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Converting export bumper to US

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#22 ·
cyberpunk409 said:
I didn't even think about that!

I do recall reading several threads on here about people in the US wanting the euro bumper bar!

View attachment 94456

Well here's my running expenditure on my conversion.

If anyone wants my lower fascia (excellent condition) I'd be happy to part with it for around $220 USD delivered to recover my costs. Not sure if you guys would need the euro reinforcement bar too?

Thanks for the heads up!

Edit: if I'm breaking forum rules by posting that here, someone let me know and I'll put it in the correct place
Click to expand...
There is a Jeep Patriot for sale/wanted page on Facebook too if you want to list there. I’m excited to see pics when it’s completed!
 
#23 ·
HMar02 said:
There is a Jeep Patriot for sale/wanted page on Facebook too if you want to list there. I’m excited to see pics when it’s completed!
Click to expand...
Never mind i just saw the pictures. Initially, i was confused because I’m from the U.S so it looks like a common 2nd gen to me, but its cool that you were able to convert it over. Nice work, hopefully it holds up offroad 👍
 
Discussion starter · #24 ·
HMar02 said:
Never mind i just saw the pictures. Initially, i was confused because I’m from the U.S so it looks like a common 2nd gen to me, but its cool that you were able to convert it over. Nice work, hopefully it holds up offroad 👍
Click to expand...
Euro/Australian lower fascia:
Image


USA lower fascia:
Image


Definitely not the same. The euro one hangs lower and is beefier.

Apparently some crazy people prefer the euro version lol

And the conversion hasn't begun just yet, still waiting on that elusive reinforcement bumper to arrive
 
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#25 ·
cyberpunk409 said:
Euro/Australian lower fascia:
View attachment 94470

USA lower fascia:
View attachment 94468

Definitely not the same. The euro one hangs lower and is beefier.

Apparently some crazy people prefer the euro version lol

And the conversion hasn't begun just yet, still waiting on that elusive reinforcement bumper to arrive
Click to expand...
My bad i thought the pic was of yours converted. I like the look of the euro one just because it’s different from what i see everywhere here, it is less practical though
 
Discussion starter · #26 ·
The conversion is complete!

Took me almost 9 hours and I dare say RHD Jeep Patriot's have things slightly altered under the hood compared to LHD vehicles, not a simple matter of just adding hooks and switching out a few components

There were times that I almost cried!

It's all done and I'll post some pics tomorrow. I finished just as the sun set and all my light went away, the last couple bolts were fastened under mobile phone light

I'm actually going off roading this weekend so I'm glad I've got the extra security of knowing I can be recovered as well as about an additional 5-7 degrees of approach angle

It can be done and I'll go out on a limb to say I'm probably the only Jeep Patriot in Australia with recovery hooks!

Melbourne Jeep Owner's Club requires vehicles to have recovery points to go on anything more than an "easy" trail. I've been in touch with the president and he told me to take it to a meeting so they can determine whether I'd be able to join them on "medium" trails, which I'm hoping they will!

Pictures tomorrow, my hands are bloodied from my efforts today
 
Discussion starter · #27 ·
Image


New approach angle sitting just under 40 degrees, very happy with that!! I think I was on 33 degrees before the bumper swap
 
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Discussion starter · #28 · (Edited)
I think my numbers are accurate and add up!

The 4x4 Jeep Patriot as sold in Australia has an approach angle of 20 degrees and a ground clearance of 205mm/8.1 inches:
Image


The US FWD version has an approach angle of 26.4 degrees and a ground clearance of 8.1 inches:
Image


So that's 6.4 degrees of additional approach angle thanks just to the bumper.

After my lift I had an approach angle of about 32.5 degrees...
Image

...and after my bumper swap I'm at 39 degrees...
Image

...which is roughly an extra 6.5 degrees... As the literature suggests!

So I'm pretty confident my measurements are all good and I've got 39 degree approach angle, very very happy with that! The hooks are the icing on the cake 😁
 
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Discussion starter · #30 · (Edited)
Unfortunately I couldn't take photos whilst I was doing the conversion.

I dropped my daughter off at school at 8:30am and had until 3pm to complete the job. When it was 2pm and I knew it couldn't be done by 3pm, I had to call my wife to leave work early and get our daughter from school. At that stage my car had no bumper or grills and there was no way I could risk driving around like that. I eventually finished the project at 6:30pm as the sun went down.

If anyone ever wants to convert a bumper from euro to spec to USA FDII spec, just drop me a PM and I will help as much as I can.

It can certainly be done with a lot of effort and muscle.

The wheel well holes and bottom fascia holes don't line up with euro to USA conversion, the place where the 4 push/pull rivets are (2 per side). That's still something i need to sort out.

Also, the foam impact absorber inside the bumper is not compatible, I simply don't have one anymore.

Also, this part seems to be totally redundant:
Image

Image

I have it on my driveway at the moment. There was no way it could fit or serve any functionality!

I'm proud of my efforts and for being that much more off road ready now!

Sadly, my 4x4 adventure scheduled for this weekend had to be cancelled due to a covid lockdown with a max 5km travel from home. It's likely to last another 8 or so days so I'm technically in home lockdown. It sucks!

Thanks and happy jeeping!
 
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Discussion starter · #32 · (Edited)
Turns out I'm not 100% done and this piece is actually quite important:

Image


My bumper is slightly sagging without it and I'm not happy with that. So it's on order and I'm waiting for it to get here.

Good news is I have to rip the entire front off again, so this time I'll definitely take photos as the hard work is all behind me!

P.S. we're STILL in a 5km radius lockdown for at least another 5 days, so no off roading as of yet ☹
 
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Discussion starter · #34 ·
breadtruck said:
Would definitely be a good resource if you could grab a few inside shots!
Nice job
Click to expand...
Yep, for posterity. Maybe in a few years someone will stumble upon this thread and it may help them out.

I'm sure there were 10,000's of Jeep Patriots sold outside of North America and one day people will want to make them smash and trash off road vehicles, when they're older and have no value.

I shall endeavour to play my part

P.S. now we're even in a harder lockdown. Work permits required to work, outside play grounds closed, schools completely shut down, and another 2 and a half weeks to go. This situation is horrible
 
Discussion starter · #37 · (Edited)
About 30 days into this lockdown with at least another 20 or so days to go! And what's more, Australia Post is on strike or something, so my foam bumper insert has just been sitting at Melbourne airport for days! Urgh ☹

Anyways, I just realised that once I take the bumper off to fit the foam insert, I already have the US metal reinforcement bar, so no chance for before and after pics.

But here are some that I found online sitting at wreckers, I'll be able to compare to these:
Image


Image

The plastic bit hanging at the bottom (shown in the picture above) serves no purpose once you have a US bumper on.

Image


My front end looked identical to these, pre-operation.

For reference, here are some front ends from North America I found online
Image

Image


The most notable differences were:
  • different horn mounting brackets, had to twist and bend and only managed to get one of the two horns mounted at the moment
  • fog lamp electrical cables not long enough to go from euro to USA spec, had to cut and splice some extensions in
  • bottom plastic guard redundant when going from euro to USA. Originally held in by 5 or 6 screws. Holes are absent on the US lower fascia so not sure how the bottom of the fascia is secured to the car on your models??
  • 2 push/pull rivets on either side of the lower fascia that connect to the wheel well (4 in total) are not aligned at all going from euro to US. Will have to drill holes in the wheel well and force them to line up when installing foam insert later (edit: they do in fact line up)
  • all other pre drilled holes in the new metal reinforcement bumper bar for attaching plastic clips for thermometer, coolant, etc line up well

That's about all I can remember for now. And the 2 hidden bolts (1 on each side) where the bumper attaches to the vehicle near the indicators are a nightmare to get back in!
 
Discussion starter · #38 ·
Just finished installing the foam insert!!!

accidentally ripped out one of the indicator wires! Just super glued the thing back in place and is working for now.

all up about 3 hours to take the whole bumper off and replace. Took pictures this time that I’ll post later on.

still in lockdown for at least another 40 days with a 15km travel limit. No 4x4 tracks in that range 🙁
 
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Discussion starter · #39 · (Edited)
The super glue on the indicator wires held up for one day! Went to a wrecker and got a replacement indicator socket, cut the wires, spliced them together and all good now.

To work on the indicator, you have to take the whole front bumper off, ridiculous. But was a blessing in disguise as this was about the 4th time I had to take the whole front bumper off.

A blessing in disguise because I found that the push pull clips that connect the bumper to the wheel well actually do line up! Lucky I didn't throw them out.

So now it's all in tact just like a factory finish. Nice 😁

Oh, and our claim to fame as "the world's longest locked down city" have come to a somewhat end! I've booked accommodation at a pub in the middle of a forest and the middle of nowhere, so after all this time waiting (4 looooong months!!!!), I'll finally be able to take her out for some serious off roading 😁😁😁
 
Discussion starter · #40 ·
Pictures as promised...

My dual horn is now only a single horn. I couldn't work out a way to reattach the driver side horn. Here are pictures of the passenger side horn worked back into position
Image
Image


The two holes in this wheel well did line up with the new USA lower fascia (on both sides):
Image


This is my driver side. There used to be a horn there but I couldn't work out where to attach it so gave up on it. You can also see that I had to extend the wires for the fog lamps:
Image


What you are seeing here is the method I used to attach the black plastic lower fascia to the silver painted bumper. 1/4" bolts, locking nuts and washers:
Image
Image
Image


And a couple random photos:
Image
Image
Image
 
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cyberpunk409
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