At 09:13 AM 9/10/98 -0700, you wrote:
>Tom Wiencek wrote about my statement of asymmetric bumper brackets. I am
forwarding my
>reply, in case there is anyone else out there in need of help, or who has
a better answer.
>
>Some I can already predict:
>2) Tom Hall: "The bumper, and bracket design is poor to begin with. It
needs
>"modification". Simply through the whole mess away and replace with
Stainless Steel, or
>hard-chromed 4130 steel nerfing bars.
Ricks rear brackets have about a 0.045" offset on the slot for the frame
mounting bolt. I have no idea if this is to match OEM or is an anomaly
related to manufacturing tolerances. The difference is essentially
inconsequential. What is not inconsequential is the uniformity of the
spacing from the body and the condition of the threaded inserts in the
frame. Remember that the whole mass of the brackets and bumper are
cantilevered from these two inserts. Un repaired accident damage and
structural cracks will only get worse, quickly.
The cast aluminum bracket spacers are typically supplemented with flat
washers to even out the spacing and alignment of the bumper to the body.
Taping rags over the ends of the bumper is strongly recommended during the
iterative fitment process to avoid paint damage. It may also be necessary
to bend the brackets vertically after bumper installation to obtain
matching and reasonably level angles for the ends of the bumper. A large
Crescent wrench is handy for this operation.
Tom
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