front bumper caps/fender problems

[Boilermaker]

i was test fitting some "new" parts this morning and couldn't get the bumper caps flush against the front fenders. About 2/3" on the drivers side and 1/3" on the passengers side. I also picked up a fender and and flare from the JY that had no damage. When i put it on my MJ, a couple of the bolt holes didn't align very well/at all. The best i could do was get all but one bolt on (the second one in from the front of the engine bay).

 

Am i missing something simple, or is this an indication of a larger problem?

[tjbliley]

did you get the parts from the right era front end design. if it was too new then it won't fit.

[Boilermaker]

do you mean 97+, the updated front ends? Definitely not a newer one, the fender came from an older xj (the flare extends down to the bottom plastic valence). The one thing i noticed about the fender is that i need to drill two new holes for the headlight bezel screws. The fender has holes, but the top one is too high and the bottom one too low.

[Boilermaker]

a couple of pics:

driver's side

passenger's side

fender bolts

[jtdesigns]

a couple of pics:

driver's side

passenger's side

fender bolts

 

 

Has your truck ever been hit in the front?? Looks like your front bumper is pushed in a lil.. :dunno:

[Boilermaker]

the bumper definitely sits slightly farther back on the drivers side...which is a bad thing since that's the new bumper. The old bumper had a small dent, but not enough to even bend up the mounting brackets. If i work at it before tightening down the bolts, i can even that out. It isn't as bad as that one picture makes it out to be because i didn't have the headlight bezel screwed down...but i'm still wondering if there's some frame damage. It wasn't until after i tore into the truck that i found other damage the PO didn't disclose before the sale.

[jtdesigns]

the bumper definitely sits slightly farther back on the drivers side...which is a bad thing since that's the new bumper. The old bumper had a small dent, but not enough to even bend up the mounting brackets. If i work at it before tightening down the bolts, i can even that out. It isn't as bad as that one picture makes it out to be because i didn't have the headlight bezel screwed down...but i'm still wondering if there's some frame damage. It wasn't until after i tore into the truck that i found other damage the PO didn't disclose before the sale.

 

A quick way to find out if you frame needs to be pulled is to take a tape measure and get a dimension going across from the drivers cowl side corner to the passengers radiator side vs/vrs making crossing like a X. Make sure you find a point that thats the same on both sides,(like a bolt head or something) both measurements should be the same, if not then something has shifted.. if its just the bumper pushed in then you'll be able to tell it from looking up from underneath.

[Boilermaker]

Thanks for the help, i'll give it a try tomorrow after work.

 

if its just the bumper pushed in then you'll be able to tell it from looking up from underneath.

I've spent a fair amount of time lately under the truck; and its looked ok. But i'll trust the tape measure a whole lot more.

 

I know the frame dimensions have been posted around here at some point, i'm sure it will turn up with a search. Just more info to take with me to the garage tomorrow.

 

Thanks again.