Tire Carrier / Bumper... Tire Carrier fell off while driving

[Tenny]

So I just got some new tires today. Nice 33x12.50's ProComp M/T Xtreme's.

Picture of the new rims / old tire on tire carrier:

So when I got home I switched my 31 with my 33 for the tire carrier. Everything seemed fine, felt sturdy. So I went off for a test drive about an hour later.

Only to find as I drove away, at maybe 10 mph it fell off. Thankfully it was only 1 house down. It wound up next to the neighbors truck. The neighbor came out, and we looked around and couldn't find any damage to his truck (thankfully).

So now I am going camping this weekend, and realize I won't get this fixed, but I'd still like to get it fixed asap. I bought the bumper / tire carrier off someone local for pretty cheap ($200). He said he had 35's on it, and so I didn't think 33's would be too much... Maybe the 35's took their toll on it.

Here are some pictures of the damage:

Now how would I go about fixing this? Anyone have an idea? Or anyone know what type of mount this was?

Doing a bit of searching I found that some people recommended buying this tire carrier hinge. Just I have no idea how I'd get the one part out from it. Obviously I'll be asking for help from either a neighbor with a welder or something, but I'd at least like to know a plan of attack to suggest.

 

[Tenny]

Just found the inside part... from the looks of it, it kind of appears to be the AtoZFab one already.

 

[-96JeepSpeed-]

What brand is that setup?

 

[Tenny]

It's a custom one from a local jeeper.

 

[DaffyXJ]

Looks a little small in diameter to be the same one from AtoZ. that one is actually a spindle for a trailer. I just installed one on a TJ bumper i built. No way in hell a 35" would make it fail.

AS to replacing the failed one. Plasma cutter!! you will also want to open up the bottom of the bumper to weld in the spindle as well.

Should be pretty straight forward, just might end up with a patch or two on the outside of the bumper.

 

[ColoradoRaptor]

That sux!! Hope the repair goes well!

 

[Tenny]

Alright, well I am at work so I can't measure it to be sure, but when I get home I will see how much smaller this one is.

Also I did order the hinge just now, hopefully I'll get it before next weekend so I can give it a good try on getting it put in next weekend.

DaffyXJ - So for the bumper side you recommend cutting the bottom of the bumper, so we could weld it in on both the top and bottom?

 

[DaffyXJ]

Yeah, your bumper looks to be 2x4 box.
I made the TJ bumper out of 2x4x3/16ths. The spindle is just a tad shorter than 4 inches. In order to get it secured at the bottom, I cut a 1.5 inch square out of the bottom to allow for welding the bottom of the spindle inside the bumper. Then just had to patch the bumper and grind smooth.

 

[Jester99]

This could have ended very badly if you were going at a higher rate of speed, especially on the interstate. Thank god it happened so close to home...good luck with the rebuild.

 

[AJsArmor]

Looks like there was way too much heat put to it at once or cooled off quick, very brittle looking. Part of the problem sometimes is that the heat is put in one specific area and it's too much, too fast.

To fix that I'd consider slotting the face of the bumper if you can, put the spindle in so it's partially protruding from this slot. This will give you a lot more surface area to weld to but also won't focus the heat on one small area. If you have access to a torch, preheat it, if not do shorter welds and start at the bottom. Let the part soak up the heat gradually and DO NOT throw water on it-let it cool off at it's own pace.

 

[Tenny]

Thanks for all the tips everyone. I'll def be sure he doesn't throw water on it and try and rush it like that. I do

My neighbor's first thought was "lets put it on the other side". He said he'll think about it more while I am gone, but nothing will happen until next weekend at the earliest...