Fitted the bash plates today,the missus still doesn't know about them and this morning i was wondering how i was going to go about this.She helped me out big time.Turns out she and a friend,who is getting married soon were going shopping for clothes(skimpy stuff)for said friends honeymoon.
So a quick think about her announcement.I said why dont you get some new stuff as well,winters coming up,you might need a new jacket etc.
This will give me leverage to my next purchase.
They left and i sprung into action(this happens sometimes).
First up nav up on the ramps.Iput it in 4x4 because i've had ramps try to slip forward before.
Next i had to remove part of the bumper bar to get to the top bolts of the stock bash plate.They unbolt easily.
The old,the new and part of the bumper i had to remove.
I fitted the new front plate and that was my first mistake.If you are going to fit both front and transmision plates at the same time,do the trans first as the front plate will be on the underside of it.
The trans plate comes with spacers that go between the plate and the engine cross member,these were going to be tricky to fit once the plate was in position,if at all posible,so good old duct tape came to the rescue as it so often does.
Next step was to position the trans plate,i grabbed my trolley jack and lifted/dragged the plate on top of it,using knees,arms,head etc to help with balance.That was when i realized that the trans plate goes on first.
I managed to get the front plate bolts loose,and the two rearmost ones out while still balancing the trans plate,slid it into position and got a couple of bolts into it.Next thing to remember is not to do the bolts up before you have started all of them.There is a bit of jiggling around to find holes etc.
Fitted.
The new front plate doesn't have provision to rebolt the lower part of the bumper that bolted onto the stock plate,so tommorrow i will drill and put in some large self tappers.