To anyone that has installed the long bars on their trucks...did ya'll have to modify/bend the front brackets to fit. You can see by the pictures that my brackets come nowhere near being able to bolt up to the frame. The only option I have is to bend them.
Has anyone else had this problem before?? Or am I missing something.
Thanks in advance.

 

Heres a few pics of what they should look like installed for reference.

 

Thanks VINNIE!!
Did you utilize one of the factory holes in the frame when mounting the front brackets?? I see no way I can push the bottom of the JDM front bracket far enough to drill the bottom holes into the frame...

 

YES YES YES you MUST use that one factory drilled hole so it sits in the right spot

Put the FRONT brackets on first by lining up that one hole and installing that one bolt tightly.


Then put the rear Bracket on Loose and get the bar in place


Then after both sides are sitting in place, drill the other front bracket holes
and tighten then up


Then tighten the rears and BAM your done...



Vinnie nice seeing you on line again, did you ever get your Lightning back ?
Do you still have it ? Did you sell it ? Blow it up ? WHAT ???

 

To tell you guys the truth_With the lowering my truck has and the 20 inch rims i dont think i need bars.. I dont think ill ever put slicks on it untill i have my bilt motor in it.

 

You still want something to help with axle-wrap.

 

Yea thats what I kinda figured Rob. Just placing the front bracket on the frame without the bars installed...there is no way I can push the bracket over far enough to come close to the whole (as seen in the pic)..Did you have to force your front brackets into place??

 

noah if I remember correctly when I originally lined mine up they were also off by a mile and I was like NO ****** WAY these are lining up with the hole.
I kinda forget exactly what I did to get them on but basically you have to
MOLEST them as I like to call it. Some of the old timers may rememeber but during my install and a simply hole drilling, (yes of course I WAS NOT wearing eye protection) and ya you guessed it a red MF hot @&$^%@$& piece of steel when shooting (and melting) into my eye. (No of course I didnt go to a doc) so basically I was blind as a bat and in a living hell for a very long time with a very swollen and sore eye with a piece of steel shoved straight in it (deep in it) hehehehehe (DONT LAUGH it WAS NOT funny at the time)


Here's another old pic of the bars from my old 02




As you can see the brackets are installed on the bars in this picture,
do you have the same brackets ???
I believe I used this real long round steel chistle like thing I have, and put it through the bracket, and then from an angle I fished it to the hole, and then muscled the bracket until the hole lined up
AND FOR GODS SAKE WHERE EYE PROTECTION,
We made many a joke about it back then


Look at the bottom eye brow area, It was SWOLLEN BIG TIME, hehehe

 

Yes, I have the same brackets. Im going to go try your way out today (Opposite the instructions). I'll try to bolt up the front and go from there.
Thanks again Rob!! And thanks for the great illustrations!!

 

Metco or (better yet) Moroso/CE Slide-a-Link solves all the "kloogieness/pursuading" that long bars pose/create.

 

A big "C" clamp is your friend....