REAR BUMPER REPLACEMENT
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Black gorilla tape is good.
I would first visit the PnPs to see what they've got.
Plenty cheaper there vs. other sources. You do recall how "peanut brittle" these bumper covers are, correct?
And course, it'll need prep and re-painting as any new replacement is bare.
MBIAuto on Ebay ships some nice replacements, all painted, with clearcoat. Purchased one 2 years ago for my ML350. MBi Auto | eBay Stores is their store.
I emailed them. What they sell is an aftermarket bumper. How did it fit?
I am very picky (I own 3 ML's now, have owned 5 ML's total) The bumper I purchased was for the front replacement of a ML350 that I had purchased new in 03. The ML was 15 years old when my wife used the car to push a shopping cart a couple of feet into a parking curb, cracking the front bumper when the cart would not move further. (the cart survived better then the ML) I thought the fit and finish was very good, but I had to remove some plastic hardware from my old front bumper for the foglights, and wiring harness since that did not come with the bumper. The alternative was buying a OEM used bumper from a parts yard, but many of them had cracks and had to be painted and of course had age on the part. The back bumper is VERY easy to unbolt and slide a new one on. The thing to watch is making sure the bumper catches the slide brackets on the rear quarters as you slide the new bumper into place. (you could practice putting on the old back on so that you don't scratch the new one). It helps to have two people hold each side of the bumper and line up both side brackets at the same time when sliding back into place. Taking your time, no more than 30 to 45 mins, and all looks new again, IMO the fastest way for a painted replacement. Again, this was a couple of years ago, but my experience was great, and they seem to still have good reviews.
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Any incidents with the new replacement bumper cover ? (ie. pushing a cart example) Im curious to know if the cover material is the same oem "peanut brittle" material all w163 owners have experienced.
I think the brittleness comes from exposure to sunlight over the years. You should be fine if it is a bumper recently manufactured. Hard to beat the deals at a pick-a-part but would be tough to find one in excellent condition. Keep us posted....I might be in the market for a new front bumper for 1999 ML430 ..polar white...!
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humm, I recall many years ago, a good friend of ours picked up his spanking new 2002 ML55 and within the year, he told that he took on a very "minor kiss "in the center of the rear bumper cover with his wife backing up, in her car. Nonetheless, it still split. I still believe it is more than just an exposure issue (yes, uv attack on exposed plastics is a factor).
Body shop owners that I have conversed with over the years have the same opinion (inferior plastic or poly used) - the elastomeric-type paints they can use for refinishing holds up better than the bumper repairs themselves (ie. plastics split and break with only the paint (to some degree) still holding its form on the bumpers.
Crack repair methods such as plastic welding works, and proper bonding repair seems to work fine so as the BS follows proper guidelines using the right stuff to bond and repair.
I guess, depending on exposure and weather differences, that has a certain effect on these old beasts.
Finding a recently manufactured bumper? How would one know if it's been sitting around or just recently reproduced?
I'll continue giving them some love and attention, and keep them under cover when not driving them.
For small cracks I used jb plastic bonder. Remove the bumper sand the area, align the crack mix and apply binder. Set in some fiberglass drywall tape. Let it dry apply some more binder. The burnper we got had a small crack we did not see. If you want and need to fill the outside the bonder can be used there too with out the fiber glass.
Comes in black or tan
Yep, hard to say what you are getting these days. !! I know all manufacturers are looking to reduce costs across the board, but its hard to justify parts that are so delicate. These days external bumpers are just for looks and hopefully there is some good structural steel to back them up !
My 75 CJ5 Jeep, that I recently sold, actually had bumpers that were 3/16" steel in the bumpers and the frame itself.
As far as date of manufacture, there is usually a little checkerboard on one of the inside panels of the part that has all kinds of information in numerical code. I would bet it could be deciphered to tell where and when it was made. In the big scheme of things, it doesn't mean a thing, you're still looking at a bumper that you would like replaced...just for aesthetics...... it sucks !!
My 75 CJ5 Jeep, that I recently sold, actually had bumpers that were 3/16" steel in the bumpers and the frame itself.
As far as date of manufacture, there is usually a little checkerboard on one of the inside panels of the part that has all kinds of information in numerical code. I would bet it could be deciphered to tell where and when it was made. In the big scheme of things, it doesn't mean a thing, you're still looking at a bumper that you would like replaced...just for aesthetics...... it sucks !!
Lot's of great comments here. I don't know how similar the materials are, but I didn't need to be any better then the brittle OEM. It was constructed of a similar stiffness and anytime I have backed into anything with these bumpers, they crack and don't flex. Just need find someone with the Jurassic park metal design and I would be tempted to convert at least one of my ML's.
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I have a rear silver bumper. its got one small ding but no cracks that are structural. Im in South Carolina if you're close enough for shipping to make sense and don't mind painting it to match ill let it go cheap.
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