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Old 01-18-2012, 10:57 AM   #1
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New Aluminess bumper

I picked up my new bumper and nerf bars yesterday and was surprised to find they had changed the design. Aluminess has added vents to the front of the bumper opening up the winch box to the elements. I talked to Kenny about it and he told me the change was done to improve ventilation through the bumper to the engine. I'm not sure how this is going to work since there aren't any new vent holes in the back of the winch box. My concern is exposing the winch to all kinds of road grime. I had hoped to protect the winch from this type of exposure. I did suggest they update the Aluminess website to show picures of vans with the new design. Their website does show the new design on the other type of vehicle links.

If I had known about the vents I would have ordered it vent deleted. Oh Well, it's not something I can't live with. I was thinking about painting a sheet of aluminum or mudflap rubber a complimentary color and attatching it to the inside of the box sealing it back up.

My question to the group is how should I attatch the inside piece. My first thought would be some kind of glue so I don't have to drill any holes in the bumper and have bolt heads showing. My second though was glue won't hold, bolt the sucker in. I'm thinking about using gloss black as the complimentary color. Any creative suggestions on color or attatchment method out there?


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Old 01-18-2012, 12:50 PM   #2
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Re: New Aluminess bumper

If you don't like the bumper I'll give you a 100 bucks for it and my chrome Warn front
bumper.
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Old 01-18-2012, 01:00 PM   #3
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Re: New Aluminess bumper

How is the expanded metal inside held on? Can you replace it with something else?

Agree that without air "exit" holes, that's not going to do anything to improve van cooling. There will just be a lot of high pressure air in that box while driving.


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Old 01-18-2012, 01:36 PM   #4
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Re: New Aluminess bumper

....and more water in the winch box.
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Old 01-18-2012, 01:56 PM   #5
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Re: New Aluminess bumper

How concerned do we need to be when a winch is
exposed to the elements? I have a Warn winch bumper
that I got from Sportsmobile west when they were
moving to their new location. I paid 50 bucks for it.
It is actually for a Ford pickup but I made it fit my
van. The winch I have is an old Warn 8500 series.
My dad bought it new in 1977 and had it on his
Suburban for years. It was exposed it's whole life
and it still works. An electric winch is basicly a small
sealed gearbox and a electric starter motor. The
electric starter motor that starts your engine is
exposed under your rig and gets all the mud and salt
and water splashed on it and it gets used a hell of a
lot more than an electric winch motor. I'm not an
expert on this stuff, but I wonder sometimes if we
worry too much about certain things? Not trying to
bash anyone either, just giving my 2 cents worth.
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Old 01-18-2012, 02:05 PM   #6
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Re: New Aluminess bumper

How about a piece of aluminum? I would either bolt/screw/pop rivet it in the place of the expanded metal. Whatever you use, consider running a bead of silicone (clear?) around the edges to keep grit from getting between the two pieces.
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Old 01-18-2012, 02:42 PM   #7
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Re: New Aluminess bumper

color wise how about a red orange or light blue back color
to compliment your license plate colors? but then again this back covered grille area is going to be a challenge to clean so maybe matching the bumper color makes sense.
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Old 01-18-2012, 03:00 PM   #8
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Re: New Aluminess bumper

Quote:
Originally Posted by BMWBILO
How concerned do we need to be when a winch is
exposed to the elements?
Most winches are just out there without a box anyway.
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Old 01-18-2012, 03:38 PM   #9
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Re: New Aluminess bumper

Rust-Oleum has an American Accents line of rattle cans. The "smooth satin finish, Canyon Black" is an excellent color/texture match for the Aluminess powder coat of a few years back. Maybe the same now??
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Old 01-18-2012, 05:48 PM   #10
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Re: New Aluminess bumper

Quote:
Originally Posted by scatter
Rust-Oleum has an American Accents line of rattle cans. The "smooth satin finish, Canyon Black" is an excellent color/texture match for the Aluminess powder coat of a few years back. Maybe the same now??
That's what they recommended to me.
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