AUJWE

I have had a Manik "brush-guard"(fancy light holder) on the front of my 2000 4Runner since December of 2001. It was fine for the first few months but then the shakes began. That da*n thing vibrated more and more. I'm not just talking about while running down a rough road, I mean it would vibrate constantly while driving down the interstate. I could feel the vibrations myself, not just see it. I tried tightening the bolts, but they weren't loose. I could tell that the vibration was mainly caused by the crappy two-piece top mounting brackets. So, I had Manik send me a pair of new ones, free of charge, to see if that may help. Of course it didn't. I know what you're thinking, "just take that POS off." Well, if my truck was 4WD I would have put a real bumper on there in the first place. Also, the Manik was a Christmas gift, so I couldn't exactly take it off and sell it. So, I finally got aggrevated enough to call a machine shop while I was home and have some real brackets made. Here they are:



Since the shop I used is used to doing much bigger jobs they didn't charge me at all for the material. I just paid for the labor and my new and improved stainless steel brackets were on. I couldn't believe how much better my truck feels now, minus all the vibration. I had gotten used to how it felt with that PIAA holder gyrating on the front of my truck. And now there is no movement at all.

Well, I just wanted to let any fellow Toyota people out there that may be suffering from the Manik shakes know that there is a cure.

Joey

NerfHerder-97SR5-

I'd peel that cat off if I were you.

AUJWE

Good observation. I hadn't even noticed that he was in that picture.

DavidO06

Yeah, i am trying to figure out a way to get the shakes to go away on my Go Rhino brush guard. It will really drive you crazy. I have an idea that i am going to get a machine shop to help me out with. Ill let u know how it goes.

UKMyers

Thought I was the only Joey on here.. Great job on the brackets! My Westin holds still but I have seen some of the Hilux diesels over here that the whole bar rattles on... would drive me nuts!

AUJWE

I guess there's room for two. My brother has a Westin on his
Z-71 and doesn't shake at all. But, his mounts to the frame only. My Manik mounts to the frame and then to the body. So, obiviously these things move in different ways. I think that's where the shaking comes from.

AUJWE

Let me know how it turns out. In the mean time try not to go too crazy watching it shake.

Tacoma Dude

Haven't run into any problems with my WAAG - knock on wood!
That's nice work AUJWE, it looks good and sturdy

jmt83

AUJWE,

I have the same problem with my Manik brush guard. Could you re-post the pictures of the brackets you made? (the links don't work anymore)

Thanks

BigBallsMcFalls

I have yet to see a brush guard actually guard against brush.

when you go offroading, and get into a vegetable tunnel, the last thing brush will hit is the stuff that would be covered by a brush guard. I have zero interest in them, go offroad a lot, and I have scratches all over my paint on my 4runner from sticks and trees, but my corner lenses and front bumper are pretty much unscathed.

just so ya know....IMHO the only thing worth a damn are new bumpers, skid plates, and sliders, to protect you from rocks... brush guards are dead weight, have no purpose.

but hey you never know when a tumbleweed might jump out at 'cha when rolling downtown


I know I know I am just being a dink by posting this

TexanTaco

Ya know I just hate when I'm rollin' through a ghost town and some crazy tumbleweed attacks!!

I do want to get a Westin Bullbar though (it would match my sidesteps perfectly). Will that protect me from wild bulls?!

X-AWDriver

Way to revive a 5 year old thread from the dead.

dirtoyboy

Aye, not to mention the fact that IF you are actually close to hitting something you have less clearance and will push the "brush guard" into the fender/bumper/lights or whatever creating MORE damage. Pretty much the opposite of the intended effect...weird huh?

jmt83

Yeah, its an old thread, happened to be exactly my problem though. I know brush guards are very practical or useful, but I just bought a pristine '00 4runner that already had it on. This thing is so nice I will not be taking it offroad..that's what my '89 is for.

I would appreciate some help on solving this problem though. The wobbly brush guard is prettty annoying. I would take it off but don't have anywhere to put it and it looks sharp.

BigBallsMcFalls

holy crap ! we has can be pwned

4x4phil

I love my brush guards, my tube bumpers moved a lot of stuff out of my way for me.

Cars, trees, cats.....

dirtoyboy

haha yea we got p-owned....

well, hopefully the manik brushgard has been melted for scrap by now.....

BigBallsMcFalls

yeah it's funny...

when I got my 99 loaded ltd 4runner new in dec 1998, I almost
thought hey i am gonna need brush guards and metal covers for the
lights and that stuff, 'cuz i planned on going to the woods a lot.

never did it though...a lot of peeps in my area got all that extra bull
bars and tough looking junk for their new rigs...

so fast forward to today. I haz over 150,000 miles on my rig, and all the stock skid plates are scraped to hell, and even the gas tank cover has to be popped back out when I sorted rolled around on a boulder one day...

I been through overgrown trails, run over storm-felled trees, pulled stumps and rocks. there is not one scratch on my headlights or turn signals or front
bumper. all the scratches and dings are along the side or on the roof, or under the truck. and yes I reckon if I did have that extra metal on my rug, it would do serious damage if I tried to use them to bump into stuff.

only a true replacement bumper or fat welded piping is going to make your rig more offroad than plain old stock. i just do not 'get it' nor will I ever....poser mobiles make me cry. It is just like those supposed heavy duty offroad crapmobiles like a Hummer H2, or Expedition....there is so much ride comfort and anti-rollover crap hanging underneath the thing that if you went offroad with any 4 inch rocks you could tear the thing to pieces.

anti-rollover hyper suspension, and vtrac, and all that modern garbage on new SUV's is because of the tools that buy them for the 'tough image' but do not know how to drive or maintain them (tire pressures) and never take it offroad. I am saddened that the 4th gen 4runner is so much more a car than a truck. it is ghey actually. the 3rd gen with skidplates and locker is the last great 4runner IMHO. no junk needs to be added for normal bony tote roads.

dirtoyboy

Very well put bigballsmcfalls!

I would agree with the runner thing....the 3rd gens are the last great runners...

I really cannot stand the 4th gen + runners...they are one of the ugliest SUVs toyota has ever made..its really a shame....

And I never had a bumper either on the front of my truck (for many years on tight wooded trails)....never had any issues with "brush".... maybe a couple trees ..but a brushgard would have created more damage in those situations

jmt83

Ok ok, I understand that brush guards are pointless, especially for offroading. I have an '89 4Runner for offroading. That does not change the fact that I bought my '00 as a DD with a brush guard already on it. I like the way it looks and do not have anywhere to store it, so I am looking for ideas on how to eliminate the wobbling that occurs.