Okay, guys. Here's the issue: I work with a guy that has a 06 2500HD 4x4. He has taken his truck back to the same dealer 8 times for the same thing. The front bumper keeps coming loose no matter how tight the bolts are or how much red Locktite is put on. The dealer even sent it to a local body shop to have it repaired. They welded the brackets twice and it still has the same problem. He has replaced the front shocks and drives like my grandma. He mentioned to the dealer he drives three miles down a dirt road to his house and, get this, the dealer told him that was what was causing the bumper to come loose! He tells the dealer "it's a 2500HD 4x4. You mean it can't be driven on a dirt road?" He ends up calling the 1-800-GM number and the lady pulls up his account. He is on his third Chevy 2500, he has a 05 Tahoe and a 90-something Malibu, all driving up and down this dirt road, with zero issues. She agrees that maybe the dealer is not sure what the problem is and now he has a tracking number. He has never threatened or got hot at the dealer and the City we work for deals with both the dealer and the body shop on an on-going basis. This guy is one of two lead mechanics for the City and has been known to turn a wrench or two. But this has him just :mad:.

So, after the brief history lesson, here is the question: Has anybody else had this problem? It starts on the left side and works it way across. It takes about two weeks before it is loose again. Thanks for any insight you can shed on this.

I'd try another dealer or do the loctite yourself. If properly applied, you should have to cut the locktited bolts off or heat them with a torch red hot to remove them. I have horror stories about locktited studs that were installed to deep and had to be removed. It ain't pretty!

I think that may be where this is heading. This is the second dealer he has been to. The first one, where he bought all of his other vehicles, gave up after three tries.

If the dealer could not even tighten bolts I would run far away.

Which ones are loosening? Theres some that mount the brackets to the frame, then some that mount the bumper to the brackets. IIRC, theres two main brackets and two outer ones, each with two bolts right? That makes 8. Then theres 4 that you get at from the top; two for each bracket. Then one on each end bracket. Correct? (its been awhile since I worked in a bodyshop.) Ive never had a problem getting and keeping them tight, unless the clips that the bolts thread into are broken. If thats the case, theyll feel tight but get to a point and pop then are loose again...

sounds like theres some kind of twisting going on , if nothing else working, try nuts with plastic inserts,then get the bolts drilled and cotter pins or safety wire them

It sounds like they may treating the symtoms and not the cause. If they are using locktite and tightening the bolts to the correct torque, something else is causing them to come loose again. The only thing that I can think of would be the frame flexing. So I would start by checking the cross supports - and I would check against another model to make sure one's not missing.

That's a good idea, Tom S. I let him know on Monday. Keep 'em coming, guys.

get em good & tight & tac weld the nut :duh:

ya,but hope you never have to take them off

Hmm, I agree there must be some frame flex going on. My bumper broke all the mounting brackets but the bolts never came loose. The bumper was falling off but all the bolts were still tight when I took them out.

Interesting, Nar. I will ask him Monday if the bolts themselves were loose. I know that the dealer had the brackets welded and reinforced twice now. There are 5 2500HD's at work now and his is the only one with a problem.

i had this same problem.to make a very long story short the dealer ended up replacing all the bolts with brand new GM bolts. havent had a problem since

Here is the follow-up, guys. It seems that the Border Patrol has a bunch of GM trucks from both lines that the front bumpers are falling off. GM has sent a new bumper assembly to the local dealer to install. It is supposed to look the same from the outside but all new underneath. It is that much different I'll see if I can get some pics of it and post them up.

I recomend and aftermarket bumper instead. :D

That's what I told him :D. His truck, his problem, his money. We'll see how the new hardware works.

isn't there a lemon law? something to the fact that if they can't fix something in 3 trys they have to buy it back?

There is, but he did not want to that and told the nice lady at GM just that. The only problem he has had with this truck is the jerk at the dealer.

isn't there a lemon law? something to the fact that if they can't fix something in 3 trys they have to buy it back?

Lemon laws are not national law, they are state laws, and therefore vary from state to state. In fact I'm not even sure all states have lemon laws. Having said that, I'd be the first one to say I don't know squat about California's law, but only getting three tries to fix something seems a bit harsh in some cases.

I promise they did not use locktite. Just no way red locktite failed to hold...no way. He needs to fix it himself, or go elsewhere