The intercooler doesn’t move as far as I know. The hidden winch goes under it.
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The intercooler doesn't move but you have to cut off the forward-facing frame horns next to the heat exchanger for the transmission and then relocate that and shorten the lines that lead to that and then that ends up blocking the shutter gates for those of us who have them...sigh...
They now have an upper intercooler relocation mount to use. I believe Misho makes it. Moves the intercooler up above the bumper I believe. Never seen it in use, but it is perhaps a solution.
Mishimoto makes awesome stuff but they themselves agreed that by moving the intercooler up above the bumper then it places it squarely in front of the radiator and so you lose some efficiency that way as well...I wanted to keep my Bronco for a while so I bought an extended warranty, but I imagine that if I move any of the important bits around that Ford would be really quick to just jump on denying any kind of warranty claim down the road. With the intercooler sitting right in front of the radiator all that hot air is just going to pass over the radiator fins and reduce cooling by who knows what percent. I imagine in places that don't get very warm it's not a huge deal, but here in Southern California it's warm most of the time and if we ever head out toward the desert then it's miserable hot. I might just go with the JCR winch plate, even though it sticks the winch way out in front. The Vanguard, especially in aluminum, would be awesome but then with shipping and a winch it's about 3,500. The JCR winch plate is the cheapest, but even then I'd have to buy the camera relocation bracket and others have indicated that an ACC relocation is necessary even though JCR says it's not, and with winch and plate it's like having another person standing on your front bumper the rest of your vehicle's life. On the other hand, if I went with you aluminum JCR bumper, it's only 50 lb...and shedding my modular bumper means I'd have plus 30 to subtract from the 77 lb winch and therefore only adding around 45 lb. If only I could win the lottery...They now have an upper intercooler relocation mount to use. I believe Misho makes it. Moves the intercooler up above the bumper I believe. Never seen it in use, but it is perhaps a solution.
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Just ordered JRC Vanguard in Aluminum (along with Aluminum Sliders and crusader rear bumper) like how it doesn’t block the cooler/slates plus lighter than others. Price isn’t so out of line with many others. Will see how it works out when it shows up in 2-3 months….
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I am leaning in that direction as well...did you also order the ACC relocation bracket and the camera relocation bracket? And shipping is 450, correct? Which winch will you use?
I'm split between the JCR and the Rock Hard...it costs more, but no need to relocate the ACC bracket. Another bonus is that it has enough space on each side to run triple lights...and because I already am running two 3x3 cubes and four rectangular pods that is appealing. I could then just sell my modular bumper and swap everything over. The Rock Hard is 25 pounds, and the winch plate is 40...so about 15 pounds heavier than the JCR aluminum model. I like that the winch sits lower on the Rock Hard, and I'm wondering if I relocate the solenoid if I could get away without a camera relocation. If not, I wouldn't want to use the Rock Hard bull bar because I don't find it as appealing as it could be...so I would use the fairlead mounting hole bracket for the camera relocation that JCR offers. With the rock hard the ACC bracket remains in the OEM location so no recalibration would be necessary which is appealing. I'm just wondering if the camera has anything to do with lane departure system or anything else and that by relocating it lower if it would mess up anything on the calibration side? I also like that the Rock Hard system leaves the proximity sensors pointing straight forward instead of angling them off to the sides like the JCR one does.
Where did you put your heat exchanger? And did you have to shorten your lines to it/cut off the brackets on one side? And you do not have shutters for your OEM cooler, correct? I am stuck with the motor/shutters and associated wires that I imagine would throw a code if I messed with them. I am leaning towards the Rock Hard bumper which, although not as appealing as the setup you have, provides great approach angle and retains ACC/IC/proximity sensor locations. How do you reach your spool level?Here is an example Rough Country Hidden Winch with a Whipple IC
The installation documentation covers all of the modifications required. With the installation of the Whipple IC the shutters were removed. My bronco doesn’t have adaptive control, yet it still had the plastic assembly in front of the IC, which I took out to further increase airflow.
For the Engage/Release lever access, that is one of the major deficiencies in the RC design, but I developed and easy solution which is documented in this forum.
the shutter motor itself is still connected, but pulled the wiring harness and motor back into the engine compartment and tie wrapped out of the way. Still looking at a way to bypass the need for the motor to be connected and not cause an error.
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Thanks! I think I will pass on the mods required/the RC setup (even though it appears to be one of the cleanest installs aesthetically). I am too leery about possible warranty denials, because our Broncos are so dependent on electronic nannies. Hopefully yours serves you well if/when you need it! So far for me the Rock Hard is the contender.
All is well, I have used it to pull 1000 lb logs with no problems, it is tied directly to the battery so no other mods to the electrical system. I really like that it is tied to the frame directly thus problems I have seen with bending the bumper and/or the frame ends are not there. Low center of gravity is another point of advantage.
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Very true, unless you get this………
And yes I get the whole block the radiator thing but you have to remember also that if you block the intercooler the ECM will detune the Bronc if the inlet temps rise. Blocking the intercooler will make the intake temps rise. It is a catch 22 scenario. I chose to go with the more power idea. Since installing the IC I have not seen elevated coolant temps but I do not live in AZ. I live in PA and this year has been a weird one. Not as hot as usual. It has been humid and in the upper 80's all summer though.
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