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I'm refreshing my front bumper and was quoted $260 to repair and chrome my front bumper. I'm staying with the original style not wanting the headache of replacing stuff years later and forgetting what year they were. lol I've also chosen to coat the upper valance with Bullet Liner, and replacing the factory fog lights with Rigid D-Series Pro driving lights. Should turn out pretty nice.
It just so happens this chrome shop has a bumper in house they say is an OEM. How can I tell it actually is an OEM and not aftermarket, does Ford stamp numbers on the bumpers like any other parts?
Here is what she looks like today. I will post an after picture with the new one....
I'm refreshing my front bumper and was quoted $260 to repair and chrome my front bumper. I'm staying with the original style not wanting the headache of replacing stuff years later and forgetting what year they were. lol I've also chosen to coat the upper valance with Bullet Liner, and replacing the factory fog lights with Rigid D-Series Pro driving lights. Should turn out pretty nice.
It just so happens this chrome shop has a bumper in house they say is an OEM. How can I tell it actually is an OEM and not aftermarket, does Ford stamp numbers on the bumpers like any other parts?
Here is what she looks like today. I will post an after picture with the new one....
You'll no it when you see it. I have an aftermarket bumper made in you know where. It's chintzy and thin.
After about 7 hours of busting *** work, got my new bumper installed. Taking the fasters and brackets off the old bumper was a real b*tch. Some of the nut-clips broke, and use heat to part them from the bolts. Fortunately the clip-nuts were readily available at the local fastener supplier. Then the OEM fog light brackets, the vertical adjusting nuts just broke apart. What should I expect from a 20 yr old piece of plastic. Installing the Upper valance was a real B*tch. After 5 hrs my helper and I discovered it absolutely MUST be installed starting with the bottom center working out evenly. This afternoon had the bumper off, fixed the driving light brackets, replaced the broken and missing clip-nuts, removed and re installed the upper valance properly in two hours. Had the upper valance coated with Bullet Liner, and installed new Rigid Spot driving lights. Overall I think it turned out ok.
Now what's left is to aim the spot driving lights.
After about 7 hours of busting *** work, got my new bumper installed. Taking the fasters and brackets off the old bumper was a real b*tch. Some of the nut-clips broke, and use heat to part them from the bolts. Fortunately the clip-nuts were readily available at the local fastener supplier. Then the OEM fog light brackets, the vertical adjusting nuts just broke apart. What should I expect from a 20 yr old piece of plastic. Installing the Upper valance was a real B*tch. After 5 hrs my helper and I discovered it absolutely MUST be installed starting with the bottom center working out evenly. This afternoon had the bumper off, fixed the driving light brackets, replaced the broken and missing clip-nuts, removed and re installed the upper valance properly in two hours. Had the upper valance coated with Bullet Liner, and installed new Rigid Spot driving lights. Overall I think it turned out ok.
Now what's left is to aim the spot driving lights.
Next on the list will be having the running boards coated with Bullet liner. Then the rear bumper with the plastic tops Bullet lined along with a new trailer hitch.
HPJ, yeah it was a total of 7 hrs with two people. Had some of the fasteners not have been seized, disassembly and reassembly would have been much easier. Then getting the upper valance on correctly was a nightmare. For anyone replacing their upper valance, you must first insert the bottom CENTER location then working outward on both sides working outward. On our first attempt we went from the drivers working towards the passenger. By the time we got to the centering clip, it was off nearly 1/2". also it's easier to put the upper valance on before putting the bumper on the truck. Then aligning the bumper properly was challenging. Lots of little adjustments and some guesswork.
It's all done now and I'm very satisfied with the results.
Regarding the driving lights, here's a couple pictures. The first with just the HID headlights. The second is with the LED spot/driving lights. If I could do it again, I'd opt for the hyper spot version.
