Hollis092's 12' White Diamond Bulid

hollis092 · December 17, 2014

Stopped by the painter and grabbed my freshly finished bumper caps and painted to match air deflector.

I must say they did an excellent job and it turns out these are not too difficult to paint after all. I will have time possibly next week to swap these out and add the fogs, but for now they're resting in the guest room.

hollis092 · December 17, 2014

Light bar installed in bumper slot.

hollis092 · December 17, 2014

Fog light harness complete awaiting loom and fog lamp assemblies to be delivered.

This is really easy to do, and if you are adding fogs this is by far the best route.

1 - ACDelco Head Lamp Switch w/Fog Light switch - Amazon.com under $30

10ft of 16GA Primary Wire - I used blue primary wire in 16GA

10ft of 16GA Primary Wire for fixed chassis ground - this is optional, fogs negative terminals will go to chassis ground. You can choose to run two or ground in a central location and share the ground with the fog pair.

2 - 5202 fog pigtails - doesn't matter the brand - ACDelco or similar is what I used

1 - Series 280 Metri-Pack terminal female - I have the part number and some extras - PM me and I will get you the PN or sell you a connector. - This is the connector that goes into the fuse block and you will need this if you want the install to be of OEM standards.

First, I cut the primary wire (blue for + power and black for - chassis ground) to the same length of 10ft. Then I use electrical tape (3M Black) to keep these two wires together at 2-3 ft intervals.

Next is to crimp the 280 Series Metri-Pack terminal to one end of the blue primary wire. You will want to have a good crimp tool so this is smooth and the crimp is not bulky. This is key as you will not fit the terminal into the fuse block if you have a messy crimp.

Then I take two female spade connectors and add them to the opposite end. Meaning the end that will connect to the pigtails and to the fogs, not the end that connects to the fuse block. This is optional, but I preferred this to keep things clean and neat.

For the centralized chassis ground (the black wire) that is near the fuse block, I crimp on an O type connector so that I can bolt this to the chassis near the fuse panel.

Now is the time to add the new pin (our female terminal 280 series connector) to the fuse block and bolt down our chassis ground. You will open the fuse panel by first removing its cover, then by pulling up on the grey handles the fuse panel will come off the fuse blocks. This can be tough, but work at it and it will come right out.

The grey fuse block is the one we want. Its B5 that we want to add the new PIN connector. You will have to push on the red clips, slide them out, then you can slide the pin into that spot.

Once the Pin is in place and the central chassis ground is bolted. We can flip the fog light switch and test with a volt ohm meter.

Now, all of this will be placed inside 1/4 or 1/2 inch wire loom. The female spade connectors will now be used to connect the pair of fog lamps to the harness.

Wire loom is in route along with the lamps. I should have the install completed in the next week or so.

Btuggle88 · December 17, 2014

Stopped by the painter and grabbed my freshly finished bumper caps and painted to match air deflector.

I must say they did an excellent job and it turns out these are not too difficult to paint after all. I will have time possibly next week to swap these out and add the fogs, but for now they're resting in the guest room.

Looks good can't wait to see it all together.

blackout07 · December 19, 2014

Very nice. Wrap that bowtie.

Btuggle88 · December 19, 2014

I got a question, are you going to leave the bar chrome or do you have a painted bar too?

hollis092 · December 19, 2014

For right now I am leaving the bumper face bar chrome. I may have this done later as I am sure I will paint something else later on.

The idea is that with the bumper ends and the air deflector matching that will tie in nicely with the truck. The grille and face bar will be chrome tying all the chrome in as well. My thinking is the chrome flows from grill to face bar. Paint flows from left bumper cap all the way through the right.

If I decide to paint the bar, I will order a replacement bar as it is much easier to drop off a part than remove scuff/prep the chrome for painting.

On a side note, I believe my tow hooks will be here today. Fog lamps on Monday, so I hopefully will be able to put it all together this next week.

blackout07 · December 20, 2014

It will look great regardless but I vote for painting both bumpers.

Btuggle88 · December 20, 2014

I think a color matched LTZ grille would look awesome.

hollis092 · December 22, 2014

The LTZ grille would look really good, but for now the chrome is staying.

I received the tow hooks Saturday and the fog lamps came as well. So, I decided to have a few beers and see what I could knock out.

Turns out the best way to do this is to remove the entire bumper as an assembly. I removed the radiator/grill cowling and then the grill. Then there are only 8 15mm bolts holding the bumper on.

Once the bumper was off, there are approximately 30-40 10 mm bolts holding on the caps and the valance. I took the bumper inside and used the padding on the living room rug to do the work. I grabbed the new Ryobi Drill & Impact Driver 18V set from HD as my Dewalt 18V died recently, $99 and worth a whole lot more than that with the help it provides. This helped get all the 10 mm bolts off and back on again.

Turned out quite nicely.

More pics to come when I have better light.

Btuggle88 · December 22, 2014

Looks good

blackout07 · December 23, 2014

Looks great. Paint or wrap the bumper and bow tie and leave the grille.

hollis092 · December 23, 2014

Bow tie is getting matched for sure.

How well do you think the vinyl would wrap the face bar? I probably won't paint this piece due to the fact that the whole bumper has to be disassembled which is no fun.

Coach Hill · February 2, 2015

Hollis,

Are you still running the AT2 tires? Thinking of the same size and brand for my 2014 and was interested in what you think of them?

Thanks man!

hollis092 · June 1, 2015

Hollis,

Are you still running the AT2 tires? Thinking of the same size and brand for my 2014 and was interested in what you think of them?

Thanks man!

Yes, I love the General AT2's. IMHO there is not a better all terrain in the market. I have over 7500 miles on them, they're still at 90% tread. They have plenty of traction and they are self cleaning. The throw outs are much better than those on the similar BFG AT KO/

I highly recommend these.

By the way, how do you like the Denail?