On the XJ, it’s a real simple installation! First, a few days before the bumper arrives, spray the 8 bolts holding the bumper flanges together liberally with WD-40 or some other penetrating oil. Make sure to hit the factory hitch bolts too if you can reach them. When removing them, later, heat works well for breaking them loose. Unfortunately, Jeep didn’t use proper zinc coating on the bolts from the factory, and they frequently are a bear to get loose. For installation, there is no trimming necessary…you just need to remove the factory bolts holding the factory bumper on (save the factory bolts…you’ll reuse them), set the new bumper in position with a friend, and use the factory flange bolts to hold the bumper in place loosely until you are happy with the positioning…then cinch them down. For the lower mounts, if you have a factory tow hitch, just reuse it’s bolts. If not, then the best thing we’ve found to use is hitch style bolts you can get from U haul, which have a tab on them, which makes the install easy.
THIS IS HOW THE REAR BRACKETS SHOULD LOOK INSTALLED
Tighten everything down and you're off and running!!