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Grab bars installed

58K views 514 replies 101 participants last post by  Greystone_YEG 
#1 ·
Installed the red handled grab bars on my wife's Rubicon HR today. Really like the red as it goes great with the black exterior and the other red HR accents.

Just let me say that the Grabars are a well made prouduct and should have been a breez to install but not so because the robot that welds the nuts on the jeep must be smoking something on break. The two backs ones went on in about five minuets. The drivers side front one fought me for about 10 minuets but the passenger side front took me more than an hour to get the bolts to line up properly. I was just about to give up on it and send them back. Now that they are on my wife loves them. Makes getting in and out of the jeep so much easier. I wish Grabar would use tapered bolts like the factory uses and they might go in easier and without the chance of stripping them.
 
#2 ·
Grabars suck

I'm just dealing with the passenger side as well.

It has nothing to do with the Jeep robots welding crooked; the bar on that side must have been designed by a drunk trainee.

I tried inserting the bolts that came with the Grabars and they just won't go in unless I am willing to strip the treat; I tried the factory bold and it went in fine; tried the Grabar bold once again, and same thing...it won't go it unless I strip the tread, tried the factory bolt and it slide right in.

Sorry, but I am not impressed. Anything costing close to $200 shouldn't require me to strip the factory treads to make it "fit".
 
#4 ·
It doesn't work.

I was able to get the bolts in their treads; I tightened the one going to the visor as much as it is humanly possible but it just doesn't fit properly: the long washer is still loose.

They will be going back to the seller.
 
#23 ·
He!! yeah! I love mine and installation was a peice of cake, almost. My directions said something about needing a 12pt 13/16 socket or something. Which I didn't have, only 6pts. Then after getting annoyed realized that a box wrench worked just fine :D
 
#12 ·
I have GraBars and they went in easily. For the front, I started the top bolt a couple of turns, just enough to hold it in, then put in the side bolts...shoving up on the GraBar as the side bolt was tightened. As soon as I got the side as tight as possible, I tightened the top...then the side again...then the top. After a month or so, I went back and snugged up all of the bolts and they've been good ever since. I installed in the spring, when Tucson starts fluctuating in temperature pretty decently, so they would have time to settle in. I also did it shortly after I picked up my new JK (within 3-4 months). I'm not sure if that is what made it so easy or not.
 
#13 ·
The bolt on the top for the passenger side still refuses to go in beyond a few turns. But I am able to screw in the factory bolt, repeatedly, without much trouble, which suggests Grabars includes bolts with the wrong treads.

I will see if I can find a bolt with the correct tread at Home Depot.

Still, seems like an inexcusable oversight, especially for a product at this price.
 
#16 ·
Okay, I figured out why I and most people have such a hard time installing the front Grabars:

If you screw the bolts without the Grabars, you will notice that the angle in which the bolts screw in by themselves is different from the angle in which the bolts go in with the Grabars.

I checked the angles in which the bolts by themselves go in on both my JKs, 2013 and 2014, just in case one of them was off. Turns out, the bolts go in at the same angle on both Jeeps; and Grabars wants them to go in at different angles on both Jeeps.

This means two things:

1. The way to install the front Grabars is by forcing the bolts into a different angle --i.e., stripping the factory tread

2. This is poor product design --and not worth the $200 Grabars charges for these things

I like the rear Grabars, though. I'll check with the seller if I can do a partial return.

Good luck to me,

Aldo
 
#27 ·
This exactly. These things were by far, not even close, the biggest pains in the ass to install...MUCH more so than ANY mod I've done to my jeep so far. The sad part is that you'd expect it to be one of the simplest. Lots of cursing, frustration, trips to the store to buy taps, etc. They are quick to blame Jeep for any issue you have with installing their product but I think the issue is poor design. They're in now and they are certainly helpful but I'm honestly not sure they were worth the degree of headache and time expenditure they caused.

Okay, I figured out why I and most people have such a hard time installing the front Grabars: If you screw the bolts without the Grabars, you will notice that the angle in which the bolts screw in by themselves is different from the angle in which the bolts go in with the Grabars. I checked the angles in which the bolts by themselves go in on both my JKs, 2013 and 2014, just in case one of them was off. Turns out, the bolts go in at the same angle on both Jeeps; and Grabars wants them to go in at different angles on both Jeeps. This means two things: 1. The way to install the front Grabars is by forcing the bolts into a different angle --i.e., stripping the factory tread 2. This is poor product design --and not worth the $200 Grabars charges for these things I like the rear Grabars, though. I'll check with the seller if I can do a partial return. Good luck to me, Aldo
 
#22 ·
Guess I got lucky. I installed them in my 2014 without issue. The angle was funny and they looked off and the angle to start the bolts looked wrong, but they went in after I found the correct angle. I did start the top bolts only a little, did the bottom bolts then tightened the top.
 
#33 ·
Use the longer bolt, spray WD40 on it and run it up and down the nuts almost all the way and it'll clear out the concrete thread locker that the factory uses with the factory bolts. Once the threads are cleaned up, try installing again. The side longer bolt goes in at a little bit of an upper angle...like almost 10 o'clock on the driver side, 2 o'clock on the passenger side.

Once you clean the threads by running the bolt, you won't have any space on the spacer and it'll be tight.
 
#34 · (Edited)
I finally got them to work, but only after a trip to Home Depot to replace one of the bolts that had stripped, and adding a washer to the front passenger top bolt so that the metal tube won't rattle.

Took a day-and-a-half to get these Grabars to work as they should!

Seriously, who designed these? Quasimodo...?
 
#35 · (Edited)
Aldo, I would still complain to Ryan at Extreme Terrain, a member and commercial sponsor here. He needs to know. Are there two different companies making GraBars now? I find all this a bit confusing or maybe I am just a bit slow. :). Bottom line, I find this unacceptable given the cost. And thanks, you saved me and others from a lot of frustration. I'll find another option for grab bars in my new Wrangler.
 
#37 ·
Here's what it looks like to me.....you have a second company based in California called Xtreme Work selling their version of the GraBar called the Black Boar on Amazon for $90 (front only). I have a firm suspicion that these and the Opar are one and the same except for the branding, both made overseas. The Opar and others for around $50 on Amazon and EBay are coming straight out of China without a US brick and mortar so they can be sold for less. If anyone wishes to inquire further, they can call Xtreme Work directly at 626-899-4398. I'd be interested in knowing what they have to say. You might also mention to them the problems folks are having with the bars sold at Extreme Terrain. Are theirs somehow different?
 
#49 ·
Mine are on the way, so I'll report back. However, here are the official instructions in case they don't come with the bars or you want to review them before you order. It seems straightforward, but I've heard that before.
 

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#50 ·
Finally got mine installed! The rear were a breeze, as expected, the front were probably the biggest pain in the ass ever! But I must say, I initially only took some of the advice in the forum. Once I took ALL of the advice (screw in first to clear nuts/estimate bolt angles, top first bottom second, and rest whenever you get tired) they finally got in. Totally worth the hassle! Love them! As someone else has mentioned, I love my things overbuilt!!
 
#53 ·
Finally got mine installed! The rear were a breeze, as expected, the front were probably the biggest pain in the ass ever! But I must say, I initially only took some of the advice in the forum. Once I took ALL of the advice (screw in first to clear nuts/estimate bolt angles, top first bottom second, and rest whenever you get tired) they finally got in. Totally worth the hassle! Love them! As someone else has mentioned, I love my things overbuilt!!
All's well that ends well BeeLDub but this shouldn't be.
 
#51 · (Edited)
I am planning to get a second set for my other JK but I am not going to spend $200 again. After all, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing expecting different results.

I will try the Made in China bars this time, hoping that by knocking off the originals the Chinese got them right.
 
#52 ·
I am planning to get a second set for my other JK but I am not going to spend $200 again. After all, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing and expecting different results.

I will try the Made in China bars this time, hoping that by knocking off the originals the Chinese got them right.

I think Einstein said that. And how can you argue with Einstein.

As I said in the other thread on the GraBars, I confirmed that the Welcome Distributing models sold by Extreme Terrain and other retailers are in fact US made. Everything else is coming out of China. Your call on which to get. So far no complaints on the imports that I am aware of. But there certainly seems to be aggravation associated with the Welcome Distributing model install.

Now that we've beat this subject to a bloody pulp, I have both the Welcome Distributing and the Chinese look-alike grab bars arriving tomorrow for a comparison (one has to go back). Unfortunately and a minor detail, my 2016 Sahara is still sitting in the rail yard in Akron. It's due in by the end of the month. Will the grab bars I keep be chanting in Mandarin or English that is the question. The Chinese can surprise you, you never know. Film at 11.

So much discussion over a pair of metal bars. LOL.:censored:
 
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