Hit Deer :(

pappy232 · April 24, 2010

hit a deer last night and it bent my bumper down as shown in the picture. do you think i can fix this myself? anyone know much about these bumpers that i should know?

MS3DALE · April 24, 2010

You got away pretty lucky if thats all the damage it did (The grille,all the lights,top cap,and bottom deflector all look OK)

You will need a new bumper for sure,possibly a brace or bracket also,but you won't know that until you get the bumper off.

They are not hard to change on those trucks,the grille and lights will have to come out,but those come out super easy!

BTW....Those wheels look familiar!! Wouldn't happen to be ARE Dale Jr. Cannon's would they?!

pappy232 · April 24, 2010

yep those are dale jr cannons lol... i dont really have the money now to fix this thing the right way as i am unemployed at the moment. you think theres any way i could mess with the brackets for this thing to get it back in its place again?

MS3DALE · April 24, 2010

Anythings possible,You could try and "bend them" back into place somewhat,but of course until you change whats actually bent it won't look 100%.

Have you thought about turning it in to your insurance company?

BTW...Hows the chrome finish holding up on your wheels? Mine went to crap,and there only a year and an half old

pappy232 · April 24, 2010

yeah i think i'm going to turn it into insurance. i just gotta wait a few weeks until i can pay the deductible. i just figured if there was a temporary fix i'd try it haha.

and my finish is like brand new on my wheels. there are about a year and a month old. i wash them about every week and i've polished/waxed them about 3 times since i've had them with american racing wheel wax. now im in south central pensylvania so they salt the roads pretty heavy here in the winter months. so i take these off and put on my stock wheels during the winter months.

MS3DALE · April 24, 2010

Yeah,I'd turn it in for sure,The bumper alone is a few hundred dollars.

I live in South Western Pa. so I know what you mean about the salt,But I don't even drive my truck in the rain let alone in the winter,It sits all winter,I do take them off in the wintertime "just in case" I have an emergency and have to use the truck instead of my beater/work car.

I can't tell you how many times I've washed/waxed/polished/cleaned them,It just seems like the chrome is real thin inside the spokes,and now the chrome is starting to get pinholes in it. They have a 2 year warranty on the chrome finish,I emailed some pics. over to an ARE rep. just waiting to hear back.

pappy232 · April 24, 2010

took the brackets off and hammered on them and bent them.. put them back on and jacked up on them.. put a new license plate and frame on... not bad for a temporary fix lol

MS3DALE · April 24, 2010

No...not bad at all!

BTW...I have one of those same license plates too!!!

lvlagnum · April 24, 2010

Ryan, it looks like you were very lucky. I did far less dammage T-Boning a Buick Regal taxi-cab (her fault and totaled the whole side of the Regal) in my 03 Silverado. Tall four-legged animals such as deer, moose cattle and horses tend to at least dammage the grille if not roll over the hood and go through the windshield as well.

If the topcap and lower airdam are undammaged, you might be able to get away with just a new bar (bumper shell). If you have the right tools, you can remove the bumper assembly without removing the grille and lights. I did it to both my 02 Sierra and 03 Silverado. The bar (bumper shell) is obviously bent but there may be other dammage as well. The fact the bumper assembly is tilted indicates there may be dammage to the mounting brackets and possibly the part of the frame where it all mounts on to as well. Also take a very good look for visible and hidden plastic parts all over the front end which may have been dammaged by the sudden shock of the collision. Be sure to look underneath the front of your truck too to look for dammage there.

If it turns out to be just the bar (bumper shell) and mounting brackets which are dammaged, you may be able to replace them yourself for less than your insurance deductible. If the mounts on the actual front of the frame are bent, you will probably be looking at some heating and bending and possibly some welding work. Make sure who ever does that refinishes that part of the frame with rust resistant paint or some other coating to prevent corrosion.

Good luck and please let us know how it turns out.

Cheers, lvlagnum.

EDIT: Ryan, I see you've already been busy. That looks very good. If you're not too much of a perfectionist and as long as you are sure there is no other dammage, I would leave it like that and wait for the next time you hit something or it hits you.

pappy232 · April 24, 2010

yeah i found that plate layin in my basement so i figured i'd throw it on for now lol.. and really the only thing that is wrong is the chrome center piece is slightly dented.. but you really have to look to see it.. so it'll be good for now

bluesrefugee · April 25, 2010

Yeah, you got real lucky. I hit a deer in my 94 Dodge last October. It pushed my grille guard into the grille & headlights, broke my headlights, pushed the entire front bumper up underneath the truck, bent the radiator core support and the radiator, AC condenser, and oil cooler. Totalled. I will never put a grille guard on a truck again.