Fabricating a Winch Mount on a 6.7L

[texas4x4]

I bought a Westin Grill Guard w/ Winch mount for my 2012 6.7L and the Carrier was rated for the 12000lb winch but was not big enough to carry the Warn M12000 that I bought. I am really wanting to stick with the HD winch(for the 125' of 3/8" cable) so I am going to build my own carrier. So now for my question. I looked at several diffrent mounts and replacement bumpers and most if not all of them blocked the intake opening between the tow hooks. So basically I am wanting to make sure that if I block this off that it will NOT hurt the Motor down the road. Thanks in advance for any help.