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New rear Bumper

guybb3

Member
Messages
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Location
Tewksbury Mass.
I just had the Suburban painted and I need a new rear bumper. Anyone buy a new one that they were happy or not happy with?
 
IMO don't buy a aftermarket stock "looking" bumper. The chrome sux. Go with a good new/used GM or, stainless, pipe...ect
 
I purchased a new "stock" rear bumper for our 97' at work from rockauto with the impact strips. Honestly, i wasnt expecting it to be as nice as it was. came with all the frame brackets and hardware. The plastic trim fit was perfect and the chrome finish was excellent considering it is an aftermarket unit. I would 100% recomend buying one.

On the other hand, I purchased a front bumper for my 96' from LMC. I was looking for a nice quality bumper for this truck, so I didnt mind spending the higher price for piece of mind. Well, what a piece of garbage. Chrome finish was fair to poor, and the trim pieces were all warped and didnt fit correctly. One year later and I have rust on the inside of the bumper. Pathetic. I have been very dissapointed with the quality of their parts on my last few orders, so I can say I am almost all but done with them.

Lets see some pictures of this rig!

-Nick
 
I purchased a new "stock" rear bumper for our 97' at work from rockauto with the impact strips. Honestly, i wasnt expecting it to be as nice as it was. came with all the frame brackets and hardware. The plastic trim fit was perfect and the chrome finish was excellent considering it is an aftermarket unit. I would 100% recomend buying one.

On the other hand, I purchased a front bumper for my 96' from LMC. I was looking for a nice quality bumper for this truck, so I didnt mind spending the higher price for piece of mind. Well, what a piece of garbage. Chrome finish was fair to poor, and the trim pieces were all warped and didnt fit correctly. One year later and I have rust on the inside of the bumper. Pathetic. I have been very dissapointed with the quality of their parts on my last few orders, so I can say I am almost all but done with them.

Lets see some pictures of this rig!

-Nick

I looked at RockAuto for a front bumper. They wanted $140, but the cost to ship it was $189! I passed and got real lucky to find one at a Pick a Part boneyard for $59.
 
I looked at RockAuto for a front bumper. They wanted $140, but the cost to ship it was $189! I passed and got real lucky to find one at a Pick a Part boneyard for $59.

The purchase price plus shipping on the rear bumper I bought was still less than LMC. Not by much, but still cheaper. However if you could find an original one in nice shape, like you did, that is probably the better option. Both with price and steel quality. However, here in the northeast, finding one that dosent look like swiss cheese is a bit of a challenge!

-Nick
 
The purchase price plus shipping on the rear bumper I bought was still less than LMC. Not by much, but still cheaper. However if you could find an original one in nice shape, like you did, that is probably the better option. Both with price and steel quality. However, here in the northeast, finding one that dosent look like swiss cheese is a bit of a challenge!

-Nick

I purchased my Suburban in Andover, Illinois, which is a little South East of Moline. The rear bumper has spots of rust starting to show throw. The lower edge of the driver's side barn door is rotted, but I got a same color replacement door from a SoCal boneyard for $28. Just delinquent installing it. The passenger side barn door is clean.

I do not envy you guys who live where they salt the roads.
 
I purchased my Suburban in Andover, Illinois, which is a little South East of Moline. The rear bumper has spots of rust starting to show throw. The lower edge of the driver's side barn door is rotted, but I got a same color replacement door from a SoCal boneyard for $28. Just delinquent installing it. The passenger side barn door is clean.

I do not envy you guys who live where they salt the roads.

This is what my truck will look like clear till April... I hate this part of where i live.
 

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Can't you use heated water in a pressure washer to clean that off when the temp is above freezing?

Once winter hits it really doesnt get over freezing much. Plus i drive the truck every day about 700 miles a week and plowing, so that makes it tough to keep clean. Id have to run a hose from my kitchen sink for hot water lol.
 
Can't you use heated water in a pressure washer to clean that off when the temp is above freezing?

Sometimes I think it is actually better for it to sit there frozen. Everytime you melt it off with hot water or a heated garage, it gives the salt a chance to creep into areas it might not have reached before. Just a theory however..

The last few years here they have started pre-treating the roads before the snow with some sort of calcium based spray. Stuff is awful, ive never seen anything rust so fast. We have an 05 gmc that looks like it has sat near the saltwater all its life. Just had to junk our 97 1500 due to some nasty frame rot on both the front and rear. Its a scary thought that we cant keep a truck longer than 15 years due to this.

Ive been trying different mixtures of oil sprays under my truck to fend off the rust and it seems to be working, however I am still scared to drive it in the winter with all the new road chemicals :rolleyes5: Not a good situation...

-Nick
 
Once winter hits it really doesnt get over freezing much. Plus i drive the truck every day about 700 miles a week and plowing, so that makes it tough to keep clean. Id have to run a hose from my kitchen sink for hot water lol.

I worked a few months in Little Falls, MN this past winter/spring. There wasn't a 5 year old car there without rot on it. I felt bad for those people. I would think one would drive a cheap beater for the winter months there, then pull out the good wheels for the rest of the year. Then again, winter is like half the year there.
 
Talk about a small world! I'm at school up by St. Cloud, St. John's. Our stuff doesn't have rust, mostly because we keep it clean and garaged. The problem is when you leave it sit with that salt, and don't wash it often. Also isn't good to let it sit in a warm garage super dirty, as that helps the salt eat away at the material.

I'd like to have a Winter beater here, but like you said, winter is a long time, It'd suck to only drive a decent vehicle for a few months, lol.
 
Yes, it is a small world, but Little Falls is a world away from Fullerton, Ca. I was up there working on the FDIC Receivership for Home Savings of America. Fortunately, I only got one week of snow and the weather turned warm.

Ironically in my former career as an entertainment industry banker I financed the movie "Fargo" and that area of Minnesota is right in the heart of it. The people really have that Minnesota nice accent. They are all hearty people and salt of the earth. One woman in the office ran beaver trap lines and skinned beaver. In contrast, my wife has a quite beautiful sheared beaver coat I bought her.

Like I said, it was hard to find a car or truck 5 years or older that did not have rot on it. Very tough environment.
 
Sometimes I think it is actually better for it to sit there frozen. Everytime you melt it off with hot water or a heated garage, it gives the salt a chance to creep into areas it might not have reached before. Just a theory however..

The last few years here they have started pre-treating the roads before the snow with some sort of calcium based spray. Stuff is awful, ive never seen anything rust so fast. We have an 05 gmc that looks like it has sat near the saltwater all its life. Just had to junk our 97 1500 due to some nasty frame rot on both the front and rear. Its a scary thought that we cant keep a truck longer than 15 years due to this.

Ive been trying different mixtures of oil sprays under my truck to fend off the rust and it seems to be working, however I am still scared to drive it in the winter with all the new road chemicals :rolleyes5: Not a good situation...

-Nick

That is correct IMO also. Either you wash them off well when using a heated garage or leave them outside.
 
My truck sits out all the time now, but when i lived with my mom i kept it in her garage. Its so bad right now its actually hindering my view. Very dangerous on the highway. I cant see out the side windows much and my side mirrors are coated. Going to try and spray it down this weekend.

This is why my truck has the large school bus mud flaps on it, before i put those on it was a lot worse.
 
I'd like to have a Winter beater here, but like you said, winter is a long time, It'd suck to only drive a decent vehicle for a few months, lol.

Ive been through that same thought process many times, but I always end up spending too much money and time fixing what ever "beater" i bought. Really wasnt a smart financial decision at the end of the day. You come to realize that a vehicle has a lifetime in the rust belt and there is only so much you can do to prevent it. Leaving it in the garage is probably the only fool proof solution to the problem.

Hey Ed, see in your signature you have a 12' passat TDI...How do you like it?? I might just end up with one in the driveway if the funds allow.

-Nick
 
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