Some background here. In order to mount a hidden winch on a Gen 2 you have to move/upgrade the intercooler. ADD wants you to change out the OEM bumper for theirs then add an upgraded intercooler. Another company called Swartworks has developed a bracket to work with the OEM bumper. Again the intercooler has to be moved/upgrades in order to use the cavity the intercooler now sits in. Pretty sure if you mod the intercooler Ford will use that as an excuse to void any engine problems related or not. Hit me up if you’ve had any experience with this problem or possible suggestions
Ive been looking at this for several months now, just the inter cooler is $1300 and the winch bracket from swarfworks.com is $500 plus winch and labor, still the cheapest way to go. Swarfworks has the instruction video on their site, claiming 1.5 hours, realistically probably 3-4 hours. My 4x4 mechanic says you cannot use the factory intercooler as the winch will block air flow. He said he can build a front receiver hitch in the same location for $500 and then you can use a multi-mount allowing using the winch on rear of vehicle as well. Ive got a Warn 9000 hd in a multi-mount bracket now, not sure if I want to pack the winch anymore as its heavy! Ray
Hey Ray. Yea the whole idea of "the" off road vehicle not having been designed for this application blows my mind. Thanks for the info. My assumption is the design your mechanic is suggesting wouldn't be a hidden front bumper mount?
Ray, would this custom front receiver hich bracket sit flush in the front bumper, and keep the stock setup as is? I like the multi-mount idea, and have thought of it on previous trucks but don’t have a reliable fabricator. If you go the route, and it is Bolt-on, I’d be interested in seeing if he would make two, surely bring the cost per piece down for us both! Where you located?
Iam in Flagstaff, Arizona, but the guy who would do this is in Cottonwood, AZ, Kerr Motor Sports, really a jeep guy, but knows a lot about all 4x4s. Ive had 3 previus front receivers on Ford 250 and Super Duty and thats my question as well, as it could be an eye sore as it has to stick out far enough to put the pin in. Normally the front receivers sit lower than the middle of bumper and are not very obvious. Theres a thread on the other Raptor forums where a guy put front receivers where both tow hooks are, and modified his skid plate, lot of work buts its another option. I talked to warn and their design team is only thinking about a solution, but they may be offering the swarfworks bracket or a transformer option as well. If I do pursue the front receiver hitch option I’ll mesaage you and post here, Rya
I found this video. Seems that this guy didn't move anything to install his Warn winch and it looks factory. Has anyone done this? www.youtube.com/watch?v=scD1TqZiVQc
