SWWAFordGuy
Active Member
Here's the deal, had a minor, not at fault, low-speed collision with a camry. The impact was to the right side of the bumper. It shifted the bumper to the left a couple of inches. I'm taking the bad boy to the mechanic later today to have him look underneath and see if the brackets are tweaked. he had already looked at it on the day of the accident to pull the right side away from the tire (running 285/75/16s so it rubbed) and mentioned the bumper is bent and won't be able to be straightened. Didn't think it could anyway. Pretty sure the brackets/mounts will need to be replaced.
Any aftermarket hardware that is better than OEM or should I stick with OEM hardware?
Overall, the bumper will need to be replaced.
From what I've read on here, the 97-98 models are interchangeable. However, the 99-02, something about the bolt pattern changed that might require fab work or welding or drilling new holes.
Has that been verified?
I'm running a 97 XLT 4wd 4.6, 1st gen. Leaning towards finding a bumper from a 97-98 Exp or a same model year F150 as I read on here those are compatible as well. I have a local source (junk yard) that has several bumpers from those model years in stock. From those on here that have done the swap, is the fascia piece on top of the bumper easily removed?
Another train of thought is if I'm taking the bumper off, I could just upgrade to something a bit more rugged and off-road looking. Sadly, is also seems those options are limited as well.
If I roll with an off-road type/style of bumper, I've noted the weight difference. The original is something like 60lb while the off-road styles can be upwards of 200lbs. Will I need to upgrade suspension if I add something designed for off-road use such as the Trail Ready Legend that weighs about 215lbs?
Any aftermarket hardware that is better than OEM or should I stick with OEM hardware?
Overall, the bumper will need to be replaced.
From what I've read on here, the 97-98 models are interchangeable. However, the 99-02, something about the bolt pattern changed that might require fab work or welding or drilling new holes.
Has that been verified?
I'm running a 97 XLT 4wd 4.6, 1st gen. Leaning towards finding a bumper from a 97-98 Exp or a same model year F150 as I read on here those are compatible as well. I have a local source (junk yard) that has several bumpers from those model years in stock. From those on here that have done the swap, is the fascia piece on top of the bumper easily removed?
Another train of thought is if I'm taking the bumper off, I could just upgrade to something a bit more rugged and off-road looking. Sadly, is also seems those options are limited as well.
If I roll with an off-road type/style of bumper, I've noted the weight difference. The original is something like 60lb while the off-road styles can be upwards of 200lbs. Will I need to upgrade suspension if I add something designed for off-road use such as the Trail Ready Legend that weighs about 215lbs?
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