'06 front bumper adjustment?

Spikeit · 01-31-2012, 09:49 AM

I recently bought this '06 Titan and I dearly love this truck! I trades an '99 Sierra and there's just no comparsion whatsoever. Anyway, the evening I bought it I was inside signing papers while they detailed it. That done, the salesman and I went out to my Sierra to wait on the Titan so I could transfer all my stuff. Soon, here it came......with a big dent in the front bumper to the drivers side of center. This caused the bumpers painted end piece to tilt downward at it's rear where it meets the fender. Long/short, they agreed to replace the bumper no problem which they 3 weeks later. I couldn't wait because besides the dent, the tilted end piece irritated me to no end. After they installed a NEW bumper, BOTH end pieces tilt downward. I got under ity and found 2 bolts they left out and had them install those but it made no difference. At home I've been under it looking at all the nuts/bolts and nothing else left out and I don't see anything bent. Besides, the "hit" wasn't hard, the dent not bad and I was told it happened in the detail shop when they let a car roll into it. It needs to come up roughly 3/4" on it's very back end so before I get into taking it apart my questions are; is there ANY adjustment in the bumper? Any thoughts as to why the new bumper didn't raise the dropped side but instead lowered the undamaged side? I was there when they installed it, and I used to do body repair, but didn't see them do anything to lower the opposite side. I don't get it. It's almost like the bracing/support bars underneath (1 per side) connecting it to the outside of the frame are too long.

Thx

bcini · 01-31-2012, 11:19 AM

I had the same problem with my stock bumper and found a "little" adjustment room in the outer support brackets on the bumper side for starters. Loosen the nuts and see what you can get out of it. If that doesn't work then go to the main mounts on the frame horns, loosen them and you should be able to "swing" the bumper up. Just be careful when you do this as you disturb the fitment of the bumper in other areas (under grill and headlights) and create a large gap depending on how much your corners are drooping down.

Last but not least, the stock bumper is not very, lets say "heavy duty". You would be surprised what you can achieve with a floor jack on the corner and a little massaging... That's last resort though. Good luck!

honda250xtitan · 01-31-2012, 11:38 AM

x2 on what bcini said. first i'd loosen the two bars that support the bumper end caps (found in the fenders) than loosen the bolts on the actual frame, these hold the bracket that the bumber bolts to. you can tilt them up a bit. its hard to explain lol. i think i've done it about 200 times on my old truck though.

Spikeit · 01-31-2012, 04:47 PM

Thanks to you both for the advice and "ideer's." In the next day or so I'll get underneath and see what I can do to raise both sides. I get how the one end became tilted because of the bump. But with the new bumper installed, both ends end up being tilted down?! Very frustrating, but I could stay only so long at the shop who installed it. I complained so they tried to raise both ends but had no luck so I left with it as-is.

........and I may have to in the end.

honda250xtitan · 01-31-2012, 05:26 PM

if you end up taking off the bumper, there may or may not be 4 bolts, two each side, right below the grille. those four are a pita. I never reinstalled them when i had my bumper off my 06. other than that its simple. and the bumper is pretty light.

Spikeit · 03-05-2012, 08:11 PM

Today I finally found time to work on my bumper. There was some play in the bolt holes of the two main mounting brackets, but not enough. I ended up taking the bumper completely off, then removed both brackets from the bumper and with a Unibit, enlarged all four bolt holes. Tomorrow I'll install it and am sure with the larger holes I can get the "tilt" out of the bumper now. All in all it's a simple straightforward job to remove.

Spikeit · 03-11-2012, 06:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spikeit

Today I finally found time to work on my bumper. There was some play in the bolt holes of the two main mounting brackets, but not enough. I ended up taking the bumper completely off, then removed both brackets from the bumper and with a Unibit, enlarged all four bolt holes. Tomorrow I'll install it and am sure with the larger holes I can get the "tilt" out of the bumper now. All in all it's a simple straightforward job to remove.

OK, got the bumper back on. The four bolts on the top, two per side? They would've been a pita had I gone a different route but I took both main brackets loose @ the frame instead. That let the bumper to drop down but hang in place then I pulled one side forward and took that sides two top bolts out plus the one just above the tow hook, removed that bracket from the bumper, then removed the bumper from the truck. Anyway, enlarging the brackets mounting holes allowed more up/down tilt so I was able to level the bumper. The original problem was probably caused by the difference in quality of the factory original bumper and an aftermarket Chi-wan.