Adjusting bumper mounts

[Jjbiskup]

i went to go swap my bumper mounts out for an 88(mine is a 94) and the bumper mounts are not lining up with the holes on the bumper. Can and should they be adjusted with the bumper on?

 

[Tim W]

Front or rear? The front bumper brackets are different. The 94 stick out a little further. Im in the current process of backing dating my grille onnmy 94 to the 90 -93. Theres alot of little pieces to buy to do it "right"


If its the rear make sure you dont have the brackets for a stepside if you have a fleet oe vise versa

 

[someotherguy]

Correct that the front brackets are different for 88-93 and 94-98. On the rear bumper the brackets are the same on the pickups regardless of stepside or fleetside; only the bumper itself is different with the wider cuts in the top to clear the stepside pieces.

For OP's question I'm pretty sure he means the front bumper. About the only way to get it squared up, IMO, is to do it with everything assembled but the bolts snugged, adjust, then tighten while re-checking as you go.

Richard

 

[Jjbiskup]

Front or rear? The front bumper brackets are different. The 94 stick out a little further. Im in the current process of backing dating my grille onnmy 94 to the 90 -93. Theres alot of little pieces to buy to do it "right"


If its the rear make sure you dont have the brackets for a stepside if you have a fleet oe vise versa

I swapped all 94 bumper mounting brackets out for the 88 ones. It is the front bumper. Are you able to adjust them or leave them loose before you install the actual bumper on them? The bumper now is mounted at an angle and looks stupid

 

[Jjbiskup]

Correct that the front brackets are different for 88-93 and 94-98. On the rear bumper the brackets are the same on the pickups regardless of stepside or fleetside; only the bumper itself is different with the wider cuts in the top to clear the stepside pieces.

For OP's question I'm pretty sure he means the front bumper. About the only way to get it squared up, IMO, is to do it with everything assembled but the bolts snugged, adjust, then tighten while re-checking as you go.

Richard

Ahhh alright. Gonna be a pain because my brother installed them and crossthreaded 2 of the middle bracket bolts. Ill see what i can do.

 

[someotherguy]

Ahhh alright. Gonna be a pain because my brother installed them and crossthreaded 2 of the middle bracket bolts. Ill see what i can do.

Loosen and snug the ones that you can. I mean you've got 10 bolts to work with - you should hopefully be able to get it looking better without having to battle the 2 crossthreaded ones.

The real gotcha with adjusting the front bumper is of course the grille filler is in your way for the top 4 bolts across the bumper, but if you remove it for access, you lose one of the biggest areas that you're trying to adjust for.. so pop the grille off, loosen/snug your bolts, then put the grille back on temporarily so you can adjust the bumper. Then remove the grille again, tighten down all the bolts, etc.

Richard

 

[Orpedcrow]

So, pre facelift brackets on a facelift truck will give a “bumper tuck”?

 

[Jjbiskup]

So, pre facelift brackets on a facelift truck will give a “bumper tuck”?

When i put the pre 94 grille on my truck there was a bigger gap between the filler piece and the bumper. When i put the brackets on the bumper did move closer by about 2 1/2 or 3 inches if im not mistaken.

 

[Jjbiskup]

the bumper is also shifted which i just noticed but it shouldnt be hard to fix as the bumper holes are elongated. I just cant get it to fold down onto the brackets.