By Jay on Saturday, March 10, 2001 - 11:04 pm: Edit

Please do help me with my ARB bumper installation on a 97 Disco SE. Some of the questions might be stupid or obvious to someone else but I am a novice in all this. I just started modifying my Disco for better offroad capability. I could not find any instructions or writeups on the web. I promise that once I am done with it, I will write up a detailed installation procedure & submit it with photos for the use of Discoweb members (or anyone who wants to use it).

I have some questions on the installation of the ARB bumper on a 97 Discovery SE. The instructions provided with the bumper are basically useless. It does not list the parts in the kits. No diagrams of anything. Really vague 6 or 7 lines which does not tell you anything. Here are the steps that I followed for the partial installation.

1. Uninstalled the front skid plate.
2. Removed the OEM bumper along with the end caps.
3. Removed the OEM tow bracket on driver's side.
4. Disconnected the side marker lights from the OEM bumper.
5. Disconnected the headlamp washer pipes & plugged them to prevent washer liquid from draining.
6. Removed the headlamp washer units and installed them on the ARB bumper.
7. Installed the provided indicator lights on the ARB bumper & spliced it with the OEM indicator lights.
8. Installed the ARB bumper on the frame rails.
9. Used 3 bolts on each side to attach the bumper to the frame rails.

Now the questions :

(1) The installation kit for the ARB bumper seems to have a whole bunch of extra nuts, bolts, washers, thick wires, clamps, etc.. Should I be using them somewhere ? I am not installing a winch at this point.

(3) Are the 3 bolts on each side the only ones that hold the bumper in position ?

(4) I used the 5" bolts in the front bottom hole as I have to use the extra length to attach the RN front skid plate. Is the place where the RN front skid plate is attached normally ?

(5) The install kit has a couple of Aluminium plates about 2"x3" with a hole in the middle. What is this used for ? Should this go between the bumper frame tube & frame rail somewhere ?

(6) I did not know that I would loose my side marker light. Should I be splicing the built-in ARB lights with the side marker lights or the indicators ?

(7) The installation instructions (useless BTW) talks about attaching some OEM plastic skirt from the front bumper to the ARB bumper. What is this ? I am not using anything except the OEM headlamp washers from the OEM bumper in the ARB. Am I missing something ?

(8) I could not get the ARB to align properly with the quarter panels. Is there any trick to doing this ? Should there be any gap betn the ARB bumper side extension & the quarter panels ?

(9) The nut provided for the bolts are not locking nuts. Should I apply some loctite (??) or something to it ? Should I use locking washers ?

(10) I thought the ARB had an integrated roller fairlead for the winch. My bumper did not come with one. Is this part of the winch ?

(11) Where do I mount the front license plate ? I could not find any predrilled holes that align with the holes on the license plate. Does this need some kind of a bracket ?

(12) There are a bunch of tabs on the ARB bumper. I know that a couple of them are for lights. What are the other tabs for ?

I appreciate any information that you could provide.

Thank you for your time & patience.

Regards,
Jay
97 Disco SE

By Moe on Sunday, March 11, 2001 - 11:29 am: Edit

Jay, Discoweb and its users would appreciate an article detailing the ARB install. As you know there is not one in the tech section, and these same questions seem to always come up.

1) Don’t worry too much about the extra hardware. ARB might provide bolts for your licence plate, clamps for the light washers etc, Just make sure you use the correct washers and spring washers for the 6 main bolts.

3) Yes, three bolts on each frame horn.

5) I had some 'spacers' in my kit. These extra plates could be spacers as you guessed, but given that they are aluminium, I can't be sure.

6) Your sidemarker lights are relocated into the bumper. Yes you should splice togther the old wiring and the wiring ARB provides. You might want to consider getting smaller bulbs than ARB provides. I thought that they burned too hot and more prone to blowing when you dip the front end in water. Also, use lots of silicone around the lens to get a good seal on those lights, otherwise water will enter.

8) Alignment will take a few tries and it might not be exact but should come close. A floor jack and stands will come in handy to take some of the support while you maneuver it in place and then tighten the bolts. After it settles on the trail, you might have to readjust anyway.

9) Use the spring washers. Be careful not to over tighten these bolts as you might start crushing the frame horns.

10) The ARB should not include an actual fairlead, but they should provide a spot to bolt the fairlead when you purchase your winch. It is a winch bumper?

11) In the airbag version, I was able to mount the license plate above the fairlead. You might not have the room with your version.

12) The tabs, I believe, are for lights and whatever else you want to bolt on them--antennas etc,

Ian Moe

By Rudd Thabes on Sunday, March 11, 2001 - 03:28 pm: Edit

Jay, www.encompassone.com/AmericanRovers/March/bumper.html will take you through ARB bumper installation step-by-step with illustrations.

Rudd

By Jay R. on Sunday, March 11, 2001 - 10:46 pm: Edit

Rudd,

The link you provided does not work. Have they gone under ? Does anyone know where the "American Rovers" online magazine can be found ?

Thanks.
Jay

By Rudd Thabes on Monday, March 12, 2001 - 12:14 am: Edit

Jay,

Looks like they must have gone under. I have copy of the article on ARB bumper installation from them. If you can send me an e-mail address I can scan it to you or if you have a FAX number I can FAX.

Rudd

By Rob Davison (Pokerob) on Tuesday, March 13, 2001 - 06:52 pm: Edit

here are a few pictures of my bumper and skid plate. i hope this helps.

http://www.discoweb.org/abskid


PokeRob

By Slider on Tuesday, March 13, 2001 - 10:35 pm: Edit

Rob...Is that a fridge in your garage???

Cool

By Rob Davison (Pokerob) on Wednesday, March 14, 2001 - 12:48 pm: Edit

yep, freezer there too..

hehehe, good eye
RokeRob