3" body lift problems

[DR264]

I'm installing my 3"bl and came to the part where i'm supposed to pull the steering linkage apart. Yah right! Can't even budge it. How am i supposed to get it off? And do i need to take it off? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Oh yah. Why do they even call those plates bumper brackets? They're not even close to fitting.

 

[FMExplorer]

DR264,
I seperated the steering shaft in the middle - soak it with WD40 and grab a breaker bar. As far as the brackets go - they will work, but you may need to drill some new holes. Best advice I can give you is mount the bumper to the brackets, but don't tighten the bolts. Do the same when installing the bumper on the truck - don't tighten. If you have help, adjust the bumper where it needs to go, tighten all the bolts once, check it again, then torque down hard on those babies. You'll need well over 150 lb/ft of torque to keep the bumper from sagging a bit...

Jon