Rubicon steel rear bumper swap

[ShadowsPapa]

Tough for me to guess, but the steel one is definitely heavier, at least twice as heavy (which isn't saying much because the plastic one is pretty light).



I thought the (stock) rear bumpers all mount the same so I don't know why it wouldn't fit. But the only way you can get one with the sensor holes in it would be from a Rubi take-off.

I found the reason - they don't want to deal with "amateurs" who gripe because of fitment issues, bolts that aren't there, that sort of thing. I laughed to myself and thought if I can do what I've done over the years with engine swaps and more - a little bumper work isn't going to make me talk and make kids cover their ears. I suspect they've had people complain because there wasn't some spacer or some bolt or nut or some bit didn't line up like expected.
He mentioned missing bezels - the bezels for the fronts can be bought for 30/pair, bet the rears aren't that bad either. Didn't want to get into a argument - if he really doesn't want to sell it, fine. I'll find someone that does want to sell a good used take-off
It had the sliders, too - bummer! I'd also like those.
Oh well, no use forcing him to sell it to me - might get something worse than expected and crapping shipping.

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[Hootbro]

I found the reason - they don't want to deal with "amateurs" who gripe because of fitment issues, bolts that aren't there, that sort of thing. I laughed to myself and thought if I can do what I've done over the years with engine swaps and more - a little bumper work isn't going to make me talk and make kids cover their ears. I suspect they've had people complain because there wasn't some spacer or some bolt or nut or some bit didn't line up like expected.
He mentioned missing bezels - the bezels for the fronts can be bought for 30/pair, bet the rears aren't that bad either. Didn't want to get into a argument - if he really doesn't want to sell it, fine. I'll find someone that does want to sell a good used take-off
It had the sliders, too - bummer! I'd also like those.
Oh well, no use forcing him to sell it to me - might get something worse than expected and crapping shipping.

When I bought my Willys JT, I still had my Rubicon JT for a couple of weeks transferring the mods and entertained swapping the bumpers between the to two get the Rubicon steel bumper on my Willys.

It is doable but there is some minor brackets in the corners ends of each on the inside mainly in relation to the Rubicon and the Rubicon rear bed rock rail that you may have to make decisions if you want to go that way or leave some brackets off if installing a Rubicon steel bumper on a sport and not installing the rear bed rock rail.

In my case, I left the steel bumper on the Rubicon.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

When I bought my Willys JT, I still had my Rubicon JT for a couple of weeks transferring the mods and entertained swapping the bumpers between the to two get the Rubicon steel bumper on my Willys.

It is doable but there is some minor brackets in the corners ends of each on the inside mainly in relation to the Rubicon and the Rubicon rear bed rock rail that you may have to make decisions if you want to go that way or leave some brackets off if installing a Rubicon steel bumper on a sport and not installing the rear bed rock rail.

In my case, I left the steel bumper on the Rubicon.

In my case, the bumper they had was a "take-off" that included the bed rock rails. Looked to be complete except bezels and some other part. They basically said "it won't work for your application". Best I can figure is they didn't want to mess with selling it for a conversion and only wanted to sell it as a replacement for a Rubicon that already had a steel bumper.
They sent me a link to another they had for sale - bumper only, over $600 bucks plus 150 or so shipping!
For that I'd buy brand new.
Hopefully I can find a Rubicon steel take-off (with rails) and go from there.
Their prices for sort of up there but the one would have been a good deal even if I did need to spend another 100-200 bucks on some other piece.

Can't be THAT hard to put a Rubicon bumper on an Overland as long as I had all of the brackets.

Bolts, nuts, spacers, washers - not a problem. I can make spacers, I have a cheap lathe and mill.

 

[MisterPA]

Thanks, I found an older thread of someone asking the same question and the Mopar parts # for the hardware. I just added it to my order because I needed all the bezels and brackets for the parking sensors

Happy with the bumper and I’ve started adding on the Ruby bedsliders as well. But I was a little disappointed to find after I mounted it up that whoever took it off originally decided to bang the hell out of the rear step when they were removing the bolts behind the license plate. I know it’s spot where your foot is supposed to go, but the bumper otherwise looks brand new so it kind of annoys me.

I was thinking of putting on a piece of grip tape to cover it up, or maybe some kind of decal. Has anyone ever done that on their rear step or am I just crazy?

I’m trying to find the thread you found, could you post a link to that or what hardware your needed? Thanks!

 

[Living the dream]

Well I opted for some grip tape. It’s not perfect, but I think it looks way better than a scratched up bumper plus it’s functional! Hopefully it holds up over time, but I have a 30 foot roll of it so it wouldn’t be too big of a deal to reapply from time to time.

The bumper also looks great getting the Linex treatment and it’s dang near indestructible.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

I need to go place a wanted ad as I want a Rubicon steel rear bumper with the bed rock rails.

 

[cafecito]

I finally got mine all finished today. I basically had to do it twice because I didn’t realize all the extra parts I needed to swap the sensors. It’s not difficult, but definitely takes some time and patience. Love having the bed sliders!

If you have any pics or advice, I'd love to see/hear it. I'm pondering embarking on this same mission myself, but I am getting the sinking feeling that it's a lot more complicated than simply drilling holes into the steel bumper and popping the sensors from my plastic bumper into them.

 

[b-roc]

I swapped from a Mojave plastic rear with park sense to a steel rubi take-off ... it was straight forward ... I had already purchased the rear rock sliders and bolts new (so the list below won't include those) ... the only other choice that you will need to make is whether you want to add a hook or a close-out (overlands only have one in the rear bumper, if I recall correctly)

______copied from one of my old posts__________

The cost for the parksense brackets wasn't horrible when I did mine. First, when I did mine, you couldn't get a steel rear bumper with park sense holes unless it was a take-off ... I don't know if this has changed. The brackets for the steel and plastic bumpers were different and a couple of additional bolts were required. The total cost for all of this was approx $70 from all mopar parts a little over a year ago ...

Part Number	Part Name	Price	Quantity	Total
68341888AA	Sensor Mounting Bracket	$3.42	1	$3.42
68341889AA	Sensor Mounting Bracket	$3.42	1	$3.42
68341892AA	Sensor Mounting Bracket	$3.42	1	$3.42
68341893AA	Sensor Mounting Bracket	$3.42	1	$3.42
6UD40RXFAA	Park Distance Bezel	$3.42	1	$3.42
6UD41RXFAA	Park Distance Bezel	$3.42	1	$3.42
6UD42RXFAA	Park Distance Bezel	$3.42	1	$3.42
6UD43RXFAA	Park Distance Bezel	$3.42	1	$3.42
68271824AA	Decoupler Ring	$1.08	4	$4.32
6512896AA	Screw And Washer	$2.62	2	$5.24
6511076AA	Mopar Rivnut	$2.12	2	$4.24
6104727AA	Nut, Mounting	$3.76	4	$15.04
6104418AA	Hex Head Bolt And Washer, Mounting	$2.28	2	$4.56

Subtotal: $60.76

 

[ShadowsPapa]

the only other choice that you will need to make is whether you want to add a hook or a close-out (overlands only have one in the rear bumper, if I recall correctly)

Yes, one hook on the left. I want a second hook so would add that if I swapped bumpers........

 

[MonkeySkunks]

Well I opted for some grip tape. It’s not perfect, but I think it looks way better than a scratched up bumper plus it’s functional! Hopefully it holds up over time, but I have a 30 foot roll of it so it wouldn’t be too big of a deal to reapply from time to time.

What the hell, my bumper isn't marked up but I like that so much I might have to pick up some grip tape.

 

[SonoranMojave]

It has been holding up pretty well!

 

[SonoranMojave]

If you have any pics or advice, I'd love to see/hear it. I'm pondering embarking on this same mission myself, but I am getting the sinking feeling that it's a lot more complicated than simply drilling holes into the steel bumper and popping the sensors from my plastic bumper into them.

The take-off I bought already had the factory sensor holes. Don’t know if I would have attempted trying to drill my own!

 

[Shahzeb719]

I added the rubi steel rear bumper as well with sliders. I bought them from a guy who took it off his rubi all for $400. Well worth the look on the Mojave! I also added the steel bumper a few months back. Bought the eBay version and so far the quality and color match was just as good as factory.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

I added the rubi steel rear bumper as well with sliders. I bought them from a guy who took it off his rubi all for $400. Well worth the look on the Mojave! I also added the steel bumper a few months back. Bought the eBay version and so far the quality and color match was just as good as factory.

Exactly what I want to do - put a steel Rubicon rear bumper and the sliders on mine. Finding one has not been easy as there are so few Gladiators near-by.

 

[ecidiego]

I swapped from a Mojave plastic rear with park sense to a steel rubi take-off ... it was straight forward ... I had already purchased the rear rock sliders and bolts new (so the list below won't include those) ... the only other choice that you will need to make is whether you want to add a hook or a close-out (overlands only have one in the rear bumper, if I recall correctly)

______copied from one of my old posts__________

The cost for the parksense brackets wasn't horrible when I did mine. First, when I did mine, you couldn't get a steel rear bumper with park sense holes unless it was a take-off ... I don't know if this has changed. The brackets for the steel and plastic bumpers were different and a couple of additional bolts were required. The total cost for all of this was approx $70 from all mopar parts a little over a year ago ...

Part Number	Part Name	Price	Quantity	Total
68341888AA	Sensor Mounting Bracket	$3.42	1	$3.42
68341889AA	Sensor Mounting Bracket	$3.42	1	$3.42
68341892AA	Sensor Mounting Bracket	$3.42	1	$3.42
68341893AA	Sensor Mounting Bracket	$3.42	1	$3.42
6UD40RXFAA	Park Distance Bezel	$3.42	1	$3.42
6UD41RXFAA	Park Distance Bezel	$3.42	1	$3.42
6UD42RXFAA	Park Distance Bezel	$3.42	1	$3.42
6UD43RXFAA	Park Distance Bezel	$3.42	1	$3.42
68271824AA	Decoupler Ring	$1.08	4	$4.32
6512896AA	Screw And Washer	$2.62	2	$5.24
6511076AA	Mopar Rivnut	$2.12	2	$4.24
6104727AA	Nut, Mounting	$3.76	4	$15.04
6104418AA	Hex Head Bolt And Washer, Mounting	$2.28	2	$4.56

Subtotal: $60.76

Confused as shit as usual....I have a Mojave. If the Rubi steel takeoff has all the parksense stuff already on it...why is necessary to buy all of that? Trying to understand.

Any guess how much weight adding the rear steel adds? I already have the Rubicon bed sliders.

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