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Expedition one rear bumper fitting issues

21K views 78 replies 31 participants last post by  Goat242 
#1 · (Edited)
Hello, guys.
I have issues fitting the expedition one rear bumper without swingout on my truck.
Bumper was new in the box.
Corners came from a guy who previously installed the bumper and sold it later. They were precut.
I had a Demello previously which fit. without issues. No gaps.
Bottom line is that I can not slide this bumper all the way to the end and I have HUGE gaps.
It seems like it is hitting OEM hitch and/or OEM bolts, just like in this post
http://www.fjcruiserforums.com/foru...expedition-one-bumper-install-fit-issues.html
I have not tightened the locknuts but before doing that the bumper was supposed to stay closer to the frame I guess.
I am so pissed off right now. Also it looks like the square boxes are smaller than the tabs, see pictures.
The whole point of me getting this bumper is that it is suppose to work with the oem hitch.
Can anyone tell me, when you installed the bumper, were you able to push it closer to the body before tightening it down? Also your square boxes looked like mine?
 

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#2 · (Edited)
Also, as a bonus, my parking sonars do not work making a continuous beep. I pulled them out and they work fine. Put them back, they act like they act like they are detecting some obstacle.
And Gobi ladder does not seem to fit anymore.
I never had this issues with the Demello and sonars were also mounted on a steel frame.
 
#5 · (Edited)
I had a similar problem and fit with a SSO bumper on a GX, had a 1" gap on the sides and the front points stuck out away from the body waiting to catch something and was told it had to be that way to protect the body. Sad thing is that I found pictures of other SSO bumpers that had better fits than mine. I took my back.

I hope you get this worked out, I wouldn't want that fit.
 
#6 ·
Have you contacted exp-one? Did you buy the bumper used? I'll send Sarah from Exp-One a text regarding this thread.

There are so many happy customers with Exp-One products on here I'm surprised by this thread to be honest. As far as designers go James, owner/designer at Exp-One, is a perfectionist and makes the best most high quality bumpers and other products for the FJ IMO.
 
#8 · (Edited)
Thank you. Bumper was new in box, I bought it from a forum member who ordered it but never installed it because of a back injury ( CementFJ ). Accesories were sealed so the bumper was never installed. Bumper itself was wrapped and sealed.

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#9 ·
Thank you. Bumper was new in box, I bought it from a forum member who ordered it but never installed it because of a back injury ( CementFJ ). Accesories were sealed so the bumper was never installed. Bumper itaelf was wrapped and sealed.

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You should of got the instructions that said you might have to grind the heads of those bolts. You could put a button head bolt in place too or weld the receiver on. Mine fits like a glove but they do tell you that if you have an OEM receiver it may need to be clearanced.

Just curious, why did you replace your DO bumper?
 
#10 · (Edited)
I am afraid I will not be able to remove them later on if I grind them.
I don't remember remember reading anywhere in instructions about having to adjust if OEM hitch is used.
It was something mentioned about my sonars which don't work in this bumper anyway and I can not figure out why
On their website it says these bumpers are designed to fit with OEM hitch.
Demello bumper was one of the first models and did not have a hitch. I replaced it specifically because I needed an OEM hitch.
My old Demello fitted like a glove tight wrapping around the corners and I got pics to prove it. It had its issues but fitment was not among them. Also the front Road Armor Titan bumper fit perfectly. To my surprise, this one does not. That is why I posted, maybe I am doing something wrong but I can't see what I am doing wrong.
What about the square boxes, they seem smaller than the space between brackets.

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#11 ·
Grind the head of bolts?? How am I gonna ever remove them grinded?
I don't remember remember reading anywhere in instruction about having to adjust if OEM hitch used.
It was something mentioned about my sonars which don't work in this bumper anyway.
On their website it says these bumpers are DESIGNED TO FIT with OEM hitch.
You seem a bit upset. Maybe take a few moments to calm down and listen to the advice being offered here and not come back at them with teeth showing. You'll find you catch more flies with honey.
 
#12 ·
Sucks you bought it new but not directly from Exp-One . . . warranty will be a problem likely as stated on their website if you are looking for a replacement.

I'd cool it until you talk to them personally. As I said there are plenty of people running Exp-One products and are super happy, me being one of them. One should always contact vendor before posting a tread with this much trash talking. They support this forum as well as other vendors so just watch your P's and Q's.

Every product has issues from time to time but only the good vendors will make it right . . . Exp-One being one of those vendors. Just give them a chance to prove me right or wrong.
 
#13 ·
Slightly smaller so it curls the tabs around the frame, tighter fit.
Not to grind the heads off completely... Probably just the lower edge and the gussets. You have to remove the bumper to remove the receiver
 
#14 · (Edited)
I do not know what trash talking you mean. I did not say I'm 100% percent is the bumper, but I had one steel bumper before and it fit so this eliminates the issue with the body sitting too low that one other guy had previously.
To make everything clear, I will explain why this project was a failure. I removed the Demello and broke my parking sonars in that process. My fault
Bought new ones but they don't seem to work with this bumper , I do not know why. They work fine if I take them out though. Unsure who's fault is here.
I found out I can not use my Gobi ladder because of the clearance. My fault, should have checked before
I had also to buy new rear lights. Don't want to detail this but it has to do with Chicago winter.
The rear hitch bolts have a high tendency to rust and seize , I barely removed them , I could not imagine how I would have been able to do this with the heads grinded that is why I overreacted.
Not trying to catch flies just to understand why it does not fit. I am due for hernia surgery and I am installing this at home after work hours. My wife helped me until now taking the bumper out and put back in but now she is getting pissed off and I am hurting myself more and more doing this bumper project.
Yes I installed all my mods on my truck, including a front Road Armor Titan and the Demello, I am not a newbie.
And lol I sold the Demello for a very low price locally so I can not put back what I previously had.
I went with Expedition one because I always liked there products and I heard only good words about them.
Nobody clearly answered my questions. ..are the boxes suppose to be bigger, and does the bumper need to slide more before tightening the bolts.
I did emailed expedition one last night with pictures and asking them what they think is the problem here and got no answer yet.
I will edit my post and sorry if I offended anybody but cuttind through a steel bumper to accommodate the hitch is out of my league and out of reasonable posibilities for average end user.
I will try when I get home to remove hitch and install it to see if hitch is the issue.

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#15 ·
I think DX FJC did answer your question about the boxes being smaller, and I agree that they need to be smaller than the frame. I believe it is designed so that the tabs bend to form fit to the frame for a very tight fit. Mine is like that. My bumper snugs right up to the rear of the rig, more so than yours. My bumper also hits the OEM hitch. I was concerned about that when installing, but got over it. I think that should be addressed by Exp 1. An easy fix for them if they would widen the cutout to allow more room for the OEM hitch. The folks at Exp 1 are good people, they have excellent customer service.
 
#16 · (Edited)
Thank you so much for your answer I missed the earlier response regarding the square boxes and I apologize.
I am at work now and cannot do much I make my postings while I am driving using the speech recognition in my phone. Once I get back home I will remove that hitch to see if that is the real source of the problem but I don't know what I am going to do if so because I need it and I am not comfortable cutting the bumper.
I don't have the tools and I don't have the knowledge to do it.
I thought the same way yesterday that this problem will be easily addressed if the cut out would have been bigger.

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#17 ·
I just wanted to make sure before I start to tight lock nuts because those tabs will going to bend and I don't want them to bend wrong way if the bumper is not pushed all the way back like it was supposed to be that's why my primary question was if the bumper has to slide more before I start to tighten it. The answer is yes it has so something is wrong.

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#18 ·
I have an exp 1 rear bumper as well,

I think you will find that when you fully tighten the bolts holding the
"boxes" that the face of the bumper will rotate up. this will close the gap at the top somewhat, and lift the bumper off of the hitch gussets. Due to the way the bumper mounts, it basically clamps/encircles the frame, so there is actually plenty of wriggle room as you start to tighten it. Make sure the four bolts in the tow hook locations are slightly loose to allow shifting to happen, as the top rotates forward, the bottom may need to pull out a bit. I think I tightened the top box bolts first (not fully torqued, just metal to metal) then did the same with the lowers. I didn't fully torque anything until the bumper was positioned to my satisfaction.

I was also quite disappointed with my OEM hitch, the gussets were not positioned accurately (one was higher than the other) and that one hit when the bumper was pulled in. Since I have a tire carrier, I found the tire carrier functioned better when the bumper was pulled out. To keep it from shifting, I actually installed some plastic spacers between the inside of the bumper and the back of the frame. It has held up perfectly for me.



Also, some gorilla tape from Home Depot applied inside the plastic (behind the bumper wings) really cleans up the appearance...here is a pic of the gorilla tape with my old LoD bumper


I also had a similar problem with the backup sensors -they went off continuously. this happens when you squeeze them. The cutouts in the exp 1 rear bumper seem to be for the older style sensors, and squeeze the new style sensors excessively. I slightly opened my sensor holes up with a grinding stone on a dremel and then test fit the sensor. This fixed the problem for me.

I think if you make a few tweaks, you will get the fit you want. Sometimes it helps to walk away for a bit. I usually screw something up when I refuse to give myself some time to walk away and think through the problem.

Good Luck,
shawn
 
#19 · (Edited)
I have the expedition One bumper with the tire swing. It was a pain in the *** to get it snug to the back of the truck. I also have the factory hitch. Also even worse is trying to adjust the rear lights in the bumper. I do have backup sensors in mine, but had to put them upside down because the holes were cut upside down, they are sort of D shaped holes. I also did not like the way the brackets hols it on either. But when i tightened it up all the way, i was able to get it to snug in a little. I still have enough gap to squeeze a finger between the bumper and body, but it did take several tries to get it straight and centered. Definitely not as easy as a Warn or ARB bumper to get on and lined up. I ended up using some hardware that was left over from a Warn Bumper to make a custom bracket to help snug it in.
I did buy if from EXP-ONE, and did call them several times when installing it and never got any calls returned.
 
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#20 ·
So after waiting and getting no answer to the email, I called E1. I got Zack who seemed to open and read my email while we were talking.
Short story long, he asked for more pics and I sent them with a video. Then he suggested to tighten the bolts, maybe bumper will fit. It did not.
I took down the hitch and saw issue right away. Bumper is touching hitch in 4 points marked by arrows. I installed bumper without the hitch. It fits in the back close to the body, but sides are still off by 9-10/16".
This is much worse fit than my old bumper. But I would try to make it work if I could fit the hitch. I can't.
What can I do at this point to make this work. Should I try to grind the rear hitch and use flatter bolts. I don't even have tools or time to do this. What a failure! Both bumper and hitch are made of thick steel it will be a pain to grind any of them to an acceptable point. And the problem of the side gaps will still remain hopefully I will be able to hide it with bushwackers and weather seal.
And I have to fix the issue with the rear sensor, to make the Gobi ladder work.
Lights were a pain to adjust, bracket stays too low, I had to add washers but I made it work. I do not complain about reasonable work to be done, but grinding a finite product to accommodate something that is stated it will fit does not seem right at all.
 

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#22 ·
I also had a similar problem with the backup sensors -they went off continuously. this happens when you squeeze them. The cutouts in the exp 1 rear bumper seem to be for the older style sensors, and squeeze the new style sensors excessively. I slightly opened my sensor holes up with a grinding stone on a dremel and then test fit the sensor. This fixed the problem for me.

I think if you make a few tweaks, you will get the fit you want. Sometimes it helps to walk away for a bit. I usually screw something up when I refuse to give myself some time to walk away and think through the problem.

Good Luck,
shawn[/quote]

My EX-1 bumper is sitting on the garage floor and will be installed in a couple of weeks. My instructions say that you may have to enlarge the sensor holes for later model FJ's. I guess Toyota changed the sensor specs.

I've found that most aftermarket vendors want and do build quality products but unless the product is custom fit to your vehicle you will get some fit differences. I'm not saying this is the problem but there will be subtle differences.

Since my OEM hitch has been use as a rear skid plate a few times, I'm anticipating possible clearance problems. We will see.

I went with Ex-1 because of their reputation for a quality product.
 
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#36 ·
My EX-1 bumper is sitting on the garage floor and will be installed in a couple of weeks. My instructions say that you may have to enlarge the sensor holes for later model FJ's. I guess Toyota changed the sensor specs.

I've found that most aftermarket vendors want and do build quality products but unless the product is custom fit to your vehicle you will get some fit differences. I'm not saying this is the problem but there will be subtle differences.

Since my OEM hitch has been use as a rear skid plate a few times, I'm anticipating possible clearance problems. We will see.

I went with Ex-1 because of their reputation for a quality product.
Well I finally got my bumper installed. Vacation and replacing the front axles (leaking) and front bearings (had the front apart so might as well replace bearings) took priority.

Anyway, had no trouble with bumper install. Bumper sides follow body contour and gap is uniform. Bumper does rest against the OEM hitch upper brace bars (as in some of the pictures) and there is about 16th of inch between bumper and hitch bolts. Unlike some of the pictures where bumper is touching hitch bolts. I'm surprised I did not have a problem; as I mentioned above my OEM hitch has been uses as a skid plate on numerous occasions.

My only problem was with the tire swing arm installation. The brass bushings fit correctly on one side but were to big for the other side of the assembly that attaches the swing arm to back door. Since everything is custom welded my guess is the tolerance was too tight. I had to shave one of the bushings to get it to fit.

All-in-all I'm happy with my bumper and I'm sorry that others are having problems with fit and finish.

PS: I have an 07 if that matters any.
 
#23 · (Edited)
Here are some pics of how mine fits for reference. Again, recommend gorilla tape inside the plastic opening to clean up appearance...

To summarize 13/16 gap on passenger side, 9/16 on driver side. I shifted the bumper to the driver side as much as possible, such that the bolts in the tow hook locations are against the sides of the mounting holes. In my case, spacing the bumper more rearward gave me all the clearance I needed around the hitch, and made the gaps on the corners look more even, rather than tight at the back and open at the edge of the corner. If you pull anything from the tow points on the bumper it will pull it back anyway. I also think having the bumper pulled to the rear will give a small "crush zone" if you are ever rear-ended, the bumper can shift forward 1/2" or so before anything has to bend.

I am also running a 1/2" body lift, so my gap is a bit more obvious anyway.

Thanks
Shawn
 

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#26 · (Edited)
As an update ...or trash talk reloaded.
Nobody ever replied my email from Expedition One after I let them know on Friday that bumper does not fit. Nobody called me back. To be honest I had this"exceptional" customer service in the past, so nothing new .
Bumper was new in the box and I can have another 2 members of the forum vow for it. I didn't even mention it came with a scratch "professionaly " masked as that was not a major drawback.
Anyway, I ended up adjusting and triming both hitch and bumper on Saturday with a dremel and a file to get an acceptable fit for a few hours. Bumper had to come in and out at least 15 times. I had to replace hitch's middle bolts with button heads which I had to adjust , shaving their heads quite a bit. Could not even put washers on those such a tight fit it was.
Of course gap on passenger side is a bit bigger, it always will be since bumper is not symetrical. Period. Not with a lot, just enough to count.
I can not understand how after 6 years of production bumper still does not follow body lines. It is at least 1 inch to 1.5 inches wider than it should be.
I will post pictures later from my tablet. Bushwackers did not fit anymore and needed extensive trimming both upper and lower parts-they needed no trimming with my old bumper. Another 2 hours wasted and now they are custom fit just for this bumper. Bummer.
Gobi ladder does not fit anymore -bottom bracket issue. Truth is bottom bracket for Gobi is huge and primitive
I did adjusted sensor holes to the point sonars were loose and I still had continous beeping -it has to do with bumper geometry or material probably.
I will also need to get some weatherstrip to put between bumper and plastic sides in those gaps.
So, as a recap, upgrading to this new bumper rendered useless Gobi and rear sonars, triggered Bushwackers trimming and I created gaps between bumper and body. My hitch had to be adjusted and cut and it does not take original bolts anymore.
As a conclusion I am positive that this bumper is wider than it should be, not deep enough to accomodate OEM hitch, powder coat flakes way too easy, holes for lights tabs have an odd placement, and sensors do not work in it .
If I knew these from , I would have made a different choice.
Thank you for your pms and posts/suggestions.
My FJ is a 2009 never involved in any accident.


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#28 ·
Wow that's really surprising. I didn't have to do any of that for my exp 1 to fit. It slid right on. I had some gaps on the corners, but when I tightened they went away. I really cranked them on. The first time I tightened it, it left gaps. Then I put it on a second time to adjust the lights and tightened as much as I could. Then everything lined up. The only gripe I have is not being able to adjust after the bumper is on.
 
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