E-Autogrilles Off Road Front Bumper.

Autogrilles 87-06 Jeep Wrangler TJ/YJ Off Road Front Bumper.
   One of the first things I did to my jeep was get a new tube bumper. This worked well for the first year and gave the Jeep a good look to the front end. Problem #1 - The bumper would not accommodate the winch. The same bumper with the winch cut out was $100 more. I thought about cutting the bumper so that the winch would fit and even bought end caps for the tubes. Problem #2 – I got a Smittybilt winch plate and it would hold the winch securely to the front frame. But again I would have to cut the bumper out.
   After some amount of consideration, and checking with the boss, I decided instead to go with the E-Autogrilles front bumper, just over $200 with free shipping. They have several to pick from. And they look just like some of the other brands out there. Shipping was quick and the bumper came well packed. It was quite a feat fitting this box into the back of our Camry, a bit of scrunching. As normal the UPS guy was happy to deliver parts.

Tools needed:
Socket set.
Hex bits.
Drill and Step drill bit.
Loctite.
Hammer. For persuasion.
Open end wrenches.

Install:
    The bumper was labeled as good for a TJ / YJ and many of the reviews said that the lower holes would not line up and this was the case with mine. One of the lower brackets was quite bent upon arrival an easy fix. A friend and I took off the old bumper and promptly put it on the front of his Jeep, first lifting the bumper on and doing some adjustments to the mounting brackets to make them fit over the frame was the easy part a little bit of bending and hammering make them fit.  Once the bumper was slid on the upper holes went on with no issues, the passenger side seem to fit (upper and lower) the divers side did not. The lower hole has a oval shape to allow forward and backward movement but NO side to side. This made the holes not line up. We tried to drill the holes out using a drill bit, that did not work well. I could not find my grinding stone so we took a trip up to Harbor Freight. I picked up a step bit and that took care of the problem. Measure twice, drill once. This will save you a whole lot of grief. I suggest a total removal of the bumper after you locate the proper places to drill holes. Then the bumper will be a breeze to put on. If you have a TJ the holes line up with no issues, the YJ makes it where you need to drill.
    The bumper came with all the hardware needed to do the mounts and I used washers to cover the large holes that I had made. Upgrade the nuts and bolts if you can to Grade 8 to give it more strength. The bumper is on and it looks good. The two D-Rings add a recovery point and are welded on front and back. They came with insulators so they don’t rattle while driving. The upper bar has a place to mount lights too. I am not sure how much flexing the mounting area will do when putting the winch under a load. Might weld the SmityBuilt plate under there for strength.
    Mounting the winch was the next task getting the bolts to go under the bumper was a bit of a task as that the cross member of the frame was in the exact same spot that the holes for the mounting bolts. Follow the instructions on wiring you winch. As always, everything you add will require 3 other things to make it work. The grandkids came by to help. The middle one thanked me for doing all this work on  his jeep, that way when I get old I can pass it on to him.
(The winch was missing the ground terminal on the lower part of the motor and will need to be found before a full test and review.)

PROs:
The price. You pay for what you get, if you want more they make a heavy duty version with lights.
The look. Beefy and makes the wife feel safe.
The packing. It would survive Armageddon. No scratched or dents.
Welded hoop protects the front of the Jeep Wrangler TJ/YJ.
Two tabs on pre-runner hoop for extra off-road lights.

CONs:
The holes don’t line up, even though the specs said NO drilling or cutting.
Powder coat is a bit thin.
Winch area is going to need reinforcement.
 
Would I recommend this to a friend… Yes, yes I would. The jobs done now go get some pizza.

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