GSI Jeep Wrangler JK Front Bumper and LED Fog Lights Install & Review

Time to upgrade the front bumper on our 2008 Jeep Wrangler JK without breaking the bank. After endless searching, we went with this mid-length bumper from GSI on Amazon. The bumper came shipped with all the needed hardware including the D-rings. The D-ring mounts are welded on the bumper. The center is pre-drilled with winch mounting holes and has welded supports below the winch plate. It has two holes with hardware for mounting the OEM or after market fog lights. It also has two light mounting options on the front bar for aftermarket lights of your choosing.

After watching some videos on replacing the Jeep front bumper it was clear this is a simple job. Everyone's videos showed them removing the OEM bumper with ease but this was not the case for us. All eight of the bolts holding the bumper on were rusted and needed a breaker bar to loosen. We sprayed the bolts with some Liquid Wrench and let it sit overnight. The bolts were still difficult to remove. After much sweat and muscle we were able to get all the bolts off but it was three quarters of the entire install time.

The next step was to install the fog lights in the new bumper. You simply remove the four screws from each fog light on the old bumper and reattach to the new bumper. We previously upgraded to Black LED Headlights and fog lights so we had brand new LED fog lights to install. The new bumper uses tiny bolts (that are supplied) instead of screws to attach the fog lights. This took patience since the bolts are small and the mount on the bumper is tight. You can check out a video of the LED light install on my 2011 Jeep JK by clicking here.

After the fog lights were installed it was time to attach the new bumper. This could not be easier compared to removing the old bumper. The supplied hardware all fit perfectly. No directions are included (and not needed) and a search of the Internet for proper torque on the bolts proved fruitless. Everyone just says get the bolts good and tight. We torqued each of the bolts to 65 ft-lb.

The last step is to attach the included D-rings. The actual install is very easy and can be tackled by most DIYers. As for removing the old bumper this is much more difficult and may challenge you. The bumper is steel construction and very stout.

It was delivered in a well packaged box and had no defects or damage. All the hardware needed is included and minus the old bumper removal should take about 30 minutes to install. You can see the install in the video below.