My old 1998 Durango was White and it had the same issue.

 

Two words, Por-15!

 

I might have to look into getting one of them one piece bumpers for my D. The bottom plastic part on mine is junk, it keeps cracking at the mounts to the top metal piece and the foglights keeps getting knocked around and broken off and those aren't cheap at all.

Is the one piece bumper from the 01-03 durangos bolt on or would you need to do some drilling for bolt holes?

 

Here is a look at my spots.

 

I also had the mild rust pitting like in the pictures above and it was driving me crazy and as you all know by now I do things as cheap as possible so basically I sanded down all the rust spots on mine to make it smooth once again. Here's some pictures of mine:


Getting the bumper off is not fun at all, epsecially when all the bolts are rusted and if that bottom nut breaks loose from the mount like it did one two of my bolts, well just go inside, take a break and relax for a while, you'll need it haha.


This is regular walmart brand spray paint I got for like $1.25 at walmart, took the gas door off my car to match the color in the store perfectly. Only used one can too and it turned out much better than I expected.


There's everything all done and put back together, looks almost OEM with the shine to the paint, I used about 3 coats. Don't worry I'm not that dumb to give you guys a valid license plate number, that one is long gone lost in the woods somewhere haha I'm like on my 6th set, those plate holders at $40 a piece are junk, they always break and lose my plates. And don't even get me started with the fog lights at $70 a set breaking off and also getting water inside!


And there's it all put on and done. Can't even tell the difference. Maybe red is easier to work with on spray paint? I don't know if colors like black/silver/blue would turn out worse, I know white will be easy also. And that paint sticks very well, with all the trees and bushes and stuff we hit driving in fields and going off roading, that paint never scratched deep, flaked...anything I was impressed how durable it is.

So anyone out there with rust on their bumper that feels up for fixing it all you need is a free day, $1.25 for paint, and some sandpaper. Hopefully this gives you guys some ideas on how to go about on repairing this. The key is catching it and fixing it before it's too late and you get some serious rust, watch out on the inside as that's where it will usually start first and eat through.

 

idk what you do but im still on my first plate holder and first set of fog lights w/ no water in them ever (and all original bulbs in everything but the third brake light) i actually hate the plate holder and am currently thinking about ways to get rid of it and still have the plate but still make it look good, when i figure it out ill post pics/plans/write up on it.

 

I've seen people fold the top and bottom of their front plates over to the back so just the numbers and letters in the middle are showing and bolt that on, I'm thinking about doing that. I don't know what the laws are in your state but you don't need to show your front sticker here.

The front of my D gets beat up pretty bad off roading, I'm guessing once you hit a deep mud puddle with some speed or a snow drift that's enough to snap off one of the fog lights and tear the plate holder off. Also the plastic bumper part that bolts onto the metal top bumper always breaks off at the mounting points on both ends of the bumper, I have to keep drilling new holes and putting bolts through it to attach it again. None of the other guys though ever had any problems with stuff breaking on the front of their trucks which makes me wonder. It doesn't take much to break or knock something off the lower front end of these trucks that's for sure.

 

Again, let's back up a little. 01+ has a different set of fogs from previous years. 00- has a big tendency to catch rocks and crack, thus moisture prone. Your 01+ also have different mounting as well.

On the matching side, they are all the same size and emit light when turned on (usually ) !!

As for the plate holder... no comment. Never used one here in Indiana since they are not required. I have no idea other than it isn't a talked about topic very much on the forums.

I think my brand new one from my D is hiding in the garage somewhere.

IndyDurango

 

yea i keep forgetting about the 2-piece front bumpers on the first half of the trucks . . .

 

I guess its time for true confessions.

My fog lights are original....of course you knuckleheads probably jinxed me now....LOL!!!! Since I know his address I will send the bill to IndyD..

Headlights: Replaced in mid 2009 with a clear set.

License plate holder....From salvage yard Chevy Lumina IIRC.. it needed a slight trimming on the curved section with a dremel tool but has held its ground since 2009... I was in Indiana during initial purchase so I needed a front holder for VA, MN and MD yes three registrations since 2009. No not a felon.....worse...Airline worker.

Bumper. Stock but If I needed to R/R it would be the rear. The plastic cover has tears, cuts and scratches mainly cosmetic.