[dutchfrompredator]

hope everyone's enjoying their weekend. i'm at the office which is pretty sweet.
anyway i'm going to correct my warping bumper shell this weekend, probably by drilling a hole or two and anchoring the part that's rising away backward between the bumper and tailgate to the frame of the bumper inside. anything is going to look better than a wave in the plastic.

i've been wondering for some time what the clips on the rear bumper actually clip to? they appear to just be chillin on the plastic shell and nothing else, which is not keeping it flush to the bumper itself. do they serve any purpose at all? from studying it from under the vehicle i see nothing they actually fasten...i have additional clips but they would probably serve dubious utility. thanks in advance.

 

[Col]

Why not make a Tread Plate of some sort to go the width of the tailgate to hold the Warped Plastic down, similar idea to the wear plate fitted on a Sport bumper.Might be able to use a strip of Stainless Steel or something like that.

Just a Idea

Cheers

 

[dutchfrompredator]

and it's a fine idea which i may pursue. my question would then become what do i secure the plate to if the plastic is becoming unreliable? i would probably end up drilling then riveting/bolting a treadplate to the plastic shell which works for me but i don't want the plate rising later and contacting the gate on when it opens and slides past the bumper. that's what i'm trying to remedy right now...

 

[Col]

my question would then become what do i secure the plate to if the plastic is becoming unreliable?

You drill through the Plastic and fix it to the Metal Reinforcing under the Plastic Bumper Shell.

Cheers

 

[Big Red]

Before you go drilling any holes, have a read of this article on the main site:

http://rangerovers.net/repairdetails/bumper.html

I had a similarly warped bumper which was fixed by removing the bumper in order to re-fix the clips properly between the plastic bumper moulding and pressed steel reinforcing member inside it. There should be at least 3 clips, maybe 4. No holes were drilled and it now looks perfect. Not a particularly difficult job but an extra pair of hands comes in very useful.

 

[dutchfrompredator]

yeah the main site write up is great. i actually read it after posting about this before in a different thread and forgetting i had read the main article even before posting that. i don't have the best short term memory anymore. :mrgreen:
i just finished "repairing" which was actually really just improving. i drilled 3 small holes in the plastic shell and heavy-duty zip tied a loop through each hole down under the lower gate into the interior of the bumper and looped through holes in the bottom that i assume are for a bolt-on similar to the front spoiler.
it's not perfect but it's a vast improvement.
importantly it buys me time to reclip later b/c i just can't address it right now. the paint is no longer being ravaged every time i open the tailgate and a metal clip sands into it. by the time i noticed it we were like a coat in. :doh:

 

[dutchfrompredator]

so here it is. i know it's ugly but it's decently hidden by the lower lip of the tailgate and the pros won the war with the cons. check out the damage to the paint from rubbing the bumper shell and one of the clips. uncool and begging to become a thriving rust-amusement park later. not to mention water and snow and mud thrown between the plastic and bumper. when i do what was recommended above i'm going to use the additional clips i have too. probably clamp it after using tarry adhesive to be sure.