My 03 D2 rear bumper was cracked in a few spots and looked OKish until I gently bumped a bollard when backing up to a gas pump,...and it literally exploded that corner of the bumper,. sending some parts over to the next pumping station.

I found another bumper that was cracked on the opposite side for free, so,....I grabbed it and my plan was to cut both bumper covers down the middle, and reinstall them on my bumper core (armature?).

I was surprised to find that the rear bumper assembly is only attached by two 19mm bolts,....so,....literally took a few minutes to unplug the bumper mounted lights and undo the two bolts.

To remove the cracked bumper cover, find a small punch or screwdriver and drive the 10 or 12 plastic rivet center pins through, then gently pry around each plastic rivet to lift and release them.

Once I got my cover off the actual bumper structure/core/armature, I saw that the core actually had a sort of form-follows-function look to it,....so,....I just cleaned it up and reinstalled it,.....then wire tied the light harnesses out of sight. It actually looked interesting on the truck,...like some sort of aftermarket functional off road bumper (ish).

My truck is an SE7 with 3rd row seats,...and with the bumper cover off the truck now,.....the retractable step for entering the back of the truck looked a bit goofy,....so I went ahead and just removed it,.....two bolts,....thinking they were 13mm.

Optional: I ordered some LED reverse lights that are crazy bright (recommended by Alex M) for $16 shipped off eBay, and after drilling the
holes for the single light mount bolts,....I decided to paint the bumper and the bolt heads and washers with Duplicolor Satin Black bumper paint. I didn't bother to sand it at all,....just cleaned it with a Scotch pad and 409 cleaner. If I were doing this again,....I think I would do a bit of sanding to give it a slightly more finished look.

Future improvement: Thinking I am going to cut a few bits of plastic off my old covers to cover the upside down U shaped openings in the bumper,....stay tuned for that.

Brian in Austin

 

Thanks for the idea. I purchased a 2003 Discovery about a month ago that has busted up bumpers and I've been searching for DIY ideas on how to repair them. I will start with the back bumper first using your technique.

Any good ideas for the front?

 

I do,....stay tuned. Thread and pics coming on what I did on mine. (remind me if I dont get it up here)

Brian

 

I just put up pics and a brief description of how I did my front bumper