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I was playing online tonight and ran across a take off bumper from an 03 Flareside with no miles. It was bought at the local dealer, and the guy who bought it bought a roll pan to replace the bumper. It's been sitting on a shelf for the past 16 years he said. I bought it for $50. I had to do it. Mine still has the one dent that came with it, so this will finish the back.
That was a great find, considering the many knock-off bumpers marketed. I have a knock-off on the front of the 98. Rusts up every winter, - it cleans off with a little work. My original never did that until the very end. That one rusted from the inside out. The knock-offs chrome plating rusts. The knock-off fit well, looks great other than that....cheap plating. The 98 has the original rear chrome step, never a spec of rust on the chrome...still solid.
Thanks a million AK. That pretty much answers my next question then. I was going to ask if you thought putting in a 4.6 would work. They seem to be a lot less problematic, and there are more of them with low miles available.
EDIT: This was taken at the pool a few miles down the road about an hour ago and posted on the town page..... we are having some wacky weather today. Lots of lightning and thunder, and as you can see.... wind. I hope it rains - a lot!
Last edited by white89gt; Jul 9, 2018 at 10:53 PM.
Brew.....Friday is 2 years since I got Lil Red. 2 years. I finally found a Flairside bumper, actually specific. I've found a few SuperCrews (they fit) but almost all have damage or they want an astro number for them. I found 3 at the local valley yard, all marked A. Two were B's at best and the other was garbage. They were 175 each. I ran out of there. lol
Whitely that is one kewl picture. I was expecting to see a guy on the end of the a hose, but it was weather instead. lol Hope you had a great vacation.
Bear....How's your dad feeling? Is he getting stronger?
Ohio....thanks. Yes finding a basically new part in that shape was a stroke of luck. It's already in my GF's garage in North Pole. Damn, now I have no way to stay home. Oops. lol
I've been on vacation the last few days as well. I've put over 600miles on my truck... taking a wood working class building a rocking chair as a surprise for my wife for when the baby gets here. It's been keeping me busy to say the least!
Brew.....Friday is 2 years since I got Lil Red. 2 years. I finally found a Flairside bumper, actually specific. I've found a few SuperCrews (they fit) but almost all have damage or they want an astro number for them. I found 3 at the local valley yard, all marked A. Two were B's at best and the other was garbage. They were 175 each. I ran out of there. lol
Great deal. Yea, when pricing them out, the original Ford bumpers vs the cheaper knock-offs, there was huge price diff. Knock-offs were 65/70 % cheaper vs the real deal. I couldn't find any difference on line. When then bumper arrived, I compared it to my original the best I could. The knock off appeared to be fine. It wasn't until later I found out why . First, I did hear some had fitment problems. Not mine, it fit fine...perfect in fact. The problem was in the chrome plating. The plating is very thin on the knock-off. I've used it for 5 years now, hasn't chipped yet, but it will rust right up every winter. So far however, it cleans up very well, it all came right off this spring with some 0000 steel wool and soapy water. But yea, I should of found one at the yard...got lazy I guess lol.
BTW- I'm referring to the front bumper on the 98. Like I mentioned in another post, the original rear step has suffered the winters fine. No rust on the chrome and dent free. Fords original bumpers are top notch in quality. My original front bumper never had rust on the chrome until the very end. The backside rusted so bad, all that was left was the chrome plating in spots lol...seriously! That eventually chipped, went downhill fast from there.
Year 5 of the knock-off bumper, no before shot but it was bad this year. The truck sat outside and didn't maintain it, the bumper was nasty, didn't think it would come back. It did though, pic was taken this spring, after fixing the front axle break -
In fact, there was a lot of rust on the truck this year. Thankfully it all washed off with a little influence...just about needed SOS pads on the bottom of the doors lol.
Unfortunately, said lightning appears to have started the mountain on fire. The whole damn state is on fire right now.
EDIT: Right now it appears the Walmart distribution center is in fire danger.... that might get things sticky...
Mann, it's dryer than hell here as well, we need some rain. I have yet to see what you witnessed at the pool. Never seen Nado yet personally. Or a fire such as that here or in my lifetime. I would like to see a nado one day, in a safe place of course lol. That would be a trip! Do they use firefighting aircraft there ? Is there a large forestry and land management set up to deal with it ? National guard get in on it ? I imagine all the big boys are fighting that one.
We have a number of fires burning here in Colorado. One was only about 12 miles from our place. My wife was pet sitting not far from the area, and she had to be escorted through an evac zone when she was leaving to come home. Fire was started by three guys who left a camp fire unattended. There was a Stage 3 fire ban in place, so they were not allowed to have one in the first place. Hell, in a Stage 3, I can't even fire up our propane grill! I hope they get the full brunt of potential punishment.
We have 70 fires burning in Alaska, 14 or so are rated very large, over 2500 acres burned so far. One is big a hell west of Fairbanks. There are other biggies in that area, as every year. Lightning likes to light up Alaska in the summer.
