Bent Tire Sting Out Bracket

[JustPassingThru]

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.

 

[heat]

Three ideas...

Mount the bumper in a vise
Chain the body down on a rollback
Jaws of life

Number 1 is my choice
Numbers 1 and 2 need heat and a big-ass pipe wrench and cheater bar.
Put a piece of metal between the jaws and the bracket to prevent marring.

 

[Sparky 97Runner]

Looks like the jack is too close to the weld and not getting enough leverage. You might try it with the jack on the ground. Cut a piece of 1" or larger rigid pipe to go between the jack and the outer edge of the bracket. Position the jack sideways so the wheels don't slide out or wedge the jack up against a curb. Just make sure that the pipe cant slip off and put a big scratch of the back of your rig.

 

[JustPassingThru]

Looks like the jack is too close to the weld and not getting enough leverage. You might try it with the jack on the ground. Cut a piece of 1" or larger rigid pipe to go between the jack and the outer edge of the bracket. Position the jack sideways so the wheels don't slide out or wedge the jack up against a curb. Just make sure that the pipe cant slip off and put a big scratch of the back of your rig.

That's the only picture I took of my attempts, but I did shift the entire thing back a bit to get as close to the lip as I could, just like you're suggesting. I had to keep a good amount of the jack pad under the lip of the bracket as it didn't slip off, but overall it was under the outside half of the bracket (if that makes sense). It didn't really work, I think there isn't enough weight on the back of the car to bend it, or maybe it would only budge if it was red hot.

 

[T4topher]

Could try a big crescent wrench with a really long cheater bar (must be willing to sacrifice your wrench for this). With enough leverage it should bend although that is some pretty thick metal.. worth a shot..

 

[alumarine]

You need to use an oxy/acetylene torch and as T4topher suggested a large crescent wrench or a small bottle jack.

It will have to be red hot to bend it easily.

I don't know how something that thick could get bent in shipping.

 

[Js'00imited4runner]

What about a pair of vise grips and a long pipe? Then it won't slip off as you pry up on it. Or a prybar/solid piece of steel inside the hole and pull up on the hole? Probably wanna put a lot of heat to it first.

 

[thenightman]

Could try a big crescent wrench with a really long cheater bar (must be willing to sacrifice your wrench for this). With enough leverage it should bend although that is some pretty thick metal.. worth a shot..

This, 100%. Used to do stuff like this at a welding shop I worked at all the time. With a long cheater bar you can do it cold. Cold will damage your finish less, and won't mess with the hardness of the steel.

If you have a pipe, but no big crescent wrench, cut a 1/4" wide slot in the pipe and try that.