Rear Cross Member
- Thread starter Jrob80
- Start date
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or know of anyone that has one let me know.
Interesting. What's the issue with your old one? Did you have to remove it for the new bumper?
- Thread starter
- #3
In order to fit the receiver hitch on the new bumper I had to cut a hole in the rear cross member. If you look closely there are four bolt holes that are in there and when cutting I didn't realize that the top two I was supposed to bolt up to the new rear bumper and I cut them out. So I need a new one so I can fix my mistake and then I should be able to open my lower tailgate. Hopefully.
Ah, bummer. Good luck!
If you want to buy me a new bumper I'll give you my crossmember.
If you want to buy me a new bumper I'll give you my crossmember.
Grench
SILVER Star
Ouch - that isn't a bolt-in part. Did you get it figured out?
- Thread starter
- #7
Right now I am waiting for christmas to pass and then I am going to start looking into it more. I am about 98% sure I am going to have to buy a "new" rear cross member to fix the problem, I have had a couple of people tell me $100 shipped so that is not to bad. I would just take my truck to one of the body shops here to put on, and probably cut the rear cross member correctly so that it will fit the receiver hitch and still be able to bolt up.
That is the way it goes sometimes.
That is the way it goes sometimes.
Grench
SILVER Star
So... If I understand whats up correctly, the old cross member is still in there - it just has a hole cut in the wrong place?
Have you considered welding in a patch and re-drilling holes where you want them?
Have you considered welding in a patch and re-drilling holes where you want them?
- Thread starter
- #9
You know I didn't think about that but the only problem I could think of about doing that is that the rear bumper is supposed to bolt into the rear cross member...
You can see the 4 bolts just above the chain for the spare tire. Well in that area I have a hitch receiver that goes there and we cut out most of that section, at least I think we did, I have looked at it a couple of times but have not had time to really did into it to know 100%. I was really hoping that we didn't though
You can see the 4 bolts just above the chain for the spare tire. Well in that area I have a hitch receiver that goes there and we cut out most of that section, at least I think we did, I have looked at it a couple of times but have not had time to really did into it to know 100%. I was really hoping that we didn't though
Grench
SILVER Star
If I remember right - the bumper was sitting too high for the tailgate to open properly - which would mean that the four bolts I see in the picture above are sitting too high in the rear cross member?
So the bumper has to move down some fraction of an inch... I'm assuming that it has wing braces/bolts too.
Have you considered loosening up the wing braces bolts (all the bolts in it really) to see if you can get it to set down where it should (still loosely bolted on) to then see if the tailgate will clear properly?
If so - using a few stainless stove bolts nuts & washers, a drill and a counter sink bit - could the new bumper be bolted -down- to the cross member then the wings re-tightened?
It sounds like that since the bumper isn't held in place by the hitch bolts - that it is rising when the wings were tightened/mounted.
You could go at it from the other side - loosen the other mountings, throw some shims between the bottom of the cross member and the bottom of the bumper to pull it down, the put a couple of bolts with washer stacks as spacers to hold down the bumper?
Just some ideas - YMMV.
So the bumper has to move down some fraction of an inch... I'm assuming that it has wing braces/bolts too.
Have you considered loosening up the wing braces bolts (all the bolts in it really) to see if you can get it to set down where it should (still loosely bolted on) to then see if the tailgate will clear properly?
If so - using a few stainless stove bolts nuts & washers, a drill and a counter sink bit - could the new bumper be bolted -down- to the cross member then the wings re-tightened?
It sounds like that since the bumper isn't held in place by the hitch bolts - that it is rising when the wings were tightened/mounted.
You could go at it from the other side - loosen the other mountings, throw some shims between the bottom of the cross member and the bottom of the bumper to pull it down, the put a couple of bolts with washer stacks as spacers to hold down the bumper?
Just some ideas - YMMV.
Grench
SILVER Star
A new rear cross member would be a weld in bit... There is no guarantee that the holes in it would be lined up any closer to their stock position than where the bumper is sitting now.
The geometry is clearly off a bit somewhere. The possibilities:
The bumper is mounted too high.
The tailgate is warped/mounted too low (unlikely).
The bumper is mounted too far back.
If you were bolting on through a stock rear cross member, the old hitch holes would help position the bumper vertically and pull it toward the front of the truck. Those holes aren't there (cut away from cross member), so the bumper is moving to whatever position the other mounting hardware pulls it to.
At this point I'm assuming you're keeping the bumper and that it will get more or less permanently mounted on the truck.
So... IF all of the other mounting hardware were loosened up or removed - including the carriers (they'd only get in the way for this) - can the bumper be put in a position over the old cross member where the tailgate can clear it? I.e. - is what you're after possible?
If so - then maybe find that position, drill 2-4 new holes 6" or so left and right of the old hitch holes through the bumper and the cross member (there should be metal there). Then you can snug it up, test the tailgate clearance, then bolt on the rest of the mounting hardware.
If you're dead set on replacing that cross member - I'm sure it can be done, but I doubt it could be done to the mm+/- in 3 dimensions that you would need it to be done in for stock-like fitment.
Hmmm...
The geometry is clearly off a bit somewhere. The possibilities:
The bumper is mounted too high.
The tailgate is warped/mounted too low (unlikely).
The bumper is mounted too far back.
If you were bolting on through a stock rear cross member, the old hitch holes would help position the bumper vertically and pull it toward the front of the truck. Those holes aren't there (cut away from cross member), so the bumper is moving to whatever position the other mounting hardware pulls it to.
At this point I'm assuming you're keeping the bumper and that it will get more or less permanently mounted on the truck.
So... IF all of the other mounting hardware were loosened up or removed - including the carriers (they'd only get in the way for this) - can the bumper be put in a position over the old cross member where the tailgate can clear it? I.e. - is what you're after possible?
If so - then maybe find that position, drill 2-4 new holes 6" or so left and right of the old hitch holes through the bumper and the cross member (there should be metal there). Then you can snug it up, test the tailgate clearance, then bolt on the rest of the mounting hardware.
If you're dead set on replacing that cross member - I'm sure it can be done, but I doubt it could be done to the mm+/- in 3 dimensions that you would need it to be done in for stock-like fitment.
Hmmm...
- Thread starter
- #14
I was poking around my truck last week while it was nice and while I was looking around I spent some time looking at the rear bumper and trying to decide what I was going to need to do to get everything buttoned up. Well luckily I am not going to need a "new" rear cross member or have to drill holes it looks like I just need to lift the bumper a little and bolt it all up.
Not sure how I missed it in the directions or why I let this go this long but I am really happy and should be a really easy fix.
I am definitely a
job guy. It will get better.
Not sure how I missed it in the directions or why I let this go this long but I am really happy and should be a really easy fix.
I am definitely a
job guy. It will get better.