Little Bear

Do any of you guys and gals have any experience replacing the welded-on front bumper brackets on the 2002 F150? The brackets apparently are designed to bend and tear even on light impact (less than 5 miles per hour) and cannot (according to Ford) be repaired. I have found several replacememt parts on the web, but none of them say whether they are bolt-on or must be welded to the frame. Welding would be pretty technical, as the frame members cannot be heated beyond a certain temperature to retain their integrity (according to one article I found). I have contacted Ford to get an answer, but have heard nothing back, so I need any information any of you folks may be able to supply. Thanks.

Little Bear

I called Ford, went to their body shop and talked to the experts. The 2002 F150 bumper brackets that are welded onto the frame must be carefully ground off, then new brackets must be welded on carefully. The frame section cannot be heated to a temperature above 2100 degrees F, so this cannot be done with a 110Volt welder. The brackets also do not align 'automatically', so the bumper and brackets must be fit before welding, all adjustments made, then the brackets are clamped in place and welded back to the frame. It sounds complicated, but it appears a reputable body shop can do the job in under four hours on a good day. Just in case you were wondering...