Hello Everyone,
I guess it's finally time for my own full on post. I've been lurking on here for a long time and using a lot of highly helpful posts for my rig, so thank you all for the helpful posts, however now I have come up to an issue that I can't find on the forums.
I bought 4xInnovations rear bumper with the swing out tire carrier. I have received both a month or so ago, and finally got around to having all the parts painted and installing them. There was only a small glitch installing the bumper to the car (do I reuse the factory tow hooks by sourcing some new longer bolts, or use use the original bolts and forgo the factory tow hooks because I have shackle points on the back of the bumper now?)
My real issue is the tire swing out bracket on the back of the bumper.
I didn't notice at first but after trying to install the swing out arm, it's pretty clear that the upper part of the bracket is bent down. I am Guessing it was dropped during shipping, but I have no proof.
As you can see in the images below the bend down is drastic. It's a 1/4in difference from the front to the back of the bracket.
What are everyone's thoughts on how I can correct this? I need it to bend upwards by about 1/4in at the tip of the bracket. Otherwise the swing out pivot barrel doesn't fit.
The bumper looks great, and went on without major issues. (Friend helped me drill new holes in the frame for the bracket and install the whole thing.)
I have tried, unsuccessfully, to attempt to bend it back with a floor jack and using the weight of the car (I did put some heat to it, with my small torch), but it didn't budge one bit. It's quite stout, picks up the whole rear of the car. I imagine I need a lot more heat on it? Maybe I should try to load up the rear of the car with more weight?
I haven't tried the 3lbs sledge on it yet. I don't want hammer on the lip if I can help it.
Any and all ideas and suggestions are welcome.
I would very much like to solve this issue in the next 5 days, as I will need to have the truck road ready in the next week, and the trunk area free of the spare.