Brush Guard?

I'm finally ready to get a brush guard and was wondering which one is the way to go. Definitely going black (I have a white xlt w/ the gray trim), so should I go Westin or Hunter or another brand? How do they do with rust (for those of you that have them)?

Appreciate any advice!

MarkOPKS said:

I'm finally ready to get a brush guard and was wondering which one is the way to go. Definitely going black (I have a white xlt w/ the gray trim), so should I go Westin or Hunter or another brand? How do they do with rust (for those of you that have them)?

Appreciate any advice!

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I've had my Hunter for about 8 months now and I love it! No rust.

http://www.truckwinchmount.com/photos/slides/83XESWP-DELUXE.html

http://www.truckwinchmount.com/photos/slides/2009%20Truck%20Winch%20Mount%20Catalog.pdf

I have the Gator model for 4th Gen. and I really love it. it is really a tough guard

I have the hunter brush guard on my 05. Besides its a little shakey (like most brush guards) I love it and would suggest it for anyone. I dont have any rust on mine, i did undercoat the mounts.

I have a Westin Sportsman on mine and love it. I was convinced after smashing my wife's Z71 Tahoe into a cement wall and the only damage was to the brush guard, mounting brackets and a small ding on the hood. Saved the HIDs and that alone paid for itself. Bought another one to replace it that same day and then ordered one for my ST a little later.

btw, does Westin even make a brush guard for a 4-dr 3rd gen? I cant find anything about a brush guard for 02-05.

Quick search of their website...looks like they just have bull bars

I saw one on the google shopping deal and just figured they made a line of brush guards, guess not!

Thanks for all the suggestions everybody!

The Electrician said:

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i would buy that if they had it for a third gen...

edit: they do have them for third gens! emailing for a price now...

Those are badass! share that price if you don't mind Kazer!

BTW if i had money to put into my explorer it would end up looking very similar to yours, it's probably one of my favorite ones on the site. keep up the good work!

Thanks mark! And I will, it'll be atleast Monday before I hear back

Kazer, I looked into this about a year ago for the Gator model and it was 625.00 plus freight shipping (~189.00 to where I live). Tow hooks would be extra I think.

FYI make sure to let them know that you have a 1.5" body lift....they'll have to modify the design slightly to accommodate for it and it will cost extra. IIRC they quoted me 120.00 more for the body lift modification and needed a bunch of photos and things to make the modifications properly.

Ahh okay, thanks ronin. Do you know what they would have to modify and why? I asked for prices on the deluxe and basic versions

Because it has to support the stress from a winch, it's connected to the truck frame in 4 different places. Two at the bottom where the tow hook bolt holes are, then there are two support pieces that are intended to go into that center opening on the bumper cover (that shows the lower part of the radiator). those support pieces bolt to some holes on the sides of the frame.

with a body lift installed, the position of that hole that the support pieces go through has been moved upward, so some changes need to be made to the support bracket mount points and the shape of the brackets to accommodate that.

Also, the whole brush guard needs to be made taller to make it the right height now that you have added more space (because of the body lift) between the bottom mount points and the top of the brushguard .

2002-2005 Ford Explorer 4 Door -- Winch Mount Product

WINCH MOUNT GRILL & BRUSH GUARDS

TECHNICAL INFORMATION:
- Full 5/16” Mild Steel Side Plates
- Grill Guard Tubes: 2 1/4"od x .083" Wall Mild Steel Tubing
- Brush Guard Hoops - Wrap-Around Style & Flat Style: 1 1/4"od x .083" Wall Mild Steel Tubing
- Winch Cradle and Fairlead Mount: 3/8” Mild Steel, Fully Integrated. Mount Hole Pattern 4.5” x 10”. 6K, 8K, 9K, 9.5K, 10K, 12K, 15K, 16K Winch Capacities.

- One-Piece Fully MIG Welded Construction.

- Powder Coated Finish - Semi-Gloss Black (Sorry, NO CHROME/STAINLESS/ALUMINUM)
- Complete Installation Hardware And Instructions

WINCH GUARD MODELS:

-Gator Model -- Part# 83XFWP-G @ $600.00 + Freight
(Traditional Model Brush Guard / Grill Guard below plus Gator Option, Jammer Option, 3rd Bar Option, Euro or 2” over-rider Option, and Wires Option listed below)

-Deluxe Model - Part# 83XFWP-D @ $590.00 + Freight
(Standard Model Brush Guard / Grill Guard below plus Jammer Option, 3rd Bar Option, Euro or 2” over-rider Option, and Wires Option listed below)

-Standard Model - Part# 83XFWP-S @ $520.00 + Freight
(Base Model Grill Guard below with integrated Wrap-around Style Brush Guard Hoops)

-Traditional Model -- Part# 83XFWP-T @ $490.00 + Freight
(Base Model Grill Guard below with integrated Traditional Non-Wrap Style Brush Guard Hoops)

-Base Model -- Part# 83XFWP-B @ $445.00 + Freight
(Two steel side plates, winch cradle, and cross tube)

OPTION CODES:

-G: 2"OD round tube brush guard hoops. Option for Traditional Model Package only @ + $40.00.

- To order add "-G" suffix to part #

-W: for combination grill guard & brush guard models only. Horizontal 1/4" wire screen in brush guard hoops (wrap-around and flat style brush guard hoops) @ + $95.00

- to order add "-W" suffix to combo part #

-B : third across tube added at base of guard @ + $30.00.
- to order add "-B" suffix to part #

-J: 1 1/2" wide steel backbone added to steel side plate edge with full length vinyl overlay pad. @ + $75.00

- to order add "-J" suffix to part #

-E : 1.25” hood bar on top of guard only or span between brushguard hoops on brush guard models @ + $30.00.

- to order add "-E" suffix to part #

-S : 2" tube over-rider Bar (center hood bar) on top of guard @ + $40.00.

- to order add "-S" suffix to part #

-AR : 2" box receiver mount added to bottom of winch cradle. @ + $50.00.

- to order add "-AR" suffix to part #

-L : Light bar cross bar for mounting 4 auxiliary light mount points just above winch. Drilling required. @ + $75.00
- to order add "-L" suffix to part #

-WP12 : Upright Heavy Duty Winch Cradle for mounting Warn 8274 / M12000 / M15000 / 16.5ti electric self recovery winches @ + $50.00
- to order replace "WP" in part # with “WP12”

Awesome! thanks so much! still waiting on a reply for an email I sent to them 2 weeks ago....

Im thinking the gator mount one with the light bar... only question I have is the tow hooks included or are they an option?

a hunter brush guard will be mine at x-mas (seems so far OFF!), thanks mom and dad! i like planning ahead haha

anyways, reading over this again, is there a way to weld a couple supports onto the guard and run them in to the bumper beam?

what i'm getting at i guess is has anybody tried to stabilize their brush guard to eliminate the shakiness