[dman4486]

well it has been a while since I have been on this board. I haven't done much to the passodeo until today. I pulled the LSD out of the rear and installed a powertrax no-slip.So far it has been relatively quiet on the street.I am looking forward to the next trail ride to experience this is new capability. hopefully it doesn't make me overconfident and cause a problem. I will try to pull a few images from my phone and get them posted up.

 

[dman4486]

 

[Ruination]

Easier said than done, I hear...

 

[dman4486]

Easier said than done, I hear...

Apparently the best way of doing this is to pull the cover and then wait a day. :idea:

 

[dman4486]

Finally purchased a winch. Smittybilt XRC Gen3 12K (On sale at 4WP for $509) and a 1/4" mounting plate. Decided I wanted to not impact approach angle, so I cut the core support lower cross brace and set the mounting plate all the way back against the radiator lower mount brackets. I used a 1/4" x 2" plate to brace the core support between the OE bolt holes for the lower rad support brackets, which also pushed the bottom of the radiator back 1/4". After dinner I test fit the OE bumper and how about that fit! More to come. I plan for now to put all the original plastic back on after the plate is welded solid.

 

[Enemigo]

Wow, that's in there tight. Is there an increased risk of punching the winch through the radiator on an impact?
I like the idea of putting that support brace in there. It won't be as stiff as the original tube support, but it seems like the frame does most of the heavy lifting as far as keeping everything rigid. Very interested to hear the report after the first drive.

 

[dman4486]

Wow, that's in there tight. Is there an increased risk of punching the winch through the radiator on an impact?
I like the idea of putting that support brace in there. It won't be as stiff as the original tube support, but it seems like the frame does most of the heavy lifting as far as keeping everything rigid. Very interested to hear the report after the first drive.

If the winch moves at all after being welded directly to the frame, I think I have worse problems than the radiator. I believe you are correct in that the frame provides most of the rigidity for the lower core support. When I cut the original tube out. There was very little movement. Most of what I noticed is the bottom of the radiator being able to move a little more front to back, although that is still only a few mm. I plan to triangulate in front of the radiator for the hood latch and may add some more support to the very bottom of the core.

 

[dman4486]

New hood latch support done and 1/2" trimmed from back of factory bumper and bolted on. I have to make the grill center support still, and then mount it back on. 35's (315-75-16) mounted up to check where I'll have to trim. As of right now I believe I'll have to trim the back on the fenders about 1/2" and then hammer in the firewall/footwell a little. Rear looks like it will be fine except for some slight rubbing at full compression.

 

[Enemigo]

That's awesome.