C4 FAB 3rd gen Tacoma Lo-Pro (hybrid) front winch bumper install instructions.

Hey everyone, here is the install instructions for our Lo-Pro front winch bumper. This process includes removing and cutting the plastic bumper cover to fit the Lo-Pro bumper in place.

Link to a couple install videos a customer of ours made: https://youtu.be/ZUuvxUoyvA8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mrmr3inYEyY

Tools required:
-Philips head screwdriver
-Flat head screw driver
-10mm wrench/socket
-12mm wrench/socket
-14mm wrench/socket
-3/8" drive extension for 14mm socket
-17mm socket
-1/2" wrench/socket
-3/4" wrench/socket
-Tin snips, knife, die grinder, pneumatic reciprocating saw- something suitable for trimming the plastic bumper cover.
-Friend to help lift and install bumper

First the original front bumper needs to be removed.
Here are some quick and basic instructions for removing the original front bumper.
1) There are two plastic clips like these on each side at the front of the inner fender area. Pop the plastic clip up, then push the plastic inner fender away from the steel fender.




2) Remove all of the black and silver screws with 10mm head from the front inner fender area and along the bottom of the bumper.




3) remove the two screws from the top of where the grille attaches to the inner structure.

4) Then remove the plastic clips holding the grille.

5) Now the grille can be removed. Lift slightly and pull forward and the grille will pop loose from the lower clips and come out.
6) Now remove the remaining plastic clips from the front bumper cover.






7)Now pull the front of the fender flare away from the bumper cover. These clips should just pop loose as you pull out on the flare.

8)Now pull down on the bumper cover at the front lower area to expose this orange square clip. Remove this clip so the inner fender plastic can be pulled loose.


9) The inner fender can now be pulled back.


10) Now the bumper cover can be removed from the truck. Pull the front edge of the fender flare back and then pull down on the bumper cover plastic to remove it from this round plastic tab on each side.

11)Then pop the outer corners of the bumper cover away from the headlight area where the bumper cover meets the fender. The bumper cover just snaps into place under the headlight so gently pull out and the cover will come off.

12) Now that the plastic cover is removed, the other components behind it can be removed.
Use a 14mm wrench or socket to remove the aluminum crash bar.

Once the nuts are removed, you will have to pry the crash bar forward with a small pry bar to get it to slide off of the mounting studs.

13)Remove the frame rail end caps and tow hook using the 17mm socket or wrench.

 

Now that the bumper and components are removed, the marking and cutting of the plastic bumper cover can begin.
This process can be done with the bumper cover off of the vehicle or with the cover re-installed on the vehicle.

1)First remove the lower plastic cover off of the lower valance of the bumper.
There are blue plastic clips on the backside of the valance tabs that hold the valance in place. Pop the clips out first, then the cover will come off.



2) Now that the valance cover is off, you can begin marking the areas to be cut. Use a dry erase marker so that the lines can be wiped off and adjusted if needed.
Start by drawing a line directly in the natural groove of the bumper where the valance cover used to sit.


Follow this groove all the way down to the bottom edge of the bumper cover.


3) Use a die grinder or similar tool to cut along this line. Always use safety glasses and other safety equipment necessary!



4) Now mark the upper area right below where the narrow black vents are in the bumper. Measure over towards the outside of the vehicle 1 1/4" from where the solid black part ends, and the slotted vent openings begin on each side. Draw a line straight down that connects to the previous area you already cut. Continue the line up across the vent area to the bottom of the grille.


5) Next, snip out the plastic pieces connecting the vented area to the portion that attaches to the bottom of the grille.



6) Cut along the line you made in step 4 to remove the remaining center piece that was behind the valance cover.




7) Cut up the rest of the way through the black plastic area leading up to the bottom of the grille.



It should look like this after trimming:


8) Now use a die grinder with sanding disk to clean up the rough edges.

Once sanding is complete, the plastic will look nice and smooth like this:

Your bumper cover should now look like this:


9) The final trimming can now be done. Mark along this natural groove in the plastic starting at the bottom of the bumper and working your way up.




10) Cut off the portion you just marked and clean the edges with the sanding disk. It will now look like this:



11) After the edges are clean, you can install some edge trim for a clean finish if desired. This door edge trim can be found at most auto parts stores.



All Plastic trimming is now complete.

 

If you are installing a Baja Designs LED light and/or winch into your Lo-Pro bumper, complete that process first before installing the bumper onto the truck.

Here is how the Baja Designs S8 20" light installs into the bumper:


The winch will bolt directly to the inside of the bumper at the 4 mounting holes on the flat plate, and the fairlead will bolt into the plate below the LED light.

If you are installing an Extreme LED 30" Pro series 2D light bar into the bumper, you will need to use the two small "L" shaped tabs provided in the Lo-Pro hardware kit to install the light. Do not use the tabs that come with the light, they will be too tall. Install the "L" tabs onto the light with the longer leg attaching to the light and the shorter leg mounting to the tabs that are welded into the bumper.



Here is a photo of the mounting tabs:





Here is a photo of one of the tabs mounted to the light inside a bumper as well.

 

Before the Lo-Pro bumper can be bolted onto the frame, the power steering cooler needs to be moved back with the supplied relocation brackets.

1) Remove the two bolts holding the cooler to the frame at the front of the vehicle.

Also remove this 3rd bolt from the passenger side wheel well area that holds the PS line. This bolt needs to be removed to allow the line to move back with the cooler. This bolt does not get re-used and there is also not a relocation bracket for this location. The line will stay in place just fine without it.


2) Here are the relocation brackets that will be used to move the cooler back. "P" is for passenger side and "D" is for driver side.




Install the brackets into the original mounting holes for the PS cooler and then attach the PS cooler to the brackets with the supplied 5/16" bolts.
Here is the passenger side attached:



And the driver side:



Now everything is ready for the Lo-Pro bumper to be installed onto the truck!

 

If you performed the plastic bumper cover cutting while it was off of the vehicle, the bumper cover needs to be re-installed first before the Lo-Pro bumper gets bolted on.

Re-install the Bumper cover in the reverse order of removal. Do NOT re-install the aluminum crash bar or any of its associated parts.

Now that the bumper cover has been re-installed, its time to bolt the Lo-Pro bumper into place.

1) Have a friend help lift the Lo-Pro bumper into place onto the front of the frame rails where the aluminum crash bar used to attach. Use the original mounting nuts (three on each side) to hold the bumper in place.



2) Once the bumper is sitting on the studs with the nuts in place, slide the bumper up until it sits at the proper height to fit the plastic cutout area. Tighten the nuts using a 14mm socket or wrench.
Now install the supplied 1/2" x 1 1/2" bolts into the lower mounting tabs through the hole in the bottom of the frame rail.

Use a 3/4" wrench or socket to tighten the 1/2" bolt. All mounting hardware can now be checked once more and fully tightened.

3) The final step in the install process is to bolt in the brackets that support the lower corner of the plastic bumper cover. These brackets hold the plastic in place and keep it from wiggling.
The picture pretty much explains how the brackets go. The holes are slotted to allow for some adjustments to be made so the plastic lines up to the Lo-Pro bumper just how you want it.
Make sure to put flat washers on both sides of the bolts for each end of the bracket so that the bolts sit nicely in the slotted holes and also don't pull through the plastic bumper cover.
The pictures show the passenger side installed correctly:





Your Lo-Pro front bumper install is now complete and should look like this!

 

Thanks! I just received my bumper today! I will be out of town all next week. :-( I will take some pics after I get it installed next weekend.

 

Awesome! Yes please do post pictures, we would love to see it installed! Also let us know if you have any questions during the install.

 

Truck is complete. It took about 3 hours. Pretty straight forward install.

 

Very nice! Looks great Adam, glad the install went well for you. Thanks for posting up pictures.
Also we forgot to send the 1/2" bolts for the bottom two mounting holes when we sent the bumper. We dropped the hardware in the mail yesterday. Hopefully you didn't go out of your way to buy a couple bolts to put in that lower location. You should be receiving the hardware this week.

 

Thank you Caleb, here's mine- Oh..my..my..

 

Thanks for posting up pictures, its turned out awesome! I like the textured black powder coat, looks different than the usual stuff!

 

I've been eyeing this bumper for a while. Does it interfere with any skid plate options? TRD plate in specific?

 

We have not had anyone mount one with the Pro skidplate yet, but judging by pictures, I do not expect there to be any issues.

 

Hey Caleb,

Do you see a spot to attach a front license plate that would still give a clean look?

Thank
-bajatacoguy

 

We have ordered a couple different styles of flip up license plate holders to try out at the shop here. Hopefully we can find one that works well.

 

Thanks for the update.. sucks I gotta have one.

 

Warrior Products 2360 Hawse License Plate Holder

 

thanks for posting a pic of that setup!

 

How hard will it be to put a light bar in there after the install? Don't have the bar yet and it will be a few months before my CC recovers but I don't want to wait to put this on.

 

I have never tried, but you may be able to drop the light bar in from the top area behind the grille when the hood is open. Im not sure if it will work though. otherwise there is no way to get it in after the bumper is installed.