Date: 12-27-99 This installation was ALMOST easier then installing the roof rack. It took 35 minutes to take the old one off and about an hour and a half to put the new one on by myself. I've actually done two bumpers and in both cases they took about the same time. To the right you can see a "before" picture of my Sport with the factory bumper. An "after" picture is towards the bottom.

HOWEVER...I did NOT install the winch, yet; the winch would have made it impossible to install by myself without using a hoist or jack. The other thing I did not mess with were the "problem" bolts that require a special extra deep socket. Since my front bumper was toast - unfortunate and rather sudden introduction to a mud bank last spring - and the tinfoil support not worth trying to salvage I just took a Saws-All and sniped the bracket right above and below bolt. This was easy to do even with everything still in place. Also, I used an air ratchet which understandably made it go a little quicker. I ALSO consulted the Mitsubishi service manuals and that helped a lot on the removal of the old bumper.

Otherwise, everything was there. Instructions were questionable. Don't expect the instructions to spell everything out 'cause they're not even close. Couple of simple diagrams would have shortened assembly time a bit as time was spent matching everything up before I even started putting it on the truck just to make sure I was not installing something up side down. I did have to knock some welding flash off in a couple places to get a clean fit, too, but not a big deal.

Besides the above, I think this is a wonderful piece of equipment. This is one of the best aftermarket bumper/brush guard pieces I think I've ever seen. Its clean, follows the Sport body lines and styling; looks like it came on the truck from the factory! Especially since my Sport is black anyway, it looks wicked! The actual quality of the bumper assembly itself is excellent. Its obvious that a lot of work went into this design. VERY nice.

NOW, I just have to get the winch!:-)


ARB Winch Bumper - Continued ...