Ford Performance WARN winch on capable bumper — Yes it's possible!

[RagnarKon]

I own a 2022 Badlands with the capable bumper. I bought the capable bumper over the HD modular bumper primarily to get the factory fog light wiring/switch, assuming I could also find an aftermarket bumper I really liked to add on a winch. Well it turns out there are VERY few aftermarket bumpers I like, and the ones I do like are prohibitively expensive—especially when you add on shipping costs.

So I began searching for a winch mount for my capable bumper. The two I found were by JCR and Rough Country. I've had some pretty shaky prior experiences with Rough Country in the past, so I wasn't too keen on it. And this post by @Tricky Dick definitely wasn't giving me the warm or fuzzy feelings I was looking for prior to purchasing the Rough Country mount. I'm sure it's fine, and I'm sure there are lots of people who've had very good experience with it, but pass for me. Based on what limited information I could find with the JCR mount, it seemed like it too may have similar issues to the Rough Country so I passed on that one as well. Though I admit both are more economical than the approach I went with.

And then Ford released the press photos for the Wildland Firefighting Command Rig. BAM. Capable bumper with the Ford Performance winch. So I knew it was possible—probably with some modifications—but I knew it was at least possible.

So against my better judgement I dropped several thousand dollars on a Ford Performance winch without knowing it would work. And guess what?? It works!! Some minor modifications, yes, but it works. Video below



Picture Dump

The bolts holding the bumper on. Three on each side.

Wiring connector for the fog lights (and presumably the sensors, if you have those):

Factory tow hooks:

The new brackets. Notice the three holes don't line up due to clearance issues.

Fixing the clearance issues:

Final product (pre-paint):

Grille clearances

Suspension sag. Note I have a Badlands non-Sasquatch with the 2.3L.

BEFORE:

Easter Egg I found on the capable bumper. Reads "Congratulations on ponying up for a more capable bumper":

FINAL PRODUCT

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If you too are like me and have the capable bumper, definitely consider this approach if you want a winch. It really wasn't that bad. Yes it did take me four days to complete the installation, but much of that admittedly was me dodging rain and fussing around with the cameras for the forums/YouTube. If you are organized and know ahead of time what you are getting into, this is easily a weekend project.

Link to Ford Performance WARN Winch - Part No. M-1821-B

And shop around when purchasing your winch. Several Bronco6G sponsors are also Ford Performance dealers—such as @LethalPerformance and @Northridge4x4 —and they offer the winch kit for cheaper than what you can get Ford. That said, this item does ship via freight, so make sure pay attention to shipping costs. May ultimately be cheaper to buy from Ford and ship to your dealer.

Cheers!! Let me know if you have any questions.

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[BigBendBW]

What’s the spec on torque weight on bolting the winch and the bumper back on?

 

[RagnarKon]

What’s the spec on torque weight on bolting the winch and the bumper back on?

The vast majority of the major structural class 10.9 bolts were 80 Nm (59 ft-lbs) or less.

The six bolts that hold on the forged bumper support pieces were the highest at 110 Nm (81 ft-lbs).

 

[BigBendBW]

The vast majority of the major structural class 10.9 bolts were 80 Nm (59 ft-lbs) or less.

The six bolts that hold on the forged bumper support pieces were the highest at 110 Nm (81 ft-lbs).

Thanks!

 

[Bronc-Itus]

 

[murphtron]

Impressive @RagnarKon ! Looks great. Is this the correct link to the ford performance winch?

https://accessories.ford.com/bronco-2021-2022-ford-performance-by-warn®-winch-kit

And did you consider using @trickydick framehorn reinforcement?

 

[skibumbrian]

Excellent work @RagnarKon, as usual. Great upgrade.

 

[RagnarKon]

Impressive @RagnarKon ! Looks great. Is this the correct link to the ford performance winch?

https://accessories.ford.com/bronco-2021-2022-ford-performance-by-warn®-winch-kit

And did you consider using @trickydick framehorn reinforcement?

Yup! That’s it.

And the Ford winch kit comes with frame horn reinforcements already (along with some extra added support/bracing) so I didn't have to worry about it. That was one of the big reasons why I opted to go with the Ford kit over another aftermarket kit.

When I did the math I was only spending a few hundred dollars more for the Ford kit over an aftermarket setup.

• WARN Zeon 10-S: ~$1650
• Rough Country Kit: ~$210
• Frame Reinforcements: ~$250
• License Plate Bracket (cause my state sucks): $???

Adds up to around $2,000 - $2300 depending on the exact pricing and shipping. The Ford kit—which already includes the winch—is price at $2,600, and you can buy it closer to ~$2,250 from various dealers (one of them being @LethalPerformance here).

Obviously if you skipped the WARN winch you dramatically reduce the costs. I think the Rough Country winch is only $480—but I've seen a few of those fail before—one of them was my brother's winch on his F-series. Rough Country did replace it for him free-of-charge, so props to them for that. But buying and relying on the RC winch that is somehow cheaper than Harbor Freight's winch was uhh... yeah... I wasn't feeling it.

BUT... for those who are considering the Rough Country kit... check out this thread. Gives you an idea of what needs to be done. And yes I would definitely buy the frame ear reinforcements from @Tricky Dick if you go with that route.

 

[Todd H.]

Excellent post, I may actually go this route.

 

[Valhalla]

Good write up, thanks for the info... just know when wheeling that slight hits to that bumper deform it.... If you do I still have the bulk of that bumper intact for anyone that would like to arrange something... I used a thing or to from it that aren't structural for another project..

 

[BrentC]

Nice post and thread, looks great.

To add, I did mount a Zeon 12-S onto a RC plate with good results. Note the M2M camera relocate bracket as well. Well worth the investment in this item!

 

[BrentC]

Oddly, it’s really hard to find a winch hook here in Moab…

 

[TCoupe]

Do you have a front camera and sensor? If so, are they now obstructed?

 

[timhood]

I, too, wanted the capable bumper for the foglights. Plus I think it looks a little better than the modular bumper even though the latter has more, um, capability. No plans to get a winch right now, but I'm definitely flagging this post, as this seems the way to go. I wonder if a future revision of the bumper might include that portion removed so that it's truly winch-ready.

 

[BrentC]

Do you have a front camera and sensor? If so, are they now obstructed?

See post #11 - there is a camera relocate kit available from Mountains 2 Metal. There’s likely others as well but I was very happy with their product.

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