CBI Covert bumper installation

You could've asked my on build thread...where this pic came from. hahaha.

Intercoolers for the turbo boys. The hoses are because it's a liquid (not air) cooled setup.

 

Here’s the latest. Went to the dealership an hour ago. They wouldn’t touch my truck with the bar on it. They want me to take the bar off and pay $500 to have the sensors recalibrated. On their recommendation i have already removed it, reinstalled the grille, and started the truck. Today they are saying they meant remove and recalibrate. I tried to get them to do the calibration with the bar installed. They finally agreed to eat the cost of the calibration as long as the bar is not there. I still think it’s a sensor issue but what do I know. I am waiting to hear back from CBI about a non-bar Covert faceplate. I also asked if the Trailhunter concept is having any issues with the bar version. Previously CBI said the bar doesn’t interfere but the dealership is saying lifts and anything in front of that sensor will interfere. Looks like the finger is back at CBI for not stating the bar will interfere unless they can give clear proof that it doesn’t.
I’ll keep you posted.

 

I hate that you're basically caught in the middle here...

 

You couldn’t be more correct @KroppDuster. I heard from CBI today. They said they would not send me a non-bar faceplate because they do not believe the bar is the issue. He went on to say that there are many Tundras with the bar on the road and they are not having any issues. Can any members confirm this? I asked for pictures of the bumper installed and the dash showing no alerts. Waiting to hear back. In the meantime I made an appointment at another service center for a second opinion. That’s more miles and more time off work. I’ll post the outcome after my appointment on Tuesday. To say this is ridiculous is an understatement.

 

Here’s the latest. I removed the bar last night and drove an hour down to the dealership to get the recalibration. Thanks to my salesman they did it no charge which saved me $500. Turns out the tech was 100% correct. All systems are functioning. On my way out they surprised me by saying now I should be able to put the bar back on. I had to ask him to repeat what he said. I was planning on reinstalling it no matter but it’s good to hear it from them that it should be ok. I can’t wait to get it back on but I’ve got to do some work to the bumper first. I noticed without the bar/faceplate on, the surround sits exactly where it should. It’s no longer a little above the hood. That means the bumper and the valance area are making contact somewhere or the faceplate is sitting about an 1/8” or less too high. The bolt through the frame would not line up with both spacers installed so I’m going to do some grinding to get both to fit. Grinding on spacers not my truck if you were wondering. I’ll let you and CBI know if it works.

 

The secondary intercooler is integrated in the exhaust header manifold the header and block are one piece,new design.

 

So the grinding of the thinner plate did help but the long bolt through the frame would not go through. I did manage to thread it through with a floor jack applying pressure. After installation of the winch plate with all four spacers I realized that the winch plate does not control the height of the faceplate. The lower mounting bolt of the faceplate determines how high it rests. The top of the faceplate will make contact with the bottom of my grille no matter where the winch plate is mounted. I have shaved all that can be shaved and sanded. I think the problem is the bolt holes in the faceplate. The holes allow for side to side adjustment but there is no wiggle room for vertical adjustment. I will contact CBI to see what their recommendation is. I’m still happy that all parts of my TSS are working WITH THE BAR!!

 

I really don’t know what caused the issue but the bar is not the problem. I put mine on a Friday evening and drove to the dealership for an alignment the next day. My truck had zero issues until it was in their possession for 2 hours. They could not get the PCS malfunction to clear and attributed it to the bar. After recalibrating the sensor without the bar all systems are working fine with the bar installed. I know with the TRD lift a recalibration is required but the small leveling lift I had at the time should not have required that and I had been driving for nearly a week with that lift in place.
For the bumper installation make sure you trim as much as possible to prevent contact with the faceplate. Hopefully you won’t run into the issue I am dealing with where the faceplate pushes up on the grille just enough for the mustache to sit above the hood on the corners (see pics). If the mounting holes had just a little vertical adjustment I could get it to fit perfectly. Take note of how you grille aligns with your hood before you install it. I have looked at some new Tundras and noticed the inconsistency of fit at the hood and the space between the mustache and the headlights. Good luck on your install.

 

@lensman5 I have an RC 1.75” on the front and a Traxda 1” spacer on the rear.

 

I guess, there were 2 things:

1. Despite what CBI says, their bumper does obstruct the radar's view. But the radar tolerates it, because it literally sits in front of the truck and collects bugs/chips/etc, so some portion of the sensor is expected to report false positives.
2. The dealer (or the OP?) pulled the radar connector with the battery still connected. The system registered an error.

The error can be cleared after mechanic carries out a repair, possibly including a whole radar assembly replacement. Radar readiness is checked by running a test, which verifies the whole range of the radar. At this moment the test "sees" an obstruction and fails, because a new radar should not have any operational defects.

That can explain why recalibrating without a bumper did help.

 

Your explanation is plausible but we can certainly rule out the OP disconnecting the radar connector and I don’t know why the dealer would touch it for an alignment. I still believe either something failed while it was at the dealer by coincidence or a tech screwed with something he shouldn’t have given all of the failure messages received as I was leaving the service center (CEL, Engine Shutter Malfunction, LTA malfunction, PCS malfunction, and more). Regardless of the loss time from work, gas going back and forth, and the irritation from the finger pointing, I’m glad it all works together now and will hopefully stay that way. I hope no one else has this experience.

 

I’ve seen many pics of this bumper and I’m sorry but someone needs to teach CBI how to weld

 

so are you supposed to disconnect the battery before removing the grille and disconnecting everything? i will be installing the covert bumper without the bar soon and replacing TRD grille with the Heritage grille at the same time.

 

I disconnected my battery when I installed my grill & bumper. As a rule of thumb, if I'm disconnecting harnesses or do anything that could impact electrical...I always disconnect the negative terminal. It's cheap insurance.

 

I haven’t to date but KroppDuster is not wrong. I have removed and installed mine twice after the recalibration and have had no issues.

 

The bar is not removable from the faceplate on a Tundra. Zoom in to see the welds on the bar supports. I believe the Sequoia version is bolted on.

 

Zip disc can remove that bar

 

I just installed my Covert on my Limited off road. The center hose support does need to be removed and the hoses secured up a little higher to get a winch in. I went with the 12,000lb HF Badlands and didn’t need to relocate my head unit. It just BARELY clears, although the bracket for the inter cooler hoses on the left needs to be tweaked just a little to get them to clear the side of the winch. I did relocate the right grille support arm so I could reach down and toggle the winch gear lever. I didn’t use any of the spacers and didn’t have a problem installing it. The cut is VERY easy to do compared to a 3rd Gen Tacoma stealth bumper install. Just make sure your cuts under the parking sensors are square. CBI’s dynamic air dam bypass works great as my truck is clueless that it’s gone.

No bull bar as it didn’t really protect much of the grille I opted not to get it, so I can’t speak to sensor/camera conflicts

 

Nice job. Does the corners of your grille surround sit even with or just below the hood?

 

Even, just like it always did. I think the spacers kick it up too much if people are having a problem.

 

The spacers actually move the winch tray down. This is how mine lines up with both spacers in. No spacers and it’s too high. One thick spacer and it’s lined up but my grille is getting a slight lift from the faceplate. CBI is looking into it.

 

Wow that’s weird, mine wasn’t off and all. I see what you are saying. So it’s either variability in the Toyota specs or CBI, my guess is CBI

 

I agree

 

Looks great...working up the courage to buy one and try to install it myself. I could use more patience when it comes to tasks like this (or someone local I could pay to help!).

 

Where are you? Can definitely install this yourself.

 

Definitely agree. @PilotMikeR this is a garage or driveway job. If you are not getting the bar it’s even easier. I hope you are lucky and don’t have the fitment issues I have. Take note of how your grille surround sits in relation to your hood and the spacing by the headlights. It should be the same after the bumper is installed. Thanks to a retired Marine across the street we are going to fix my issue this weekend since CBI went silent on me. I’ll post pics when done.

 

It is ridiculous that they're ghosting you, but not I'm not surprised
I bought a Prinsu rack (owned by CBI) years ago and they sent me the crossbars without tapping them. It took me months of begging to get that fixed.

 

That is ridiculous. All we want is a good product that works as advertised. Why else would we spend so much money on it? I’m certain the bolt holes on mine are 1/4” to 1/2” off.

 

Near Indianapolis...I'm glad you all have confidence in me! lol I just envision getting it all disassembled and getting stuck with my truck in pieces in the driveway.

 

I have the same fear. But I’m going to do it anyway.