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Thread: Re-building/Repairing a TJM Bumper

  1. #1

    Re-building/Repairing a TJM Bumper

    So... I acquired a TJM T-17 bumper that was involved in a little fender bender. I had always wanted a T-17 but when I was looking to buy one they were all gone and there were no more U.S. sales. I cruised online here and there but didn't really want to hassle with it.

    When this came along I decided it was time and I figure I'll try to salvage it.

    Pros:
    It was given to me.
    It's not all bad.
    Came with new frame mounts and bumper wings.

    Cons:
    It's bent.
    The bent portions are made of thick metal that can't be bent back.


    Not my pics but this is the bumper with some notes of the damage.









    When I received the bumper some attempt to repair it had been started by means of a cutting torch. The driver side wing had been cut off and the lower portion of that wing had been removed. The remaining, large section, bumper is in ok condition with just a slight bend on the top.

    I started with the driver side wing and put it in the vice. I pull here, a tug there with no results. For fear of ripping the work bench off the wall I put it on the ground and went to work with a bottle jack and some pieces of wood, still no luck.

    It was time to start cutting. I made some relief cuts in hopes of being able to bend the metal but it's just too thick and the twist actually makes it stiffer. Relief cuts turned into removing material cuts.

  2. #2

    Re: Re-building/Repairing a TJM Bumper

    It's August here, probably the same where you are. August means it's getting warm. The garage is decent to work in and I like a good sweat but the grinder doesn't like the heat and wrestling a hot jagged bumper is not all that fun while dripping sweat.

    This weekend is going to be hot.


    While I'd love to work on the bumper in what free time I have (family and family stuff) I'll be at my sister's house Friday through Sunday building 300 feet of fence

    Here is what I have done. You can tell where the torch had been taken to it (not me) and see where the grinder was taken to it (me).





    The plan is to use the cut out pieces as templates. The front plate and top plate were one piece that was bent at a 90 degree. As such it's pretty stiff. I decided to leave the bend for a couple of reasons. 1)It ensures I'll have a correct length wing when I'm done, 2)It'll help making sure what I build is straight and in plane, 3)It'll help having fewer pieces to lose or have to clamp/hold on to when melting it all back together.


  3. #3

    Re: Re-building/Repairing a TJM Bumper

    Yesterday I was able to hit the steel supply shop on the way home from work while doing other errands. From what I could find online the TJM and ARB bumpers are made from 3mm thick steel. While the steel yard guys know what 3mm is when you ask them if they have something similar they give you an annoyed look.

    Anyways, just thinner than 3mm is 12g and just thicker is 3/16" plate (in stock material). Most everything I've made on the 4runner is out of 12g so I know how to bend, weld and cut it real well. Since this bumper is thicker than 12g and I don't want it breaking I went with the 3/16". This shop has tons of remnant pieces of EVERYTHING but didn't have a ton of 3/16" unless I wanted to buy a 4' X 8' sheet.

    I didn't plan the trip too well so I didn't have measurements or my cut out pieces so I was going by memory and wasn't doing too well. He did have a 2' X 4' piece of 3/16" so I decided to buy that instead of making multiple trips because of coming up short. This piece will give me more than enough material for the repairs and a lot to spare. I feel better with the 3/16" than a combination of 3/16" and 12g.

    So far, when time permits, the plan is to replace the 2 pieces I cut out. Rebuild the lower section of that wing (the factory piece is beyond repair) and begin to reattach it to the rest of the bumper. Before re-attachment I'll most likely have to mount the good section of the bumper on the 4runner and make sure everything lines up and that I don't weld anything too askew.

    Additional plans for the bumper may include integrating my factory Hella micro DE lights into the lower portion. Making a more permanent outlet for my forward OBA hookup, mounting my Cadillac horns as well as adding my HID converted Hella 500ff's. I would love to add a single row LED light bar but right now that's just dreaming. I've got a couple ideas of how to mount it while keeping it safe and secure but they are too costly right now for something that won't get a lot of use.

    I'm posting all this to document what I'm doing but also to get some ideas. There is a chance I'll have to replace the curved section of the wing (corner) which will be challenging. I'd hate to cut the entire thing out because getting a new one in there might be tricky without making it crooked. Bending plate to match the curve will also be hard for such a small piece.

  4. #4

    Re: Re-building/Repairing a TJM Bumper

    I hope you mean 1/8"

    Sounds like a good plan and a good way to keep everything aligned. I like it.
    -------------------------
    Steve
    1993 4runner, SAS, 3.0L, Auto Tranny
    2007 4runner, stock. For now.

  5. #5

    Re: Re-building/Repairing a TJM Bumper

    ditto on the 1/8". 1/8" is closest to 11 gauge, 10 gauge is a bit thicker, 3/16" is closest 9 gauge.

    looks like a good plan keeping the factory bend, im looking forward to seeing how it comes out!
    2005 Lexus LX470 - Stock for now...

    1998 Toyota 4Runner SR5 V6 4x4 + a bunch of goodies. Lifted, Locked, Illuminated and Armored. Winner,"Best Offroad Truck" - 2010 Pismo Jamboree. It's been upside down and still drives me to work.

  6. #6

    Re: Re-building/Repairing a TJM Bumper

    Whoops, it's 3/16ths. Brain fart. I was trying to get all that down with the pictures during my break and fumbled. The guy said he sometimes had 10g but it had been a while and he probably wouldn't have had enough.

  7. #7

    Re: Re-building/Repairing a TJM Bumper

    We got the fence done in two days instead of one and it was a good thing. Crazy hot, really hard work and I think I've only pee'd 4 times in the past 3 days. Anyways, here is the sheet I bought, makes a good table to work on.



    Got to cutting and then some more cutting and $7 later.



    I had two pieces cut out. Yes just two little pieces. I've never worked with 3/16" before and it's thick. On top of that it was about 100* in my garage and my grinder was working hard. It got so hot I'd have to put it down. After awhile I pulled a box fan out there and angled it at the grinder. My digital thermometer said the grinder was getting 120* and it was too hot to handle even with leather gloves on.

    After a little I decided I was going to go broke buying cutting wheels for the grinder so I turned on the air compressor so I could use the cut off wheel. I've got about 30 cut off discs so I thought, cool. Well, the compressor gets hot even in the winter and with the cut off wheel it wasn't shutting off. Plus it wasn't cutting anywhere as fast as the grinder with a cut off wheel.

    I decided to plug the grinder back in a go for broke. This is what I have to show for it.





    Next was a bend in the top piece. I cracked open a beer because I knew if the steel was that hard to cut it would be a bear to bend. I decided to do the ol' score and bend like I did on my skid plate. It worked well but required quite a bit of scoring to get it to bend.

    My piece on the left, TJM piece on the right.


    Part of what made this hard was that the bent up piece was small. Had it been wider there would have been more to grab onto.



    Both of the pieces I cut out are a little larger than the hole they go in. The reason being is that I really only want to cut these out once. Bummer part is on some sides they are about 3/16" too large and grinding them down is taking forever. I've used the bench grinder and the angle grinder and both don't take off enough material fast enough. I wish I had a plasma cutter

  8. #8

    Re: Re-building/Repairing a TJM Bumper

    mike, the harbor freight cut off wheels are some of the best i've found. they last a decent amount of time, cut well, and are inexpensive. the way i cut stuff like that is to score it and score it, making even passes, and dozens of them. trying to cut through the thickness all at once and walking it up the piece usually takes longer (or so it seems, should be the same, but whatever)

    as for taking down that last bit, i always have used flap wheels. dont last as long but really will move material if you ask them to. 36 or 40 grit work great for fitting like that.

    good luck!
    2005 Lexus LX470 - Stock for now...

    1998 Toyota 4Runner SR5 V6 4x4 + a bunch of goodies. Lifted, Locked, Illuminated and Armored. Winner,"Best Offroad Truck" - 2010 Pismo Jamboree. It's been upside down and still drives me to work.

  9. #9

    Re: Re-building/Repairing a TJM Bumper

    I welded the back side of the bend so it's good and solid. It's been awhile since I've had a welding project and I forgot I have a POS welder. It's the 120v HF flux core and it's not feeding well. Kind of does a bbz-bzz--bzzzzzz-bbz-bzz. As such the arc is screwy and creates booger welds and spatter.

    I need to monkey around with it but I don't want to weld the entire bumper back together. I have several other options so I'll probably go another route for when the pieces get finish welded.

    I started grinding away at the replacement top piece I cut out and realized I need to know when to stop grinding. I can eye ball stuff but the bent and twisted piece I have isn't the best template. I decided to clamp it to the other side of the bumper and I knew the dimensions of the puzzle piece I was making. I spread it out and twisted it into shape. Now that it's clamped I grind then fit, grind and then fit. So far I have done a lot of grinding and need to do more. Wife and kids came home so I had to pack up everything so that's as far as I got today. I'm sure my neighbors will hate me by the time I'm done making all this racket.






  10. #10

    Re: Re-building/Repairing a TJM Bumper

    Quote Originally Posted by Seanz0rz
    mike, the harbor freight cut off wheels are some of the best i've found. they last a decent amount of time, cut well, and are inexpensive. the way i cut stuff like that is to score it and score it, making even passes, and dozens of them. trying to cut through the thickness all at once and walking it up the piece usually takes longer (or so it seems, should be the same, but whatever)

    as for taking down that last bit, i always have used flap wheels. dont last as long but really will move material if you ask them to. 36 or 40 grit work great for fitting like that.

    good luck!
    I like the HF 3" wheels I use for my air powered cut off wheel. Problem was air consumption and the heat though. My compressor wasn't happy and stuff wasn't cutting. On my 4.5" grinder I used a Norton branded cut off wheel and a Diablo which is supposed to be real good. I got two different Diablos and the thicker one seems to last a bit longer.

    For scoring I did what you said. I wanted the score to be straight so I started light and made it super straight. I then went back over it again and again. Here and there I'd stop to put it in the vise but every time, more scoring. I think I was pretty close to going through before it bent.

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