Hey everyone, new here, first poast etc. I'm in Arizona and I recently inherited an '05 Dakota club cab 4x4 3.7l with 88k on the odometer. She needs some love but thats why I'm here. Right off the bat I gutted the interior for cleaning because she lived on my dads ranch in MT until he passed away last July. The body isnt perfect and it never will be but there are some things I want to fix and do. She runs and drives well, I drove it from MT to AZ last October so no major driving issues, no engine codes. Cosmetically the biggest issue is the front bumper damage. So here's my first question in what Im sure will be a long line of many. I plan on replacing the bumper cover anyway because I hate the chrome, but do you guys think I can jack the truck up where the bumper connects to the frame and bend it back into place or should I just look to replacing the bumper support as well? Any advice would be super cool. Ive attached pics I hope since Im doing this from my tablet and not my laptop. Thanks all.

 

Welcome to DF. Moved this to the 3rd gen Dakota section so you can get your questions answered better. I never had the bumper off mine, so I don't know if it can be bent back in place or not. Hopefully someone will be along shortly to answer you.

 

Thanks, I was actually considering deleting this post and just dropping an intro in the new member area without the repair question. I'll probably do that anyway with a few pics and a list of the things I want to do to the truck. I'm sure the DF will be a helpful resource in my ventures with this truck. Since it's one of the last things I got from my dad since he passed I doubt I'll ever get rid of it.

 

Welcome to the forum. If you're wanting a black bumper, I would look on eBay. I replaced my rear bumper with a new one for about $129 if I recall correctly. Or I think it is possible to bend you current bumper back in place while it is mounted or they are simple to remove. It's only held in place by 8 bolts. I did remove mine from my Raider once to replace the driving lights. It's super easy.

 

Welcome Mike, I've had my bumper assembly off more times and it's super easy to fix and install. First let me start by say there are 3 pieces to this front bumper.
1. the reinforcement - this part (8) bolts to the frame's crumple zone. Buy this part new. Why? because you want a straight part and it doesn't cost that much. reinforcement $63.11 CAD <-- Canadian funds
2. the bracket - this part if it is possible get it from the wreckers. Why? cost ... it's about $ 256.00 CAD and since your not going to see this part condition is not critical Bracket
3. the cover - find a good used or buy new, comes with or w/o fog lamps. price varies so buy what you want Cover
I bought some body shims but large washers will work. use them to shim the reinforcement bar in or out. there is some play with the up or down but I had to enlarge the holes on the reinforcement bar with a dremel and cut of wheel in order to get perfect alignment. good luck hope this helps

 

I found a pic of my front end with the bumper cover and bracket off ... might illustrate a bit better. If you have more questions pls feel free

 

For the weekend Im planning on putting the interior back in, pulling the bumper and straightening if I can, possibly headlight and foglight reatore. Gonna be a busy weekend on the truck. Thanks for the pointers guys, super helpful.

 

I was hoping to find a donor truck just so I could swap out my interior. As it is now my interior is in excellent shape ... even the side bolster on the driver side seat is perfect but the interior colour is medium gray. I have been looking for a darker interior especially the carpet. Near impossible to find being a extended cab and not the quad.

Does this forum have a swap / trade / buy section to encompass the entire site?

 

Sure does, Read the 'Sticky' thread up top for the rules.

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Check out Car-Part if you want to do a search of junkyards in the US, many listings have pictures of the truck/parts.
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Gonna post a bunch of before and after pics from this weekend. The interior was removed a couple weeks ago, just fyi so no one thinks I did everything this weekend. Interior befores first.


Dust and dirt EVERYWHERE


Coffee and soda stained . . .



As I mentioned in my intro post I got this truck after my father passed last year. It spent its life on dirt roads in Mt probably never having seen a car wash. Literally 3 lbs of sand and gravel vacuumed out. Anyway, heres the afters . . .

Detailed and back in . . .




So needless to say Im pretty stoked about how the interior turned out.

Bumper before


Whole bumper off . . . Posted just for grins


Bumper after. The end of the reinforcement is twisted down and I just couldnt torque it enough to untwist just the end. Oh well, new reinforcement it is. Bumper, then tires, looking at Bridgestone Dueler AT Revo 3 265/75R16, then brakes, then maybe a Bull bar . . . As always comments, suggestions welcome. - M