Front bumper attatchment

1739 Views 23 Replies 6 Participants Last post by MB-Owner-in-ind, Feb 24, 2005

Stevenpfaff

Discussion Starter · Feb 17, 2005

My brother bumped my car when pulling out of the driveway and knocked my front bumper right off. Has anyone else had to reattatch thier front bumper to the mounts? What kind of adhesive should I use? I was thinking maybe weatherstrip adhesive.

1 - 20 of 24 Posts

BF_JC230

· #2 · Feb 17, 2005

As in it is broken off of the welded studs that hold your bumper??? my car has a European bumper and is held by two nuts connected to two studs that are welded to the frame....if those broke i would have to reweld new studs that would bolt the bumper back on...there is no glus on this earth that would make me feel safe enough to have a glued on front bumper at 75mph....or are you talking about thr rubber - but you do say "knocked my front bumper right off" that makes me think steel...and then you say "weatherstrip adhesive" that makes me think rubber...

hope this helps - good luck
jake

Stevenpfaff

Discussion Starter · #3 · Feb 17, 2005

I'm talking about the rubber mounts, which are at the end of the shock absorber posts that are bolted to the frame. The bumper is glued to the rubber mounts originally. Here is a picture for clarity.

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MBeige

· #4 · Feb 17, 2005

While you're at it, may I suggest you also change the bolts already, as they are rusting. Better to have your bumper secure than fall off at any given moment (especially with the front one knocked off suddenly).

Maybe silicone sealant (same as weatherstrip adhesive?) works there, as it should be a tight seal right? And I'm sure MB engineers wanted water out of there (rust spot).

Here's where my curiosity kicks in... what happened to the other car? [

] I hope everybody is OK.

Seems you're becoming like me... [

] I once was rear ended mildly, no damage whatsoever. And my little "carmageddon" with the front end collision. I'm glad those are over. I hope I never have to experience those again!

Stevenpfaff

Discussion Starter · #5 · Feb 17, 2005

The other car was taken out of service by a 20 year old girl who decided she didn't want to wait her turn to be on the road. I was approaching an intersection with a red light at about 40-45 mph while this girl was sitting at the driveway to a bank, about 30 yards before the intersection, and just as I was about 10 feet from her she pulled out without even looking. The funny part about it is, I saw her look to my direction when she came up to the end of the driveway so I assume she knew I was coming her way. Maybe she forgot? She told the police officer that another guy in the lane next to me had stopped a little ways back to give her room and then waved her out, so she thought it was ok. It sucks that the car was totalled in the collision, but neither of us were hurt and I made out like a bandit. I had a small fender bender a couple weeks earlier when another lady decided she wanted her car to occupy the same space as mine, the laws of physics obviously strictly prohibit this, so she changed lanes and bumped my fender scoring me $1000 from the insurance company. That $1000 put me even on the car so the $2650 that I got from the second accident was pure profit, which I used to purchase my GoldWing and take a little cycle trip to Kentucky, among other things.

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G

· #6 · Feb 18, 2005

On my 123 the aluminum brackets on the bumper it's self broke, the brackets that hold the bumper to the rubber mount you have shown in the pic. I drilled 2 holes at each mounting spot and used stainless steel bolts and nuts
to hold it on. Drilled thru the bumper and rubber mount.

Stevenpfaff

Discussion Starter · #7 · Feb 18, 2005

I'm not drilling through my bumper. The bumper came off because the metal that the original glue was attatched to coroded away, I have cleaned off the corosion and am going to reglue the bumper to the mounts. I am just wondering what kind of adhesive is recomended for this application.

MBeige

· #8 · Feb 18, 2005

Stevenpfaff - 2/17/2005 2:27 PM

The other car was taken out of service by a 20 year old girl who decided she didn't want to wait her turn to be on the road. I was approaching an intersection with a red light at about 40-45 mph while this girl was sitting at the driveway to a bank, about 30 yards before the intersection, and just as I was about 10 feet from her she pulled out without even looking. The funny part about it is, I saw her look to my direction when she came up to the end of the driveway so I assume she knew I was coming her way. Maybe she forgot? She told the police officer that another guy in the lane next to me had stopped a little ways back to give her room and then waved her out, so she thought it was ok. It sucks that the car was totalled in the collision, but neither of us were hurt and I made out like a bandit. I had a small fender bender a couple weeks earlier when another lady decided she wanted her car to occupy the same space as mine, the laws of physics obviously strictly prohibit this, so she changed lanes and bumped my fender scoring me $1000 from the insurance company. That $1000 put me even on the car so the $2650 that I got from the second accident was pure profit, which I used to purchase my GoldWing and take a little cycle trip to Kentucky, among other things.

Steven, I'm sorry, I meant to ask what happened to the car your brother was driving (that knocked your bumper off). Glad you got a bit of profit though, even if the car was totalled (at least you're selling it for parts now). By the way, did you get my MO already? TY [

]

Stevenpfaff

Discussion Starter · #9 · Feb 19, 2005

Karugs, I didn't get it yet, so I expect it tomorrow. I will have your parts in the mail Monday afternoon.
My brother was driving a pickup with a steel bumper and supposedly didn't hit my car very hard. There was so much corrosion on the inside of my bumper that I figure it was ready to actually fall off on it's own pretty quick so it's probably a blessing in disguise that this happened. Needless to say, my car was the only one that suffered any damage. There isn't even a mark on either bumper.

MBeige

· #10 · Feb 19, 2005

Stevenpfaff - 2/18/2005 4:23 PM

Karugs, I didn't get it yet, so I expect it tomorrow. I will have your parts in the mail Monday afternoon.
My brother was driving a pickup with a steel bumper and supposedly didn't hit my car very hard. There was so much corrosion on the inside of my bumper that I figure it was ready to actually fall off on it's own pretty quick so it's probably a blessing in disguise that this happened. Needless to say, my car was the only one that suffered any damage. There isn't even a mark on either bumper.

I look forward to the parts. I do hope the MO arrives sooner. It's going to rain next week (so they say) so I might save the brake light mod for some other time.

Glad that nothing else happened with your little bump. Seems like you're bumping into all sorts of things lately--the totaled '82, your bumper, and another one I couldn't remember exactly [

]

When I too had a little bump from behind, my car suffered no damage. The bumper now has two marks that resemble license plate bolt heads. But in time I will slowly clean it off until it's gone.

Drive carefully.[

]

G

· #11 · Feb 19, 2005

So the (4) L shaped brackets in the inside of the bumper are still attached to the bumper?

I don't see how the bumper would fall off if they are still good. It is not held in place just with glue.

Stevenpfaff

Discussion Starter · #12 · Feb 19, 2005

I only have two L-brackets on the inside of my bumper and did not have four. The metal has to be attatched to the rubber somehow.

G

· #13 · Feb 19, 2005

There should be a pair of L brackets for each
rubber shock mount. 4 total pieces that look like a L. You have too unbolt the three
nuts holding the rubber shock on to the frame of the car and then slide the rubber part with the shock between the 2 L brackets. Each shock/rubber mount.
1&2 drivers side mount
3&4 passenger side mount

Stevenpfaff

Discussion Starter · #14 · Feb 19, 2005

Niether of my cars had four brackets. Both of my cars had the rubber actually attatched to the metal of the bumper. The car that was totalled actually had rubber torn off the mount and still stuck to the inside of the bumper. Also, I would be able to see where the metal had broken off had there been a second pair of L-brackets.

Stevenpfaff

Discussion Starter · #15 · Feb 19, 2005

karugs - 2/18/2005 8:00 PM

Stevenpfaff - 2/18/2005 4:23 PM

Karugs, I didn't get it yet, so I expect it tomorrow. I will have your parts in the mail Monday afternoon.
My brother was driving a pickup with a steel bumper and supposedly didn't hit my car very hard. There was so much corrosion on the inside of my bumper that I figure it was ready to actually fall off on it's own pretty quick so it's probably a blessing in disguise that this happened. Needless to say, my car was the only one that suffered any damage. There isn't even a mark on either bumper.

Click to expand...

I look forward to the parts. I do hope the MO arrives sooner. It's going to rain next week (so they say) so I might save the brake light mod for some other time.

Glad that nothing else happened with your little bump. Seems like you're bumping into all sorts of things lately--the totaled '82, your bumper, and another one I couldn't remember exactly []

When I too had a little bump from behind, my car suffered no damage. The bumper now has two marks that resemble license plate bolt heads. But in time I will slowly clean it off until it's gone.

Drive carefully.[]

It's a good thing all these were other drivers or I think I would just have to turn in my drivers liscense. All three of those, two bumps and the major accident were back in July and August, but all within a three week period. First it was the little fender bender, then the big one, then, while I was enjoying my motorcycle ride to Kentucky, my brother called me to let me know he hit my parked car and "the bumper looked funny." You can imagine after the other two accidents with the other car I was not too happy about that. I swear I had a bullseye painted on me somewhere because the day after the big accident, I had two near misses with people pulling out in front of me. I sure am glad that trend died out.

Stevenpfaff

Discussion Starter · #16 · Feb 23, 2005

guage - 2/18/2005 12:05 AM

There should be a pair of L brackets for each
rubber shock mount. 4 total pieces that look like a L. You have too unbolt the three
nuts holding the rubber shock on to the frame of the car and then slide the rubber part with the shock between the 2 L brackets. Each shock/rubber mount.
1&2 drivers side mount
3&4 passenger side mount

Gauge, I owe you a MAJOR appology. My bumper did have the set of brackets you were talking about. The had broken off from the corrosion of the bumper. I hadn't looked at the bumper in a while and the rubber mount that tore on the other car was due to the bumper being pushed so hard to the side that it tore the stop nubs on the inside of the mount. You were right, I will make sure next time that I take another look at my problem before I go spouting my mouth about something I obviously knew nothing about.[:I]

G

· #17 · Feb 23, 2005

I'm not GUAGE, but I don't think Mercedes would hold a bumper on with just glue. If you don't want to spend $100-$160 on a used bumper, the $6.00 for stainless nuts & bolts sounds like the way to go.
IMO

GeeS

· #18 · Feb 23, 2005

Early w123s did not have those brackets. The absorbers bolted directly to the bumper. Realizing this poor design was causing both front and rear bumpers to litter the highways of America, DB completed a redesign that featured rubber mounts on the absorbers which slide into "L" brackets, rather than the earlier metal to metal bolt-on version. I don't recall exactly when they did this, but I believe it was around 1982.

Stevenpfaff

Discussion Starter · #19 · Feb 24, 2005

Stevenpfaff - 2/18/2005 4:25 AM

I'm not drilling through my bumper.

I do extend the same apology to you also though Alfa. I hadn't looked at the bumper since it was knocked off in August and just didn't remember seeing where the bottom brackets had broken off. I did glue the bumper to the rubber mounts for now with weatherstrip adheasive which will hold fine till I buy a used bumper. I will have to take a look at the inside of the other bumper and see if the brackets are intact, maybe I can use that one.

tiger_biru

· #20 · Feb 24, 2005

Steven, can't you just weld them together?

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