Front bumper repair - with photos ...

[bmwm3coupe]

My lovely wife of 21 years does not drive my car often, but this week, when I took her car (Honda Accord) for the car's first service, she kept my car for the day. Yes, given the tittle of this post, you know how this story ends ...

So I told her that morning, dear, please be careful, my car now has 128K miles, it is out of warranty, etc. - she said, OK, no problem. Well, she called me around mid-day, and I noticed she was having trouble explaining why she called during her lunch hour. Well, it turns out she parked too close to the sidewalk, and the lower left portion of the front bumper got caught by the concrete stop's retainer pin, and when she finished lunch and pull the car out, the front left bumper stayed behind until "something broke".

Here is how the alignement of the front bumper should look like on both side (here is the right side):



But thanks to this unfortunate "event", here is how the left side looked like (mind you she tried to bend it back up and align it as best she could):





Upon looking closer, you can see what happened - the upper part of the "C" shape channel on the bumper broke of:





As a refresher course, to get the bumper out, you must remove the bolts that hold the, lower, inside part of the wheel well, and you have to remove these covers:



to then get access to the Torx 50 bolts:





Once you get those out, and disconnect the fog lights and the outside temp sensor (passenger side), then the bumper slides out. If you are working by yourself, use a chair or something similar to hold it - you don't want it getting scratched up on the floor:



Once the bumper was out, you can more easily see the damage:





For reference here is the right side which is not broken:




Since that piece is "welded" to the bumper, normally no repair is possible, so you would need a new bumper. However, if you are stubborn like me (and cheap!), you now have an alternate repair path if you don't mind getting a little dirty!


Given the tight space, I found a metal bracket from my parts bin in the garage:



Once I cut the piece to size, I then ground off one of the ridges to get better contact:



I then bended to get the right angle, to try to match the right angle:







I then marked holes for bolts, trying to "grab" the thicker part of that plastic portion:



Here is a dry-fit of the part with the bolts:



Here is what I meant earlier about the "thicker portion":



So then I cleaned the area well:



Mixed some epoxy:



and bolted/glued the part, using Loctire on the nut/bolt:







And then assemble everything back the way it came out. How does it look?:






Yes, it took a couple of hours, but I saved having to buy and paint a new front bumper. And of course, I still love/adore my wife - hopefully she will be a little bit more careful next time :-)

William
Richardson, Texas
2005 BMW 330i Auto, TiSilver, Prem Package (her car)
2000 BMW 540i Auto, TiSilver, Sport/Prem Package (my car)

Retired/sold:
2006 Dodge Charger Daytona - Top Banana
2002 M3 Coupe with SMG
1995 525i auto
1991 535i 5-speed manual

[@ Viv]

Viv
Northern California
2003 530i Steel Blue Metallic /Gray leather
AT/PP/SP/CWP/Xenon/Folding Rear Seats/Ultimate Cup Holders/Stongard Headlamp Covers/Stealth rear signal bulbs/50% tint/Saab trunk lid handle/PS2s/Aux. adapter/BMWCCA Member/With a Pink Panther on the mirror/E34('91 525i) retired

[Vin M]

[Eurodavid]

[JimLev]

"Drive It Like You Stole It, A Sickness for Quickness"
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[bmwm3coupe]

William
Richardson, Texas
2005 BMW 330i Auto, TiSilver, Prem Package (her car)
2000 BMW 540i Auto, TiSilver, Sport/Prem Package (my car)

Retired/sold:
2006 Dodge Charger Daytona - Top Banana
2002 M3 Coupe with SMG
1995 525i auto
1991 535i 5-speed manual

[fritracer]

my encounter with the parking stop in Cody, Wyoming.Fritracer
Cincinnati, OH
2000 540ia Sport Package 9/99 Silver/ Black
img=168887[/IMG]

[Gadjo.Dilo]

I wonder why BMW has chosen not to offer up for sale the flimsy plastic brackets with P/N 51 118 159 349 and 51 118 159 350. These parts always go first whenever the bumper is stuck and you either have to be a MacGyver or cough up the dough for another bumper...

[kbud]

spots. exactly why i always back into parking spots. i also always hit the door lock release button as well on the center console so i dont break the door handles inside as well.

i might be crazy but i havent had to ever repair either.

nice work!





K-Bud (kbud@roadfly.org)
Baltimore, MD
Join the BMW E39 / 5 Series Group here: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=347966936053

99' BMW E39 540iA Sp. (Prod. 11/98)
Titanium Silver/Black
06' Range Rover HSE (Prod. 6/22/05)
Giverny Green/Aspen-Aspen-Ivory
04' Lexus GX470 (Prod. 10/03)
Ash Blue Mica/Dark Gray

Roadfly Member #71563 est. 06/03
BMWCCA Member #312125 est. 04/03

****Disclaimer: Down the page alot farther after all the absurd amount of pictures & vids I've posted of my current rides you'll find the "mods" for my BMW****




Lil K-Bud's Ride




Mods to Date:
DINAN Stage II, DINAN Tranny SW, DINAN Fr. Strut Bar, RevHigh CAI w/ PC'd Gunmetal Metallic Pipe, Breyton Fr. Lip Spoiler, Fr. Lip RaceMesh Grill 5/8" PC'd Black, Hella Celis Clear Rears, Clear Fronts, Clear Sides, 19" RDSport S4's w/ Gunmetal Metallic PC'd Centers 19x9 et18 Fr. & 19x10 et20 Rr., Toyo T1R's 245/35 Fr. & 275/30 Rr., Eisenmann Sport Quad Exhaust w/OE Resonator, McGard Wheel Locks, Rolled Rr. Fenders, ///M5 Rr. Wheel Liners, H&R Sp. Springs, Koni Adj. Sp. Struts, Energy Suspension Polyurethane Bushings, ///M5 Fr. Brakes w/ SS Lines, Brembo Rr. Brakes w/SS Lines, Axxis Deluxe Brake Pads, ///M5 Fr. & Rr. Swaybars, ///M5 Kidney Grills, ///M5 Brushed Gauge Rings, 2.25" Magnaflow High Flow Cats, ///M-Tech Rr. Bumper, ///M5 Trunk Lip Spoiler, ///M5 Style Side Mirrors ,DDE Xenon Match Angel Eyes, Xenon Match H7 Fog Bulbs, AC Schnitzer Alum. Pedals, Denso Iridium Plugs, In-Dash Business CD Player, Blk. Metallic Int. Trim, Brushed Alum. & Blk. Lthr. Shift Selector Knob, 35% Window Tint, Homelink UGDO, Trunk Storage Bin, Carbon Fiber Roundels, Black ///M Logo Oil Cap, Fr. Plate Delete, Black BMW Rr. Tag Holder, & Debadged

[Nelson.....]

2000 540i Sport in Houston, TX

[Dave S.]

bumper in place looks like it just came out of the factory.

jet black 2000 528iA
sport premium package
MB Quart speakers
two Alpine amps
MTX subwoofer
AudioControl equalizer
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BMW CCA member

[Craig in Canada]

My lovely wife has also done something similar - twice.

The first time I just needed to refit the bumper, the second (just a few weeks ago) she damaged the clip but not as totally as yours so I can get it to hook back in - barely.

I was intending to snap a pic sometime and as for suggestions here on how to put it back together.

Thanks for taking the time to write up and post your procedure.

[bmwm3coupe]

A lot of folks here share how to keep their cars running, so I feel great when I can do something to give back, and perhaps help somebody in return. That is why I like this forum so much - we help each other out :-)

William
Richardson, Texas
2010 Honda Accord EX, 4-cyl, auto-tranny (her car)
2000 BMW 540i Auto, TiSilver, Sport/Prem Package (my car)

Retired/sold:
2006 Dodge Charger Daytona - Top Banana
2005 BMW 330i Auto, Premium Package
2002 M3 Coupe with SMG
1995 525i auto
1991 535i 5-speed manual

[Bmw540san]

to drive manual, so I'm lucky in that aspect. Still, between the 2 E39s it can still happen. Thanks again for taking the time.



1998 BMW 540i 6 speed
Arctic silver, M sport suspension (euro delivery), prod. date 05/98, non VANOS
Staggered 18" style 32 OEM wheels
3.15 open differential
Remus exhaust
AFE CAI with improved heat shield
Z3 shifter
VDO oil pressure and temperature gauges in place of headlight/fog switches
Powder coated valve covers-satin black
CDV delete
Debadged
AEA DRL module (aftermarket daytime running lights)

1997 BMW 528iA
Alpine white, premium package, prod. date 04/97, single VANOS
Staggered 17" style 32 OEM wheels
Debadged
AEA DRL module
Custom made sun blinds for rear seating area

2000 Nissan Frontier Desert Runner, AKA "The Work Horse"

Garage aids:
Direct Lift Pro Park 8
Campbell Hausfeld 28 gallon oil lubricated air compressor
Newair ACP-1400H portable air conditioner and heater
Auto Enginuity scan tool with BMW enhanced option
Actron 9135 scan tool-for quick readouts

[Dj2SPlash]

Hi William.
First I want to thank you for chronicling this repair in such stellar fashion.
I wish I could blame it on my wife. But I was the one with the careless parking job.
I'm going to go ahead and give this a shot, so I have s few questions.

What's the width and length of the screws you used?

Did you use nuts to secure the screws or just Loctite?

How exactly did you use the epoxy?
Was it to glue the new brace to the bumper before screwing it with the Loctite?

I appreciate your advice and thanks again for your help?

Franklin

[cmbg]

here's how my indie fixed mine: He pried off the molding and secured the bumper with a wood screw. Then he replaced the molding. You can't tell there ever was any damage.

He said it took five minutes, and four of those were spent looking for an appropriate screw.

I know it isn't good enough for the ocd types on this board, but it beats having a hanging bumper. ;)

[William]

What's the width and length of the screws you used?
WQ=> 10-32 (but 10-24 or any other similar size will do), and they were about 1 1/2" to 2" in length. Again, not critical at all.

Did you use nuts to secure the screws or just Loctite?
WQ=> Yes, regular nuts were used, and then used the medium strength Loctite.

How exactly did you use the epoxy?
Was it to glue the new brace to the bumper before screwing it with the Loctite?
WQ=> It is an overkill, but since I don't want to have to pull out the bumper again if I don't have to, the two-part epoxy was used to give everything a really strong bond, and also a good backup in case the screws/nuts do get loose with time.

[William]

[Craig in Canada]

It sure beats having to buy a bumper, but I cringe to think what will happen "next time".

From my (wife's) experience hooking curbs, it looks like the bumper side fastening system is meant to fail in a certain way. After the first "major" incident it just kind of came apart - I only needed to undo all of the fasteners and reposition it.

If that was just a wood screw, it's going to tear all kinds of things up - wheel well liners, fenders, who knows. I'm fully on board if it was that or a new bumper, and NEXT time you have no choice but a new bumper (and for now you saved the cash) assuming that it doesn't take anything else out with it.

*sigh* it's sad the things we have to contemplate as the rides get older and worth less and less.

[cmbg]

I don't ever park front in unless I am forced to do so. The one time I did was when I tore it up. It hung, but not too badly. But then a shop (which at least for now shall remain nameless) damaged it further when they did my brakes, and it was flapping in the wind.

When my regular shop had it, they repaired it as a courtesy to me. I'll take that and hope for the best as I have no spare funds for things like bumpers.