So my friend tells me the other day about these "clips" that some people have used to put large driving lights on stock Yota front bumpers. Only he doesn't know where I can find them. It sounds as though the clips would be less-involved than cutting/notching out the bumper, having stuff welded, etc.

I've got Hella 500s on the way, and won't be buying a "real" bumper for a long time, so I want to mount them on my stock bumper. They are thin enough to fit, now I just need these clips or something similar.

I searched the threads, but found nothing about such clips. Any ideas?

 

No clips needed.
Look on my website to see how I mounted my 500s to my stock bumper before I got the ARB bumper.

Very old picture

 

http://www.drawhorn.org/hella_500_fog_light_install.htm

 

To bad the bumper on my 97 is too small .

 

pf,

no, its not too small...your bumper that is

see yet another writeup on hella 500 installs (mine)
http://www.4runners.org/articles/hella500

bob

 

I don`t know my bumper is pretty thin .I can`t see mounting thses lights in such a small space.

 

pf,

not sure whaty ou mean by you cant see them mounted on such a small space. alot of us have installed them on the stock 96-98 bumper

bob

 

My bumper is almost against the grill .The 98 runner seams to have bumper to be farther away.

 

Much thanks for the write ups guys, but my goal was to avoid drilling into my bumper. That's how these supposed "clips" were going to be used. Maybe they attach to the frame or something else behind the bumper. I may get a brush guard in the next few years with plenty of room for lights (or an ARB if I win the lottery,) so I didn't want to drill holes into my stock bumper. I could just wait until I get that brush guard, but I'll need the lights many times before that. I may have to bite the bullet and use a drill, but instead, I hope someone will have something helpful to say about these clips.

 

wiseguy,

how are those clips supposed to be held on? if they are clamped on somehow, i will venture to guess that they will NOT stay on very well. thus, you will probably have to do alot of adjusting and depending on the type of neighborhood you live in, possibly worrying that your lights might get 'lifted'.

as you saw in my writeup, i drilled into mine and used the included hardware. after running the "death valley rally 500" a few weekends ago, the lights loosened. so if that doesnt hold that well, possibly this clamp system wont hold either.

about the grill guard aka expensive light mounts: i think about 90% of the people here who get grill guards end up selling them. you might make this more expensive in the long run if you go that route just to mount lights.

so back to what i think is the best solution: just drill into your bumper if you take off the lights, you can easily go to an auto parts store and buy some small, inconspicuous rubber plugs to conceal the hole.

and PF: i am 99% sure that the 96-98 bumpers are identical.

Bob

 

Bob_98SR5,

I'm not sure how the clips would be held on... I was thinking they might be secured to the frame or some other sturdy hardware after the bumper/grill is removed. Then, the clips would sit on the bumper once it was put back on. This is pure speculation, as I don't even know what they look like.

I thought about the theft factor, but was going to use a special nut or strip the regular nut to slow any would-be "admirers." It's good to know that even with the standard hardware, the lights are not secured to the bumper very well...You're probably right, the clips would likely be even less secure. I was also wondering if they'd make the light beams bounce quite a bit.

As for the grill guard, I understand people feel they add considerable weight to the truck and make washing/waxing more difficult. I wasn't going to get a full grill guard with the big bar over the headlights, etc.; I was looking at the ones that cover only the center of the grill, as pictured below. They cost $100, have room for 2-6 lights, and would offer a small buffer between my bumper and the idiots on the road. Have you heard anyone complain about this type of smaller brush guard? I'd be interested to learn of the possible drawbacks before shelling out a C-note. I'll search the forum before I order one.

Thanks,

WiseGuyMMIV

 

grille guards suck... period... they do nothing other than hold light... i have 3 hella 500s on my stock 85 bumper and they are fine... they bounce around quite a bit, but then again the whole bumper bounces... it doesnt have its side supports or anything and is way differnt from the 96-98 bumpers.....

the idea of these clips sounds iffy... if anything, custom make some brackets and mount them somewhere.... heck jsut drill a hole it isnt going to kill oyu, and if you plan on selling the truck later on and taking the lights off, jsut do as others have said and put one of those little plastic plugs in the hole......

 

I just drilled holes in my stock bumper, I just measued so they were proper distances apart, and used a center puch to mark where to drill, and mounted them like that. A little wobbly on rough roads, but they work ok and are really bright.

 

Getting ready to drill and install my PIAA 580's on my 2002 4-Runner I'll le toyu know how it goes..

Aaron

 

Haha ,,, ok got the lights on still not a clue how to post the pictures but if anyone will post them for me that would be great just shoot me an email address. Anyhow lights look badass on and wasnt a huge pain in the ass. They will be tight enough, since they are not fog lamps and are driving lights the pattern is longer and biger so any additional bounce wont be that noticable,, hmm or so I think.

Thank You

Aaron

 

Hopefully reviving a thread is better than starting a new one.

Aaron, do you have any better pictures of how you mounted and where you mounted your lights. I am trying to install a set of kc's on the bumper of my 99. Do the lights shake or bounce at all?

Thanks
Greg

 

Greg, although I have a 03 Taco, the idea is basically the same. I just measured it out even, and just drilled it out in increments untill I reached the size of hole I needed. On the bumpers of the Tacos, there are supports that run underneath the top part. I'm not sure about Runners or earlier models. It's pretty straightforward. I do experience a bit of shaking on really rough roads, but it's not too bad. When I get around to it, I am going to place a neoprene washer under each light. That should help to absorb a bit of the shake.

 

Thanks taco.

The 99-02 4runner bumpers are half plastic half metal on the top. Ofcourse i will drill into the metal part, but that metal seems pretty flimsy, and there doesnt seem to be much holding it up there. I will look to see if there are those supports, I may have missed them.

Greg

 

Another idea is if you can cut a piece of aluminum or even steel to act as a "backing plate" of sorts, that will help sturdy things up as well. I thought about doing that after I had already mounted the lights. One of these days...

 

That was one of my original plans, the only problem is im poor, and i dont have the infinate pile of metal at my dad's shop anymore.