Westin Bumpers

[safety_glasses]

I bought a set of Westin bumpers and finally got around to putting them on this past week. I’ve put Jeep bumpers on before but this was seriously a pain in the ass. The instructions were kind of like Ikea instructions if you’ve ever bought anything there… very brief instructions and the picture doesn't show you everything you need to know. I liked how it turned out though. Thought I’d share…

What I bought:
WJ2 Stubby Front Bumper - 59-80075
WJ2 Rear Bumper w/ Tire Carrier - 59-82035
Skid plate
Westin Synthetic winch
Lights for rear bumper
KC 6 inch fog lights
Mopar light relocation kit
Shackles

Taking off the stock bumpers off was pretty easy. Getting the rear bumper on was pretty easy as well.

The tire carrier however was a pain… I made several attempts at install only to take it off and try something different. When I finally got it on, level and attached to the tailgate I realized it wasn't tight enough against the tailgate and the tire bounced a little too much. I collapsed the turnbuckle assemblies as far as they went and it put the rubber pad against the tailgate… just not tight. Not sure if you can see it in this picture but this was before we fixed it.

I took it over to Oconee Offroad and had them take a look at it… realizing i might be out of my depth here. Come to find out it wasn't how I installed it… the pad just isn't thick enough. They put 5 washers behind the pads to make them stick out a lot more, and that made it tight enough. Here is a picture of the washers.

I have been in contact with Westin about a few things on this install and they’ve been very helpful. I figured I’d send them these pics and some feedback and hope that they make a bracket that looks better than these washers.

The other area that I had an issue was the camera wire. It didn’t seem to be long enough… and that was totally my mistake. I was putting the wire through the wrong hole. I’ve attached the pic they sent me in the event that it helps someone else trying to install this. BTW, you can still see the rim in the back up camera but not nearly as bad as it was on the stock carrier.

I had spent a lot of time looking for a license plate solution because none of the pictures or descriptions on westin’s site say anything about a plate holder (and the JL’s plate is on the stock bumper). I was just about to buy one but when I opened the box it had a plate holder that mounts to the top of the bumper and two LED lights. It does stick out from the side of the bumper but it’s not not wider than the fender. Maybe one day i’ll move to a tire mounted one but I’m happy with this one for now.

The front bumper should have been easy… it’s 8 bolts. But… I could not get the holes to line up right. One bolt would just not go in so I took the bumper off again only to realize there was a drip from the welding in the opening. I dremeled it out and swapped the bolts to one that had a tapered tip and finally got it on.

When I bought this I originally committed to the full size bumper which has fog light holes. At the last minute I realized the front full size bumper was wider than the rear bumper (the rear does not go to the edge of the fenders). Call it OCD but that would bug me to no end so I did a last minute swap for the stubby. I didn’t realize there were no fog light holes until I went to install. Dumb, I know… So I bought 6 inch KC fog lights and spliced it into the wires from the OEM lights. It worked great and my stock fog light switch turns them on.

Here’s the final product. I also swapped out my RC spacer lift for a Rubicon express full lift kit. I still need to wire the rear lights and install the auxiliary buttons (bought the mopar kit) and then I’m done. At least for a little while

I just put on the rear and my factory tire is hitting the tire carrier causing it to not sit exactly flush. Any ideas why? It’s rubbing on the passenger side

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[Tritonman]

I noticed in the below photo you seem to be "missing" the bumper trim piece that hides the factory steel frame bumps. Did you leave that off on purpose?

 

[donmontalvo]

I have been in contact with Westin about a few things on this install and they’ve been very helpful.

This (in my opinion) is more important than anything else. Happy to report the design has been through several revisions, the latest install doc is 75-598204-RevC, dated 11/23/2020.That's about a month and a half ago.

I just got my Westin WJ2 and will be installing it on my 2020 Sport S in the coming days. If I run into any issues I'll share.

 

[donmontalvo]

Done. Well. Almost. I still have to run the 3x3 LEDs through the frame to my sPOD.

I love the way the tire carrier spindle gives you several ways to adjust.

 

[blnewt]

Done. Well. Almost. I still have to run the 3x3 LEDs through the frame to my sPOD.

I love the way the tire carrier spindle gives you several ways to adjust.

Very nice, real clean look back there too!

 

[donmontalvo]

Very nice, real clean look back there too!

Used the Mopar brake light location kit and the Rough Country plate relocation kit.

 

[donmontalvo]

Used the Mopar brake light location kit and the Rough Country plate relocation kit.

For anyone who bought their Westin W2J bumpers with backup sensors (or who like me didn't realize there's an option to not have the holes).

Didn't know that when I bought the bumper, so had to buy some 3/4" caps to plug the holes.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/3-4-Lockin...-Holes-Round-Black-White-Plastic/313269480736

Not interested in rock lights, so might look to plug those holes too.

 

[donmontalvo]

Its been a month or a bit longer since I've had the Westin WJ2 installed. I remember driving a 100 miles and re-tightening all the bolts. Looks like things have settled down.

With that said, I now see I have a gap of about 1/4-3/8" between therubber pads and the tailgate plate.

I contacted Westin via email, and they confirmed they've received reports of the gap. They're not sure if they're going to offer additional pads of different thicknesses, and they have no ETA when they'll have the pads ready.

They advised checking first to make sure the castle nut in the spindle is tight, since that also needs to settle in. I'll check this weekend, makes sense that if the castle nut is loose, that would lead to the tire carrier drooping, causing there to be a gap.

FWIW, the license plate carrier wobbles a lot, notice it every time I close the tailgate. Seems to stay in place though. I do need to unmount the spare and re-route the wires and the camera housing. Seems like the camera housing needed to be under the wheel and not over it. Woops. Works, but yea, not perfect until I make those changes.

 

[donmontalvo]

I noticed Westin responded a couple weeks ago about my spindle set screw question.

As it turns out the instructions that came with the bumper shows the set screw on top of the spindle, but doesn't show where to put it:

​

They revised their instructions to show where the spindle screw gets installed:

Well...I presumed that was the hole for the set screw...the only problem is the set screw is too big for that hole. At least that's my thought, since I can push the wheel in towards the tailgate easily, indicating the spindle castle nut wasn't secured.

I responded...if anyone else didn't install their set screw, I wouldn't be surprised if this is what's causing the tire carrier to tailgate gap.

Fingers crossed for a quick response. In the meantime, I'm off to Home Depot to find a screw that DOES fit.

 

[donmontalvo]

While I wait for Westin to send some rubber shims, I followed the advice on this thread. Use washers to fill the gap.

The bolts are M8, so I bought some 1/4”x1” washers and used 5 per bolt. I wanted to use the biggest washers, to spread the pressure as much as possible.

I might have been better off with 1/4”x1.5”. I decided if I hadn’t to adjust again, I’ll cut some rubber shims myself.

 

[Sethward01]

Done. Well. Almost. I still have to run the 3x3 LEDs through the frame to my sPOD.

I love the way the tire carrier spindle gives you several ways to adjust.

Did you have issues with your sensors and the spare tire? Just installed this bumper, minus the tire carrier. I have the Mopar relocation tire carrier and swing gate reinforcement. I can back out of the driveway and my Park Sense sensors are fine, but as soon as I start to pull forward I get the warning the system is unavailable. One of the middle sensors is pointing slightly upward, so Im hoping this is it. I cant raise the spare tire, so Im going to try and adjust that sensor tomorrow.

 

[donmontalvo]

Did you have issues with your sensors and the spare tire? Just installed this bumper, minus the tire carrier. I have the Mopar relocation tire carrier and swing gate reinforcement. I can back out of the driveway and my Park Sense sensors are fine, but as soon as I start to pull forward I get the warning the system is unavailable. One of the middle sensors is pointing slightly upward, so Im hoping this is it. I cant raise the spare tire, so Im going to try and adjust that sensor tomorrow.

I did’t have sensors.

 

[Sethward01]

I did’t have sensors.

Ah. I see that now. Your bumper was made for the sensors, but after looking at it more closely, I can see there arent sensors there.

 

[_thewick]

Westin Front, Rear with tire carrier and Sidesteps.

Looks so good!! I love the gray.

I'm leaning heavily toward the WJ2 full width; it's pricey but I like my mods to be quality and have longevity. It's pretty much everything I'm looking for in terms of quality, performance, features, and looks.

Curious to hear you thoughts on the sliders though after owning them for awhile... I'm thinking about the Westins but have been leaning toward the White Knuckle sliders: White Knuckle Rock Sliders. I'd like to lose as little clearance as possible. It would be nice if they could function as a step but that's kind of secondary, and the white knuckles could fill that role... The Westins though, kind of checks all the boxes. Do they hang down past the frame rails? Have you really put vehicle weight on them or "slid" on them so to speak? How have they held up?

 

[Namib]

Looks so good!! I love the gray.

I'm leaning heavily toward the WJ2 full width; it's pricey but I like my mods to be quality and have longevity. It's pretty much everything I'm looking for in terms of quality, performance, features, and looks.

Curious to hear you thoughts on the sliders though after owning them for awhile... I'm thinking about the Westins but have been leaning toward the White Knuckle sliders: White Knuckle Rock Sliders. I'd like to lose as little clearance as possible. It would be nice if they could function as a step but that's kind of secondary, and the white knuckles could fill that role... The Westins though, kind of checks all the boxes. Do they hang down past the frame rails? Have you really put vehicle weight on them or "slid" on them so to speak? How have they held up?

I am quite happy with the sliders, no rattles or squeaks. They do not go below the frame rails, but I believe there are higher clearance options if that is the most important criteria for you. I have not put the vehicles full weight on them, so I cannot comment on that.

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