Bumper Repair
05-09-2009, 02:25 PM
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Bumper Repair I am trying to repair some damage to my rear bumper. The (plastic?) supports on each side have 2 of the three bolts ripped out of them and on one side the support is cracked. The bumper is also ripped a little but I will worry about that later. Any suggestions on what to use to reset the bolts and reinforce the crack? I am think some kind of JB Weld to reattach the bolts and something that will bond with plastic to reinforce the crack maybe with a small metal strip embedded. Other than that i seem to have only sheared off almost every plastic connector but they are easy to replace.
05-11-2009, 01:04 PM
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by the looks of it ya got more damage to the rear end, those bumper stays are cheap buy new ones, are you sure the re-bar isnt bent, or the rear frame rails, or the rear body panle isnt damaged
or why not have insurance pay for the damage, teaching plastic repair online is impossible with out you being there to watch it, could i tell you how?? sure can but its difficult online
or why not have insurance pay for the damage, teaching plastic repair online is impossible with out you being there to watch it, could i tell you how?? sure can but its difficult online
05-11-2009, 01:57 PM
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Well I went ahead and attempted to repair what I could. I removed the bumper cover and as near as I could tell the only damage was 9 of the 10 plastic retainers were ripped out (did not damage the bumper), the four bolts broken off of the support and the tear in the cover itself.
I did not find any damage underneath I think because of the way I impacted the bumper was pulled sideways and not smashed in. The impact marks are just scrapes no cracks like I would expect from being pushed in.
I used some ABS/Metal epoxy to reset the bolts as well as I could. I then cut a grove in the crack on the support and filled it with epoxy and put a strip of sheet metal across it and epoxied over that. After 3 hours I think the bolts are now better attached than they were originally. And i can not flex the support it is as rigid as the rest of it.
The final test was reinstalling the cover and associated parts, I think that was the hardest part because I had to find enough plastic rivets to put it back on. Everything lined up very well and the crack is now only about 1/16" wide. The gap between the bumper cover and quarter panel on the passenger side is a little wide about 1/8" too wide at the rear of the bumper but it is not noticeable unless looking for it.
I decided to work on the front damage yesterday and after removing the headlight and signal lamp I was able to hammer it out almost to the original shape, which once again if you don't look for it you can't see it. There is a small tear in the front bumper cover at the back corner of the signal lamp but once I hammered out the dent and put the lamp housing in the crack is sealed up and can be easily fixed.
I think that I am going to see about getting a body shop to fix the rips and the front will need some new paint. But overall I am fairly impressed with the results for a first timer in a parking lot. I will post the before and after pictures later when I can access my camera. There is a pic of the front end in the Texas section. https://ls1tech.com/forums/texas-mem...y-bumpers.html
I did not find any damage underneath I think because of the way I impacted the bumper was pulled sideways and not smashed in. The impact marks are just scrapes no cracks like I would expect from being pushed in.
I used some ABS/Metal epoxy to reset the bolts as well as I could. I then cut a grove in the crack on the support and filled it with epoxy and put a strip of sheet metal across it and epoxied over that. After 3 hours I think the bolts are now better attached than they were originally. And i can not flex the support it is as rigid as the rest of it.
The final test was reinstalling the cover and associated parts, I think that was the hardest part because I had to find enough plastic rivets to put it back on. Everything lined up very well and the crack is now only about 1/16" wide. The gap between the bumper cover and quarter panel on the passenger side is a little wide about 1/8" too wide at the rear of the bumper but it is not noticeable unless looking for it.
I decided to work on the front damage yesterday and after removing the headlight and signal lamp I was able to hammer it out almost to the original shape, which once again if you don't look for it you can't see it. There is a small tear in the front bumper cover at the back corner of the signal lamp but once I hammered out the dent and put the lamp housing in the crack is sealed up and can be easily fixed.
I think that I am going to see about getting a body shop to fix the rips and the front will need some new paint. But overall I am fairly impressed with the results for a first timer in a parking lot. I will post the before and after pictures later when I can access my camera. There is a pic of the front end in the Texas section. https://ls1tech.com/forums/texas-mem...y-bumpers.html
05-12-2009, 04:08 PM
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As promised here are some before and after shots. I have not tried to clean up the scrapes yet so I do not know how much paint damage I have. I think the rear bumper could buff out ok but the front will definitely need some paint, the clear was peeling on it anyway. I figure a body shop could easily fix those two cracks without too much trouble and get a pretty good match job done on the paint. I am not too overly concerned about the way the car looks yet the performance comes first then I will have the whole car repainted. Either way the whole thing went much smoother than I expected and I am pleased with the results I got. It could have been much worse.
05-13-2009, 09:14 AM
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wow
front bumper need to be replaced, and looks like the right fender is tweaked in to
i guess for a quick fix its not to bad, but its still not right and something looks wrong
like the energry absorber is it damaged, re-bar, rear body panle
but hey if your happy ri ght
front bumper need to be replaced, and looks like the right fender is tweaked in to
i guess for a quick fix its not to bad, but its still not right and something looks wrong
like the energry absorber is it damaged, re-bar, rear body panle
but hey if your happy ri ght
05-17-2009, 01:00 PM
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The saga continues. Well I am just glad I did not have it painted yet. A damn dog literally ran into the side of my car at 50mph last night. Barely heard or felt anything but when I stopped to check out what happened this is what I saw. Took out my 3hr old new turn signal light a 3" chunk of my fender is GONE and the mounts for my headlight were destroyed. I think this will safely put the repair into the insurance claim category.
