The rear bumper for the MX3 is originally off the MX1. Since that truck would get a new rear bumper, I decided to make up some new mounts and reuse it. Here’s the the original sections of the bumper when I was making it. The pivot was a leaf spring bushing. Not the best, but works none the less.
The lock was a keyed receiver pin. Simple and effective. I used duck tape on my North America Expedition to keep the mud out of the key hole.
First I removed the stock bumper.
Then cut off the old mounting brackets and welded on new ones.
After bolting the bottom portion on the Explorer, I built a fuel can holder and added reverse light.
Overall, this was pretty quick of a swap and worked out well on the few trips I took.
