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Long story short, someone put a nick in my bumper pad - the insurance payoff was around $230, I can get it profesionally fixed for $198, or I can order the bumper pad and try to do it myself
My problem is if I drop the bumper I'm in worse shape than when I started... is it hard to take off? Would you recommend doing it, or just giving up the $100 for the shop to install it?
The fog lights must be disconnected, but not necessarily removed....I guess it depends on what you are trying to replace. The fog lights are in the valance, not the bumper. By the way, the valance doesn't have to be removed. It can stay attached to the bumper.
No problem. I've presumed that your rig is a '99 - '02 model. If it is a '97 - '98 the fog lamps are in the bumper itself. This shouldn't matter much, but just thougt I'd mention it.
I recently tangled with the backend of a surbuban and had to replace the front bumper of my 98. I took it off and replaced it including hammering out the support which was slightly bent in two hours. Pretty straight forward had no problems.
The bumper is held on with 4 bolts. The bumper pad is held on with about 15 rubber rivets, They are a real pain, you have to pull out the topmost round disc to separate each one.
There is room to drill new holes but not much. You may be able to add spacers on the bolts to angle the bumper so that it "appears" to be closer to the hood
ENGINE HERE
x x
x x <--- put spacers on these bolts
ROAD HERE
I changed my own bumper pad, it took about 45 mins but that was only because I fumbled with the rivets for so long. Dont mangle them too much because you have to put them back. If you have an automotive paint/body parts shop (or the like) you should be able to buy some new ones.
Ok cool... did you buy that body match one, or have it painted? I was thinking about body matching before I saw yours, but I like yours - they have one in "white" on fordpartsonline, but im not sure if it's my "white". I'll probably have to take it off to get a better idea of what spacers I'll have to make.
I went to your site and saw that you added a Navigation system to your truck. I was thinking of doing the same to mine. Do you have any ideas? Can you point a lost soul in the right direction?
I researched Navigation units for a long time befor I even purchased my LCD. Pioneer had the easiest to use, most friendly & voice activated. I have vendor access so I can get it much lower than retail. If you have a Pio headunit you can get the AVIC-90DVD for a little over $1000. It is absolutely worth it--I honestly dont know how I lived without it. You can search by Address, Vicnity, Points of interest, and even phone number. There is no monthly fee. The hardest part of the install was finding my pulse wire to help the nav determine how fast I was going.