Winch Install Question

[endeavornet]

I recently purchased my first Wrangler. It's a 22 JLUR. I am planning to add a winch to it soon and have watched several videos on the process. Most looked pretty straight forward and well within my abilities. But recently I've seen some videos and forum threads that say I may have to trim the front bumper bracket to get the winch to fit. Is this purely based on the winch that is used, the mounting plate, or both. I was looking at the Warn Zeon 10-S winch. I really don't want to trim the bracket unless absolutely necessary. Can anyone give me some insight here?

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[Jim1964]

If you use a high mount the winch is above the frame, so no issues.

If you use a low mount with the winch between the rails then many installations will require grinding the inner frame flanges where the bumper mounts for the Warn Zeon. Mine did. Some people choose Warn VR or other brands because of this.

Grinding the clearance is really no big deal. What can be a major PITA is if you have to tighten your bumper bolts from the rear with the winch in place. Damn near impossible. Fortunately my bumper the bolts can be torqued from the front.

 

[swozey]

I installed a Smittybilt x20 in my LOD Destroyer yesterday with the LOD fairmount bracket and it was one of the easiest installs I've done on my jeep. Literally 4 bolts from the bottom and routing the wires up in the inner fender (I don't have liners) to my battery. Took maybe 30 minutes. Be picky about your fairlead bracket and which bumper you run, I didn't want to have to chop anything or fabricate either.

 

[BDinTX]

Grinding the clearance is really no big deal. What can be a major PITA is if you have to tighten your bumper bolts from the rear with the winch in place. Damn near impossible. Fortunately my bumper the bolts can be torqued from the front.

This right here - 100%
I used a hacksaw and a file, covered the raw metal with black spraypaint.
But those bolts on the back... what a nightmare.

 

[Adv_aw8s]

I mounted a warn zeon 10-s with the warn winch plate in the factory steel bumper. I did not have to trim anything. I did have to redrill the holes in the frame horns to get everything to line up because the factory had them so far out of alignment. It was easy though. I just ran a drill bit through them to elongate them just a tad.

 

[SFDemo]

I installed the Badlands 12K winch on Rugged Ridge Arcus front bumper with no trimming or issues. Pretty straightforward install by myself in driveway with no grinding, great instructions plus multiple videos online to cherry pick the better parts.

 

[AirportDave]

I put a Zeon 10S on my first JL, and would echo the comment about getting the bumper bolts back on. I had one that I just couldn't get to no matter what because of the size of the winch. On my new '22 JLUR, I went with the EVO 12S and had no issues at all getting all 8 bolts on and snug, since it's slightly smaller. Used the Warn winch mount and no grinding or drilling needed. Being a little OCD, I also trimmed down the plastic trim piece that goes between the bumper and grille and reinstalled using RivNuts in the frame.

 

[Headbarcode]

I installed the Warn Zeon 12s and the Warn winch plate in my mopar steel bumper, and it was completely a bolt on affair. Zero cutting or grinding. I also have frame reinforcement brackets that strengthen the bull bar, which are mounted on the inside of the frame rails, and still no issues and was able to get on all 8 bumper bolts without any fuss. Biggest pain was getting the anchor pin for the synthetic line all the way in and flush with the drum. Had to tie off to a tree and drive the Jeep in reverse to get it landed, which I should've just done right off the bat.

 

[cab1024]

I installed a Quadratec Stealth 10K winch and an LoD Signature series the other day and although I had plenty of problems, none of which were the manufacturers' fault, the winch fit perfectly with no trimming of anything.

 

[Powelligator]

I installed a Warn Zeon 8 w/steel cable on a Warn winch plate and yes, had to trim the inside bumper brackets to clear each side of the winch. Wasn't a problem, I used a Saws-all and the metal Jeep uses is really soft so it cut like butter. On the inside bumper nuts that are next to the winch I had to get to it from under the front of the Jeep with an extension and a universal joint on my ratchet drive, yeah I can see how that can be a pain on some winch installs.

My biggest problem was re-mounting the Rock Jock tow plate under the bumper, the Warn mount moves the bumper forward 3/8 of an inch and I had to re-drill the holes in the bumper. The typical battle of conflicting third-party modifications...

The rollers look kind of goofy but I have to pull docks out of a lake each fall across a few hundred feet of sand, can't use a synthetic line for that.

 

[JDLouisville]

Being a little OCD, I also trimmed down the plastic trim piece that goes between the bumper and grill and reinstalled using RivNuts in the frame.

I can’t believe I didn’t think of this; I’ll be doing this today.

 

[JL Eco Diesel]

I had a local shop install a warn winch yesterday. Didn’t use the warn winch plate and it is jammed right up to the grill. The wires (power source) aren’t hidden at all. Would the warn winch plate have solved this?

 

[Stl-Rubicon]

I installed a Quadratec Stealth 10K winch and an LoD Signature series the other day and although I had plenty of problems, none of which were the manufacturers' fault, the winch fit perfectly with no trimming of anything.

I'm getting ready to do this install over the weekend. What were the problems you had, or any tips if you were doing it again? Thanks

 

[AirportDave]

I used the Warn winch plate, and mine is maybe just a little farther forward then yours, but not by much- it would look much the same had you used the Warn plate. Those cables are just a fact of life with the Evo vs the Zeon- not much you can do with them. I ziptied mine together in a couple of spots. I also put a piece of 3M clear bra on the grille where they touch to keep them from rubbing through the paint. If you trim down the plastic trim piece that was between the bumper and frame before the winch and reinstall, it will help hide part of the winch cables and the fog light connection- see my post on that above.

 

[BDinTX]

You could slap some flex tubing on them to hide them a little better.

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