers on hand and neither will go on. The holes line up enough for me to get the bolts on the bumper to go through so about 1/2” protrudes on the driver side and about 1/4” on the passenger side. Then it gets stuck.

I’m looking at the winch carrier holes and everything really looks lined up to me. I made some really small adjustments, but still no luck.

Any ideas on what might be blocking the bumpers from going all the way back on?

 

[Jlrut]

I cannot, for the life of me, get the bumper on.

I literally have two steel Rubi bumpers on hand and neither will go on. The holes line up enough for me to get the bolts on the bumper to go through so about 1/2” protrudes on the driver side and about 1/4” on the passenger side. Then it gets stuck.

I’m looking at the winch carrier holes and everything really looks lined up to me. I made some really small adjustments, but still no luck.

Any ideas on what might be blocking the bumpers from going all the way back on?

If the bolts are actually going on...all 4, have someone hold the bumper in place and then kick it the way a mule would. Turn your back to the bumper and kick it. This also happened to me ,

 

[aug0211]

If the bolts are actually going on...all 4, have someone hold the bumper in place and then kick it the way a mule would. Turn your back to the bumper and kick it. This also happened to me ,

So, funny story.

My wife came out to help me after a few hours of wrestling with it (bumper #2 at this point).

I had her hold the bumper while I ... we’ll say “hip thrusted” into it as hard as I could. Really set the mood - she couldn’t stop laughing

Especially when, as usual, all of my hip thrusting was unsuccessful, in the end.

On to mule kicks, tomorrow, I guess.

 

[aug0211]

Success! Shaved down the frame holes a bit and it slid on (well, still needed some elbow grease, but much better this time).

 

[aug0211]

You guys left out the part where you need to mount the winch to the bracket. It would seem self explanatory for the end user, but as a beginner I found out the hard way.

Anyone have details on this? Is it really just those four bolts and nuts from the bottom of the winch plate up into the bottom of the winch into the nuts that go in the little cutouts?

That just seems like so little to me. I guess the massive bumper bolts are what will take the majority of the load when pulling, but I expected more so want to be sure.

 

[Tech Tim]

How do you tension and spool the rope, when you can't see the winch drum?

You can see the spool to wind it on, not as good as those bumper that sit the winch up high and proud, but still good enough to spool it on.

For tensioning the rope the first time:

• Park on a somewhat level surface.
• Hook it to something solid like another rig or a tree strap around a tree.
• Shift your Jeep into N and click the parking brake a couple clicks to put a little tension on them and winch it in. You don't need much tension, just the weight of pulling the Jeep will do it.
• Get someone to sit in the driver's seat and keep the Jeep aimed straight.
• PUT ON SOME GLOVES!
• Stand out front with the controller in one hand and use the other hand to help guide the rope to spool it on nice and even. We're not doing a full winching load, so don't worry about touching the rope while doing it. Just be sure to keep your hands back far enough from your fairlead.
  
• Make sure to be safe. Wear gloves and keep your hands back from the fairlead. Make sure the area is level and there is nothing to trip over as you are winching in and walking.
  
• You could also pull another vehicle to you instead of pulling your vehicle towards something else.
• Feel free to pulse the winch on/off as you winch in to help keep you ahead of the pull and keep your speed down.
• Be careful, stay safe and have fun doing it!

This will help the fibers in the rope stretch and align properly, after that you can just use body weight to tension it on the spool.

Anyone have details on this? Is it really just those four bolts and nuts from the bottom of the winch plate up into the bottom of the winch into the nuts that go in the little cutouts?

That just seems like so little to me. I guess the massive bumper bolts are what will take the majority of the load when pulling, but I expected more so want to be sure.

Yes, it's just those four bolts and nuts.

It may not seem big enough, so let's take a look at the math. Those bolts are good to around 6,000 lbs per bolt and you have 4 of them or around 24,000 lbs total holding that winch in place. If you torque them properly and keep them tight, they'll never see that much load.

 

[aug0211]

You can see the spool to wind it on, not as good as those bumper that sit the winch up high and proud, but still good enough to spool it on.

For tensioning the rope the first time:

• Park on a somewhat level surface.
• Hook it to something solid like another rig or a tree strap around a tree.
• Shift your Jeep into N and click the parking brake a couple clicks to put a little tension on them and winch it in. You don't need much tension, just the weight of pulling the Jeep will do it.
• Get someone to sit in the driver's seat and keep the Jeep aimed straight.
• Stand out front with the controller in one hand and use the other hand to help guide the rope to spool it on nice and even. We're not doing a full winching load, so don't worry about touching the rope while doing it. Just be sure to keep your hands back far enough from your fairlead.
  
• Make sure to be safe. Keep your hands back from the fairlead, make sure the area is level and there is nothing to trip over as you are winching in and walking.
  
• You could also pull another vehicle to you instead of pulling your vehicle towards something else.
• Feel free to pulse the winch on/off as you winch in to help keep you ahead of the pull and keep your speed down.
• Be careful, stay safe and have fun doing it!

This will help the fibers in the rope stretch and align properly, after that you can just use body weight to tension it on the spool.




Yes, it's just those four bolts and nuts.

It may not seem big enough, so let's take a look at the math. Those bolts are good to around 6,000 lbs per bolt and you have 4 of them or around 24,000 lbs total holding that winch in place. If you torque them properly and keep them tight, they'll never see that much load.

Thank you, this post is awesome!

 

[NCSUSTATS]

Did anyone have an issue with the supplied bolts not being long enough to go through, and connect together, the winch plate, bumper, filler plate & fairlead?

 

[jeepdriver99]

Did anyone have an issue with the supplied bolts not being long enough to go through, and connect together, the winch plate, bumper, filler plate & fairlead?

I put the VR8 on my JL and had to go to the local hardware store and get longer bolts.

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