Bumper alignment issue

Dakar Timm · Mar 3, 2021

While our car has been in the family for almost 40 years ,it seems no one noticed the rear bumper has been crooked all along .
I noticed it right away and made the mistake of pointing it out to my wife .
Of course ,now it needs to be fixed . Hopefully the picture will show the angle of the bumper to the "cut away " in the body panel .
Am I able to remove the bumper and shim it ?
The bumper support brackets look original and straight

RussT Plymouths · Mar 3, 2021

Looks like the top mounting bolts aren't tight, or are missing. I would remove the bumper to at least clean between the bumper brackets and frame to make sure it mounts correctly. Hopefully you don't find any rust. Be sure to disconnect the tag light wiring first.

Ron H · Mar 3, 2021

Unless you notice something obvious with the mounting/brackets and possibility of re-aligning it likely off the frame, you'll want to check to make sure the bumper is in fact 'straight' by taking it off...possible over the decades it could have been contacted by something. I mask off all around where the bumper could 'bump' into the body/paint as a precaution before removing it and for reinstalling it.

MoparBill · Mar 3, 2021

It could be the wrong bumper brackets? Pull the bumper off and see what they did... here's how mine fits.

Dakar Timm · Mar 3, 2021

Mopar Bill , your bumper fits like I thought ours should . The front fits into the sheet metal perfectly .Yours not only fits better vertically ,it also fits in tighter .
Is it possible the brackets are reversed ?

MoparBill · Mar 3, 2021

Dakar Timm said:
Mopar Bill , your bumper fits like I thought ours should . The front fits into the sheet metal perfectly .Yours not only fits better vertically ,it also fits in tighter .
Is it possible the brackets are reversed ?

I don't think they can be swapped side to side without modification... nor can they be upside down without cutting tabs off... pull the bumper and see... my guess is the brackets have been cobbled somehow.

R413 · Mar 3, 2021

I think you can fix that. It looks like it’s not installed correctly. Take it off and check it out. Sometime it will hang up on the rubber splash strip behind the bumper at the top.

The brackets cannot be reversed, it won’t go on, but you never know what someone did to it.

4 bolts each side, 2 from bottom one in frame one with a nut on top. Two from front to back, 3/4” socket. Unplug wires first so you don’t yank and break them.

Dakar Timm · Mar 3, 2021

Thanks for all of your suggestions . Before I yank it off ,where do I get the replacement chrome bolts from ?

R413 · Mar 3, 2021

You don’t take off the chrome bolts, you take off the bolts Under the car. 3/4” socket. This will get it off the car. Then you can look at what you’ve got. I believe the figment problem is the brackets to the body.

Post pictures for more help at that point. It will be a dirty Job unless it’s been off recently.

The nuts on the chrome bolts take a 9/16” socket.

here is a photo. You can only see half of the bracket. See the bolt pointing to the ground, there is two of these, one threads into the frame rail, outboard has a nut on the top you need to hold with a wrench. See the threads of the bolt coming through the bracket? There is two of these.

Dakar Timm · Mar 3, 2021

Are you referencing the bolts I have circled in red ? If so my impact will make quick work of it ..if Kroil doesn't help

myk r sanchez · Mar 3, 2021

Aligning my front bumper was a pain in the ***. Move this, move that, tighten this, loosen that; still crooked. Took me hours to get it right. I wish I could've seen how the factory did it so quickly...

R413 · Mar 3, 2021

Caution, the inboard ones the go into the frame you can break off with an air gun. The outboard with a nut is fair game. You can’t get your air gun on the top ones.

Ron H · Mar 3, 2021

myk r sanchez said:
Aligning my front bumper was a pain in the ***. Move this, move that, tighten this, loosen that; still crooked. Took me hours to get it right. I wish I could've seen how the factory did it so quickly...

A job better handled by two people (if a 3rd volunteered I wouldn't say no) and mask off the body and or bumper where bumper could contact the car. Last time I did this I was paranoid since my car was just painted. Tighten the bolts only enough so you can still shift the bumper but it doesn't move...sometimes that works...

slimt · Mar 4, 2021

I hope these help.

MoparBill · Mar 4, 2021

slimt said:
View attachment 1078875

View attachment 1078876
I hope these help.

Those are labeled wrong...front and rear are opposite!

slimt · Mar 4, 2021

MoparBill said:
Those are labeled wrong...front and rear are opposite!

Yup. In this book

Dakar Timm · Mar 5, 2021

I truly appreciate the help . Crawling underneath ,I could see the upper horizontal bolts weren't even close to being tight . I was able to remove all the bolts without breaking or stripping a single one . We call that a win in our house . I was able to lift and change the angle so the bumper "looks " much better . I have no idea if the bolt holes line up yet . I'll completely remove the bumper ,after I unplug the license plate light . I figure that way I can run a tap through the nut and clean some of the surface rust off

Bumper alignment issue

Dakar Timm

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RussT Plymouths

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Ron H

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MoparBill

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Dakar Timm

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MoparBill

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R413

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Dakar Timm

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R413

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Dakar Timm

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myk r sanchez

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R413

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Ron H

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slimt

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MoparBill

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slimt

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Dakar Timm

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