2 simple questions for small jobs

[whitey]

i'm hoarding cash for my lift kit and trying to take care of a few very small things in my restoration project so this weekend's projects are: cigarette lighter socket/ retainer and rear bumper alignment.

my 2 questions:

1) stupid one: how the heck does the ashtray come out? i need to pull it out so i can replace the lighter socket element and make the electrical connections. i can't see where it's held in and am afraid to break it.

2) maybe not so stupid? maybe just as stupid? my rear bumper. looks like the guy who owned it before tried to pull something too heavy with the bronco without a true hitch. all he had was a hitch ball attached to the bumper. the bumper is pulled slightly down i'd say maybe 1-2 inches. is there an easy way to straighten this out? without replacing it? the bumper is otherwise in immaculate condition absolutely straight, undented, no rust has all the pads including face pad. it doesnt look like it has slipped on the brackets. i was thinking maybe it can be adjusted there though or maybe take to a body shop and have them do it for a lot less than a replacement xlt bumper.

thanks guys.

 

[Yardape]

The ashtray just pops out, Its kind of difficult but just focus your muscle power more to one side than the other and it should come out. Putting it back in is kind of tricky, while you have it out take note as to how the clips work and if you line them up it will be no problem. as for your bumper I'm not really understanded exactly what you mean but as long as the bumper is not bent you should be able to straighten it with the mounting bolts. There are adjustments on the frame side as well as the bumper side, Soak them all down with WD-40 or something, loosen the bolts. Make sure you truck is level and jack your bumper up to where you want it to stay and tighten the bolts. Expect the bolts to be in rough shape if they have never been removed, hope that helps.

 

[whitey]

i'll post a pic of the bumper in a sec. sorry i knew i shoulda done that.

here's 2 pics of the bumper. notice how it is tilted slightly towards the ground:

 

[Yardape]

Oh you'll be able to make that up with the brackets. Just jack the truck up just slightly in the center where your trailer hitch should be, loosen the bolts and it should move to where you want it, don't loosen to much, just enough to move.

 

[whitey]

cool. yardape i must admit- you are the MAN!

 

[snowman74]

Hey bro! Make sure you inspect the brackets also. If they are like mine, they have a box-frame kind of construction...hard to describe, but it's been my experience that if the bumper is pulled out too hard, the bracket will break or bend at one of the welds on the support part. Wish I could go take a picture...but it's raining. Those brackets are not cheap. If you can find them, one side is somewhere around $60...and I think the other is close to three times that. I don't know why. I was fortunate to find a stock bumper, brackets, tailgate with all the guts, etc. at a salvage a buddy of mine owns. He charged me $300 for the whole deal. Nice.

Snowman74 >-

 

[whitey]

i will definitely check that. thanks.

 

[whitey]

oh and fyi. when replacing the lighter socket lke yardape said put pressure on one side of the ashtray and it will pop out. my 90 just has little rubber nubs holding it in place so it's easy to pop back on. now the socket itself was a pain in the rear because you have to take it apart to slip it onto the hole for the lighter. but i got it done eventually and it works. also remove the fuse- which i didn't -before you reconnect it or it will blow.

i'll try my hand at the bumper in a bit. my girlfriend is sick so i may have to wait. if i break a bracket(s) it may be cheaper just to replace.

now i know it may seem really **** to replace the lighter but, i'm saving for my lift and can only do some little things for a bit. and i'm a smoker and REALLY it's nice to have a power point that works and it is one more thing i've fixed in the whole process.

 

[Big Country]

sounds like you have alot to work on. sounds like fun. good luck