Mark W. Shelby

'99 F150.

I bought replacement brackets. Now I need to install them.

Background info:
F150 involved in a "slight" rear-ender. Yep. Totally my fault. Not much physical damage done. Airbags deployed -so I figured more damage had been done. But not much, really. The other driver took off... so no insurance claim necessary. Just had to get my F150 fixed.

So I assessed the damage and figured it's a good time to replace some stuff anyway. The front bumper valance had been a little loose, etc...

I ordered a New chrome bumper, New grill (and Ford emblem!), New bottom air-dam & bumper valance. Had to replace the passenger side bumper brace. The bracket to bumper mounts were fine so I didn't have to replace them. And I ordered the plastic push-pin clips to mount the valance onto the bumper. The airbags also deployed so I bought replacements for bot the driver & passenger side -along with a new control module for that.

Once the bumper was off, I saw why the airbags deployed on such a low impact "tap." The previous owner had previously tapped someone too. It bent the brackets a good bit. One side bracket was torn completely. The other was bent back.

So anyway, I have everything off and ready to go. I've replaced the airbags myself and am fully confident I can put it back together... except for this one question...

The bumper brackets are exact replacements for whats already on there. So I need to take the old ones off. The old ones appear to be spot welded on. The one bracket that tore off still left the weld spots intact. The new bracket has a couple of holes.

So I'm assuming you break off the old welds and bolt the replacement bracket on? Well, my bracket kit didn't come with any bolts. What would I use? Also, is this the point where I could just take it to a body shop and pay them to remove the old welds? Seems like that might be the most hassle free way of getting it done.

berkeleyclassics

I would have waited and installed the new airbags until the bumper was reinstalled, but that's me. You could grind the welds and drill new holes for new bolts.

Mark W. Shelby

Just wanted to post an update. I took the truck & bumper to a repair shop. The removed the broken bracket & welded the new brackets on $150.

blupupher

iTrader: (2)

What brackets did they weld? Mine were just bolted onto the frame (2 bolts per bracket), then the bumper bolts onto the bracket (4 bolts per bracket).

BlueO2

Think he's talking about the brackets/mounts on the frame.

blupupher

iTrader: (2)

Ah, so it is the bracket for the front bumper bracket.

tribal_gamer

You took the right way with welding the mount to the bumper, ive replaced my bumper enough times to tell ya that the correct bolts are a tough one,because them lil metal clips that go over the drilled holes are specific, in my case they were. Also 150.00 for 8 basic welds was a over charge. epsecially since the part wasnt on car. Just make sure he/she didnt weld them upside down.

Abel h.

so are talking about the whole bumper bracket that's welded on? That's what they charged $150 to replace? That's all I need and these guys are charging an arm and a leg.

ncranchero

This is likely the bracket being discussed. For us regular do it yourselfers with the grinders/welders $150 sounds high but commercial labor rates are not cheap and vary regionally. But when he’s bought all of these brand new parts that $150 was reasonable.🤷🏼‍♂️