Front Bumber Removal

What did you guys use on the rivets? I don’t have a real torch setup. I cut the tops off two, but even then, they are stubborn and not wanting to be driven out the other end. I’d like to reuse my front bumber too, so mangling that is not ideal.

 

I haven't removed a riveted bumper on a Jeep in many years, but I think I ground the heads off and drove the remains though with a blunt punch.
The nature of a rivet, when set, is that they expand in the hole, making a very tight fit.
-Donny

 

Yeah, they are in there. I may need to drill a hole through it to remove some tension, and then pound them out.

 

Center punch the rivet head and drill as close to center as you can with 1/8" high quality drill bit and lots of cutting fluid. Follow up with progressively larger bits with fluid.
Make sure to clamp (c clamps are good) in place until you know they are all drilled out (or nearly so). Carefully pry off, or drill with next size bit until the wall of the rivet is thin enough to break away.

 

Why is it that M38A1 bumpers are bolted on? Seems weird.

 

This. I recently removed a riveted bell crank bracket this way, worked good.

 

Like mentioned above , Take a cut-off wheel and cut the head off and then drill a few progressively larger holes dead center , to release the tension , take a stout punch and heavy hammer and if you have a friend with you have him / her back up the rear with a 5 lb sludge hammer and out they come.

 

I drilled a 1/4 or bigger hole through the center, about 3/4 way though. Took a air chisel and popped the top off. Rivet metal is soft, works easy

 

So far, 2/8 have come out with cutting off the heads and using an air hammer punch to pop them out the other side. So far so good, just need to not be in a hurry when I buy cut off wheels (and buy the right kind).

 

Ok so I got a system down to remove the other six. I used a cutoff wheel to slice into the rivet heads. I then used a chisel bit in my air hammer and cut through the rest of the head, flush to the surface. Swapped in the punch bit and drove the remaining rivet stub out the other side.

Bumper is mildly sliced and scuffed but otherwise in tact. Minimal bleeding and minimal swearing. A rare victory indeed *cheers*