ARB Bar chipped n rusty. 1 month old, not been off-road yet!

[Terry Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Terry]

Here in Sydney most bullbars that are order through ARB store or a stockist store are colour coded at ARB Moorebank.

The original powder coating is sanded and then painted over.
It is like any other painted metal surface, it will chip, it will scratch and the metal underneath will rust.

[JGD Member Find all posts View Profile Close JGD]

I hear you Deeptank....

Got my ARB bar installed late last month – after over a month and a half wait. I’ve been back twice to have the bar straightened and the black gap properly sprayed. The gap is stil not even, but considering it takes them 12 hours to correct the problem each time I won't be giving them another go. They sprayed my headlights black and over-sprayed onto the paintwork while fitting - was told it was 'normal' at the time of pickup, and only after arguing the point they admitted it ‘may’ not be normal.

Noticed the other day that the chassis bracket and the bash plates have started to rust, specifically around the welds, but also over the flat surfaces. This bar is only a couple of days over a month old and I haven't even been off road yet! I have been less than impressed with the entire product and process. Still haven't decided what to do about the rust.

You would think that by paying a small fortune for a bull bar you would get a well constructed and durable product - unfortunately this would no longer appear to be the case with ARB.

[dustie Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close dustie]

Hey Guys,

A little tip on where to store that Touch up paint. To stop it from drying up :arrow: store in the Fridge.

Today I had to do some touching up, spilt some battery acid near cradle, painted with "Etch primer" used the touch up paint all good now.

Hope this helps

Riz

[Deeptank Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Deeptank]

I hear you Deeptank....

Got my ARB bar installed late last month – after over a month and a half wait. I’ve been back twice to have the bar straightened and the black gap properly sprayed. The gap is stil not even, but considering it takes them 12 hours to correct the problem each time I won't be giving them another go. They sprayed my headlights black and over-sprayed onto the paintwork while fitting - was told it was 'normal' at the time of pickup, and only after arguing the point they admitted it ‘may’ not be normal.

Noticed the other day that the chassis bracket and the bash plates have started to rust, specifically around the welds, but also over the flat surfaces. This bar is only a couple of days over a month old and I haven't even been off road yet! I have been less than impressed with the entire product and process. Still haven't decided what to do about the rust.

You would think that by paying a small fortune for a bull bar you would get a well constructed and durable product - unfortunately this would no longer appear to be the case with ARB.

Hi JGD,

That doesn't sound so good either... Please post back on the outcome, whether you go back to ARB ot third party to get the rust seen to. It never gets better on its own and left long enough will spread over the whole damn thing.

How did your bar have to be straightened? Was there a twist or a kink in the bar itself or was it poorly installed?

[JGD Member Find all posts View Profile Close JGD]

How did your bar have to be straightened? Was there a twist or a kink in the bar itself or was it poorly installed?

Sorry, by 'straightened' I mean poorly installed.

When first installed there was a gap of 18mm one side and 32mm the other - very noticeable and it looked ridiculous. Seemed unbelievable it would be returned to me in such a fashion, but I guess it just reflects on how much they really care when working on other people's vehicles. :x

The second time the gap was evened out to around 25-30mm each side, still not even but far less noticeable. However the bar is now offset by 5-10mm to the right of the car - I can't spare the time to leave the car with them for another full day to have it corrected again.

I’ll let you know how I go about the rust. Would anybody suggest going directly to ARB head office in the first instance? I don’t think I’ll get a satisfactory response from the ARB store the where bar was purchased and installed, and I'm not drivng around for a week or two without a bar so they can send the parts back for re-spray.

[dustie Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close dustie]

Guys,

Working in corporate life, I have learnt this lesson. Complain to the top guy in the hierarchy and hey presto there is 100% customer care and action. The bloke down the food chain gets his backside kicked :lol:

Cheers,

[BIG BRUCE Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close BIG BRUCE]

Well said dustie , while I like the structural concepts of the ARB bar . I find that the finish of their products is poor . The company's products are also over rated and expensive .
Their head office is responsive to direct calls , which is more than you can say for their dealers .

[rhs58 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close rhs58]

Have taken a few of stone chips to my new 6 week old prado and color coded ARB bar, having gravel thrown up by a truck while on the bitumen!
Off roading theres less problem because less oncoming traffic and slower speeds.
I wonder if chipping is more "severe" on the bar because any stone impact is direct, and on to much heavier grade steel, compared with generally glancing hits on to lighter grade steel bonnet or panels?

[Deeptank Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Deeptank]

rhs58 - Sorry to hear about that mate. Doesn't sound so good, does it...

I had my Prado for about 2 1/2 years before getting the ARB bar fitted and I can safely say the original Toyota paint job is soooo much tougher than the crap ARB licked onto my bar.

Now, to add insult to injury one of my fog lights, which was fitted at the same time is now blown. That's after having been used about 10-odd times.

Sure, chips can happen and bulbs can blow, but this is not giving me any encouragement to give them any more of my $$$'s.

Anyone care to recommend a decent non-ARB 2" lift, snorkel and rear diff lock?

[dustie Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close dustie]

Anyone care to recommend a decent non-ARB 2" lift, snorkel and rear diff lock?

1 - Bilstein with Ridepro springs (popularly called the ATS suspension kit)

2 - TJM Airtec Snorkel (you'll love it the way its hugs the A Pillar compared to a Safari). Infact Safari make the snorkels not ARB, so if you like it you can get it fitted elsewhere.

3 - Bilstein with lovell sprngs, I' ve heard they are good.

4 - Ironman shocks and Springs? Ask Samo, he raves on about it :lol: :lol:

Hope this helps. Good luck in your mods & acc hunt.

[Deeptank Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Deeptank]

Nice one - thanks Dustie.

[AJ Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close AJ]

TJM do their own diff locks as well. I think they call them ProLockers or something along those lines.

Cheers,
AJ

[Kevin Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Kevin]

I have just remembered that when I bought my colour coded ARB bar in Cairns that the store manager mentioned that they use a spray painter in Brisbane to get their bars painted as the quality was better than getting it done locally in Cairns.

[D4D Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close D4D]

Bugger! I was working on my Prado tonight and accidentally dropped a socket on the bar and guess what...a nice chip ops:

[dustie Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close dustie]

Bugger! I was working on my Prado tonight and accidentally dropped a socket on the bar and guess what...a nice chip ops:

think of it as a battle scar :wink:

Spoke to my mate at Rhino, so if you are still interested let me know (PM me).