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Rear Bumper Cover Fit - Alignment

B

Bear

GUEST
My av's rear bumper cover is lower on the left side than the right side. The area near the built in step where the cover meets the side cladding has 1/4" to 3/8" more gap on the left than the right. The dealer had their body shop look into it and after a day, they gave me the av back and told me that the bumper has no adjustment.

God help us when we have a rear end accident and need to get things aligned again!

Anyone else notic e this on theirs?

Bear
 
Bear,
Wouldn't you know that I backed into a cement barriar about 3 weeks after I got the Avy. I was still at the point were I didn't know how much more I had when i backed up. Well, I hit it going slow. When I got home I looked to see if I did any damage and I noticed that my right side was ever so slightly pushed down. Now nobody notices it unless I point it out but this ever so slight dip in the rear has managed to piss me off ever so greatly. Anyway I looked under the truck and there is this bracket which appears to be none adjustable. I would think that if I took this bracket off and banged on it that I might succeed in putting it back into it's correct shape. I think I am just going to leave it alone. :cautious:
 
After offroading with friends yesterday, we were racing home and when they were behind me, told me on the FRS radio that the left side of my bumper cover was lower than on the right side. I thought that they were joking until we returned home. Sure enough, it was. You could fit two fingers between the top plastic piece and the bottom plastic piece on the passenger side, but three fingers on the driver's side.

I scheduled my Avalanche into the service department of my dealership today and they thought it would take one hour. Over four hours later, my bumper is now level again. My problem may have been more serious that yours, Bear. It seemed to be more than just the bumper cover in my case. The did manage to adjust it though, but it was very difficult. They loosened off all bolts connecting the bumper to the vehicle, and then released air from the rear tires to get the truck to squat more. Once that was completed, they put a jack under the driver's side end of the bumper and started bringing it up, easing the vehicle's weight onto it. Various things got in the way, and it took them over four hours until they finally got the bumper up into place where it should be and then tightened it down. All of this was covered under warranty.

If your dealership claims that it is not repairable, I would ask for a second opinion. My dealership told me that there is not much room for adjustment, but there was enough to repair the problem in my case. At the very least, it should minimize your problem.

I was going to take pictures, but by the time I thought of it, I was at the dealership already.

I hope that this helps.
 
I backed up into a concrete pole as well. I took off my whole rear bumper and we I was puting it back on I could not get it to line up. I loosen up the bolts that hold the brackets to the frame and put a jack with a piece of 2x4 and raised it up to where it was level. There is adjustment on the brackets. The problem is they have some kind of black tar between the braket and the frame.
 
Found this old topic but my 04 AV I brought in a few weeks ago for the same issue. The left side is lower than the right side. They replaced the bumper cover but it appears it still sags to the left side still. I looked under the bumper cover and it does not appear to have much adjustment. Just wondering if anyone else has resolved this issue without sending it to the body shop like Boar-Ral did.

Thanks,
Con
 
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