Slee bezel install, Diode Dynamics fogs in ARB Deluxe

Hello friends,

I finally got all the parts together to put some Diode Dynamics SAE fogs into my ARB Deluxe. After spending quite a while contemplating how to modify the plastic ARB inserts with reinforcements to handle bouncing and jostling offroad with the (heavier than ARB intended) DD units, I decided that my time had to count for SOMETHING and that I was probably going to wreck at least one set of plastic inserts trying, so I picked up the ready-made adapters from Slee Offroad.

The instructions are pretty simple:



Steps 1 & 2: Cut along line, and tape to bumper, lining up with opening:



Note that you'll want to do this as neatly and cleanly as possible. Some of the dimensions (which I'll show later) are TIGHT, and if you're off by a little, you will definitely blow some of the holes out. Blown holes won't necessarily ruin the install, and they'll be hidden from the public, but you'll know they're there.

Step 3: Mark your centers with a punch. DON'T SKIP THIS STEP:



Step 4: 1/8" Pilot holes:



Step 5: Drill 5/16" final holes. Here's a tip not given in the instructions. After you drill your pilot holes, mask the area around the holes off. This way, once you've drilled the 5/16" final size holes, you can use a small round file to clean up burrs and then spray some black rattlecan from the inside of the bumper to protect the exposed edges from rust. The masking tape will protect the outside surface from careless file work and also catch drips from the rattlecan:



After masking tape removed:


And here's a closeup showing that it pays to CAREFULLY align and punch your starts:


The Slee Offroad inserts are advertised to "(fit) all Dually style pedestal mount lights". I found that my Diode Dynamics SS3 round bezel pods came with mounts that were just a hair too tall to sit the way I wanted in the Slee foglight surrounds, and I also wanted them to sit a little deeper, mostly to make the hex socket bolts that hold the light to the mount inaccessible from the outside of the truck.

The solution was to pick up some galvanized timber braces and fuck them up with a bench vice, a ball peen hammer, and a metal cutting wheel. Here they are after a few coats of Duplicolor wheel paint:


Overall I was pleased with the quality of the Slee inserts and extremely pleased with the quality of the DD SS3s. I finished up the wiring with a couple of H10 to Deutsche adapter pigtails, maintaining the factory harness and giving me options down the road.



I'll get some night shots of with and without fogs when I get the aim dialed in. For now, they're centered enough and the cutoff is below the headlight cutoff, which will do until I have time to sneak out to the nice big blank white warehouse wall in town.

Other notes:
The best tool to hold the nylock nuts (for the Slee surrounds) inside the bumper while you tighten the hex bolts is a short box wrench. You can wiggle it onto the nut from behind and then just turn the hex wrench, and the interior details of the Slee brackets will hold the wrench in place.

Unless you already have them on hand, it's cheaper to buy the H10 to Deutsche pigtails than to purchase the components in small quantities. I highly recommend springing for genuine connectors and not cheap knockoffs - the cost delta is much lower than the quality delta.

 

in the future fyi we make a nice bracket set for the original holders
I have the same bracket as yours now (before we designed these) and also had to make custom brackets to fit my DD lights in them.

 

You still have brackets to make the diode dynamics lights fit? I’m in the same boat now with the ARB light housing trying to figure out some better lights to fit in there.

 

yep, you can get them on our site