Your Opinion on Reusing Bent Grill Guard Brackets

[apittmanii]

A fender bender left my 07 Toyota Tundra Ranch Hand Grill Guard with bent mounting brackets. Everything else on truck in fine condition. See photos: that curved 1/4 inch steel should be relatively square.

My questions:

-Would you attempt to bend these brackets back into place, or pay $150 for a new bracket set?

-If you feel it's safe to re-use, is there a method to bend back into place (heating up with torch for example) that is easier than hammering the cold steel?

Thanks for your feedback.

 

[ducksface]

Bend it back in a vise.
Perfectly fine to use.
It's Not safety equipment, it's a cosmetic attachment.

 

[HOTFR8]

Bending them may make them weaker.

 

[The Cobbler]

you will not lose any integrity by straightening those. block them up or put them in a large vice and hit with a BFH
shouldn't need heat to straighten them out

 

[mires]

Bend it back in a vise.
Perfectly fine to use.
It's Not safety equipment, it's a cosmetic attachment.

This.

 

[MarkG]

For any collision where those will make any difference at all (i.e.-----pretty minor, low speeds), I'd guess that it wouldn't make a bit of difference whether it was a new or straightened bracket. If it were me, I wouldn't give it a second thought and I'd pound it straight and put it back together. Of course, I was raised in a time before we were so 'over-protected' from everything, including ourselves........

 

[apittmanii]

Thank you! I actually had no idea how easy it was to bend steel by just putting it in a vise. It bent it back to straight like butter, just by compressing it. The remaining bend fixed with a couple hammer blows as suggested. See "after" photo.

I got this old Wilton vise from craigslist and mostly use it to hold things in place. Nice to really put it to use.

 

[gte718p]

I would suggest ditching the bracket and either making a more significant bracket or taking the brush guard off entirely. I realize it is a cosmetic piece to make people feel like they have an offroad truck. However, the only thing a grill guard held on by that bracket is just going to turn a relatively minor parking lot bump into an expensive repair when it takes out the grill plastic and the headlights instead of scraping up the bumper.

Nice vise

 

[Pointbock]

I would suggest ditching the bracket and either making a more significant bracket or taking the brush guard off entirely. I realize it is a cosmetic piece to make people feel like they have an offroad truck. However, the only thing a grill guard held on by that bracket is just going to turn a relatively minor parking lot bump into an expensive repair when it takes out the grill plastic and the headlights instead of scraping up the bumper.

Nice vise

I'd tend to agree with you - most brush guards are mostly cosmetic, but the op says a "fender bender" is what precipitated this thread. It sounds like the brush guard saved his lights, etc.

 

[2oolhound]

If you think the vise did a good job you should see what a small hydraulic press would have done.

If there is enough clearance welding some flat bar along the edge of the long segments would really beef those up. I'd do it to both sides of the long segment if there was room.

 

[gte718p]

I'd tend to agree with you - most brush guards are mostly cosmetic, but the op says a "fender bender" is what precipitated this thread. It sounds like the brush guard saved his lights, etc.

Or he just got lucky. I've seen it way to many times. It is especially bad on the newer trucks. The bumpers are supposed to crush. Often the "brush guard" is either bolted to the crush zone of the bumper or mounted with insanely puny brackets (like the OPs) so that it doesn't interfere with how he crush zone is supposed to work. Instead of being out several hundred for a bumper core and cover, the fake brush guard that ends up taking out several thousands of dollars of HID or LED headlights, grill, radiator, and hood.

 

[sberry]

As it was they bent and saved what ever it was they were connected to on the truck, beef them up at some risk to other pieces.

 

[gorilla]

Bending them may make them weaker.

B.S. Those brackets were formed by bending. The rule is if it's kinked throw it away if it's bent you can straighten it.

 

[jd_1138]

Thank you! I actually had no idea how easy it was to bend steel by just putting it in a vise. It bent it back to straight like butter, just by compressing it. The remaining bend fixed with a couple hammer blows as suggested. See "after" photo.

I got this old Wilton vise from craigslist and mostly use it to hold things in place. Nice to really put it to use.

Yeah a vise is a great tool for metal shaping. I even mounted a small HF vise out in the shed for quick little repairs or tasks. I screwed it into the workbench I built out there. Of course, I have a larger one in the garage.

 

[apittmanii]

I may have gotten lucky that no damage was done to my truck. The only damage was to the brush guard. I'm very glad the brackets bent as they did. I agree that welding some flat bar to them will make them stronger, but I have opted to just bend originals back in place and accepting the risk. I appreciated how they bent without bending my frame.

Again, may have gotten lucky and I accept a more forceful impact could have been worse with the brush guard instead of the bumper. But I'll take luck any way it comes.

I was so impressed with the vice that I'm actually buying a used shop press and will be fabricating a metal brake. But I guess that's for another post!

 

[sberry]

Do they go to the frame or other sheet metal on the truck? If they go to the frame some beef may help them. I have stiffeners on my bumper, it would take a lot to bend a frame.

 

[HOTFR8]

B.S. Those brackets were formed by bending. The rule is if it's kinked throw it away if it's bent you can straighten it.

That makes good sense.