Mine doesn't sag, its in the back garden!!bloomfieldliam said:
Cheers
D
Technical Bumper Brackets
- Thread starter Liam
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Currently reading:
Technical Bumper Brackets
Cheers
D
was shocked when i seen my car with bumpers off! got a sort of tar thing coated on it now tho xxx
EmSpem
Established member
I'm ****ting it to see wat mines like - I'm chickening out - I'm going to pay garage to do it when they do my front wheel bearing 
Em
Em
OP
OP
Ok part two!
Got this in the post today, supposed to be my saving grace!
It is a stud extractor, I ain't too clued up on how they operate but decided to give it a go.
Cinq up in the air and the bumper off, three 13mm bolts inside the boot, left and right under the rubber grommets and middle exposed or I may have lost my cover. Turn the other bolt heads in the arches right underneath to release the edges of the bumper and carefully disconnect the number plate light wiring.
Bumper came off after I hacksawed through the bracket near the bumper mounting.
So here is the OS
This was much stronger than the other side and came off in one piece, again courtesy of Mr Grinder, boy those sparks are sore! Always cover up, wear a hat and eye protection when operating a grinder and keep your legs away from under the car (hot bolt heads melt through your trousers!).
This is where I hit a glass ceiling, stud extractor thingy didn't work, I melted one of the heads in a drilled out stud and my drills bits are near blunt.
I am considering getting the brackets welded to the chassis but my Dad says this may lead to future corrosion issues. I don't know if the studs could be burnt out or not.
Liam
Got this in the post today, supposed to be my saving grace!
It is a stud extractor, I ain't too clued up on how they operate but decided to give it a go.
Cinq up in the air and the bumper off, three 13mm bolts inside the boot, left and right under the rubber grommets and middle exposed or I may have lost my cover. Turn the other bolt heads in the arches right underneath to release the edges of the bumper and carefully disconnect the number plate light wiring.
Bumper came off after I hacksawed through the bracket near the bumper mounting.
So here is the OS
This was much stronger than the other side and came off in one piece, again courtesy of Mr Grinder, boy those sparks are sore! Always cover up, wear a hat and eye protection when operating a grinder and keep your legs away from under the car (hot bolt heads melt through your trousers!).
This is where I hit a glass ceiling, stud extractor thingy didn't work, I melted one of the heads in a drilled out stud and my drills bits are near blunt.
I am considering getting the brackets welded to the chassis but my Dad says this may lead to future corrosion issues. I don't know if the studs could be burnt out or not.
Liam
OP
OP
More in the saga, god this is getting aslong as Lord of the Rings!
Anyway, last time round I was stuck with the issue of the original bolts in the chassis were stuck fast and no economical method of removing them was feasible.
So whilst sussing out an idea, I decided to remove some loose underseal and treat some rusty patches. Using a wire brush tool in the drill I removed the old underseal and then used the grinder to rub back the rust to bare metal.
At this point I will stress again the importance of eye protection and also use of a dust mask when using the grinder and drill. Also wear gloves and watch the angle of the sparks. I had recently got a new fuel tank due to the other one leaking, if it was still the old one, it may have gotten interesting given the sparks that the grinder gives off.
So back on topic, well kind of, I treated the bare metal areas to a coat of white primer like so
The other areas not coated were rust free or nearly, I then set about coating the underside and arches with new underseal. I was using a spray can but I reccommend a brush on as the spray isn't effective when the can is tilted and it gets very messy.
The following pics are various stages of the undersealing process.
Once all sealed, it ain't perfect but time was against me and I can always go over it again at another point. So I had decided to drill new holes in the brackets and new holes in the chassis to mount the brackets.
Then I attached the brackets
I used self tapping screws and 2 washers each per screw, it holds really well, I had originally seen self tapping screws with nut heads and built in washers but could only find two instad of four, these would have been stronger and better looking but these work just as good.
So then you have a bolt which goes through the bracket from the rear and one from the bumper mount through the bracket, do the first one then re attach the bumper, take care with the outer mounts, they can be tricky but with patience you'll get there and before sticking it on don't forget to plug in the number plate lights again. Do up you three bolts inside the boot then move onto the lower bumper mounts.
The orange type stuff is copper slip, this should help the nuts to some off at a later date if need be. Like I did originally at the time of ordering the brackets I also got all the associated nuts and bolts which hold them on because due to the levels of corrosion each one was either ground off using the grinder or sawed using a hacksaw.
My OS bracket had the towing eye cut off to accommodate my exhaust, before mouting that side I took it off with the grinder and gave it a few coats of hammerite matt black spray paint.
So overall not a straight forward job but with the Cento's sometimes it never is!
Liam
Anyway, last time round I was stuck with the issue of the original bolts in the chassis were stuck fast and no economical method of removing them was feasible.
So whilst sussing out an idea, I decided to remove some loose underseal and treat some rusty patches. Using a wire brush tool in the drill I removed the old underseal and then used the grinder to rub back the rust to bare metal.
At this point I will stress again the importance of eye protection and also use of a dust mask when using the grinder and drill. Also wear gloves and watch the angle of the sparks. I had recently got a new fuel tank due to the other one leaking, if it was still the old one, it may have gotten interesting given the sparks that the grinder gives off.
So back on topic, well kind of, I treated the bare metal areas to a coat of white primer like so
The other areas not coated were rust free or nearly, I then set about coating the underside and arches with new underseal. I was using a spray can but I reccommend a brush on as the spray isn't effective when the can is tilted and it gets very messy.
The following pics are various stages of the undersealing process.
Once all sealed, it ain't perfect but time was against me and I can always go over it again at another point. So I had decided to drill new holes in the brackets and new holes in the chassis to mount the brackets.
Then I attached the brackets
I used self tapping screws and 2 washers each per screw, it holds really well, I had originally seen self tapping screws with nut heads and built in washers but could only find two instad of four, these would have been stronger and better looking but these work just as good.
So then you have a bolt which goes through the bracket from the rear and one from the bumper mount through the bracket, do the first one then re attach the bumper, take care with the outer mounts, they can be tricky but with patience you'll get there and before sticking it on don't forget to plug in the number plate lights again. Do up you three bolts inside the boot then move onto the lower bumper mounts.
The orange type stuff is copper slip, this should help the nuts to some off at a later date if need be. Like I did originally at the time of ordering the brackets I also got all the associated nuts and bolts which hold them on because due to the levels of corrosion each one was either ground off using the grinder or sawed using a hacksaw.
My OS bracket had the towing eye cut off to accommodate my exhaust, before mouting that side I took it off with the grinder and gave it a few coats of hammerite matt black spray paint.
So overall not a straight forward job but with the Cento's sometimes it never is!
Liam
Nice post liam, I checked my mounts yesterday. Both are rusted to ****.
Will have to probably do similar, I guess
Will have to probably do similar, I guess
OP
OP
I would learn from my exploits probably not to waste too much time trying to get the chassis bolts out TBH, not worth it since the screw method I used and once bolted to the rear of the car makes the just as strong as before.
Liam
Liam
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I'll see about getting mine sorted soon. Got MOT coming up in Oct. Might make use of my free time screwing some new brackets on
Seems some people are having probs getting the old bumper brackets off their Cinqs, and going the long way round the houses to finish the job.
There’s no need to remove the bumper off the car, or going to the additional expense of buying extractor tools etc. The secret is Heat...!
First remove the road wheel from the side you're going to be working on, then start by cleaning up the flats of the bolts that fasten the bumper bracket to the box section of the car. (a wire brush and file do the job great)
Don't bother using duck oil or WD40 to try and penetrate, these are bolts and there's no way in for the fluid to get in to the threads...yet!
When flats are clean use a common simple Blow Torch and focus the flame on one of the bolt heads. Don't have the blow torch on full whack with flame lapping up everywhere, there’s no need. Just have a small flame focused on the bolt head for about a minute, then get a good fitting socket on the nice 'n' hot bolt (be careful please) and try turning the bolt. If you need to use a lot of force to try turning it, forget it. The socket will just slip and chew the head, or the bolt will shear off. Just apply more heat again, it will move without much effort eventually, just be patient. Once you've got it undone a few turns spray some penetrating fluid on if you wish, but there's no need really.
Repeat the process for the other bolt.
For the upper bolt that goes into the bracket, up from the bumper, just use a dremmel type tool with cutting discs to cut through the welded on nut on the bracket, and remove the bolt that way. If you try to remove it by any other means you'll be wasting time, it’s not worth the hassle, or risk to the thin metal of the car it passes through. Don't use a big angle grinder either for this part of the job. Far too many sparks and risky given how close to the petrol tank you'll be!
For the bolt that’s attached to the bumper and bracket...Easy! Just apply a little heat to the threads of the bolt, not too much, just enough to soften the plastic mount on the bumper a little. Apply some fluid, and carefully twist with a socket or spanner the heated nut back and forth. It’ll slip out of the plastic mount on the bumper. Once it's out squeeze the plastic mount together a little to keep its shape while it cools down.
That's it job done, use the same tricks on the other side.
Underseal wherever it's needed before putting the wheel back on, and the jobs a good un'
There’s no need to remove the bumper off the car, or going to the additional expense of buying extractor tools etc. The secret is Heat...!
First remove the road wheel from the side you're going to be working on, then start by cleaning up the flats of the bolts that fasten the bumper bracket to the box section of the car. (a wire brush and file do the job great)
Don't bother using duck oil or WD40 to try and penetrate, these are bolts and there's no way in for the fluid to get in to the threads...yet!
When flats are clean use a common simple Blow Torch and focus the flame on one of the bolt heads. Don't have the blow torch on full whack with flame lapping up everywhere, there’s no need. Just have a small flame focused on the bolt head for about a minute, then get a good fitting socket on the nice 'n' hot bolt (be careful please) and try turning the bolt. If you need to use a lot of force to try turning it, forget it. The socket will just slip and chew the head, or the bolt will shear off. Just apply more heat again, it will move without much effort eventually, just be patient. Once you've got it undone a few turns spray some penetrating fluid on if you wish, but there's no need really.
Repeat the process for the other bolt.
For the upper bolt that goes into the bracket, up from the bumper, just use a dremmel type tool with cutting discs to cut through the welded on nut on the bracket, and remove the bolt that way. If you try to remove it by any other means you'll be wasting time, it’s not worth the hassle, or risk to the thin metal of the car it passes through. Don't use a big angle grinder either for this part of the job. Far too many sparks and risky given how close to the petrol tank you'll be!
For the bolt that’s attached to the bumper and bracket...Easy! Just apply a little heat to the threads of the bolt, not too much, just enough to soften the plastic mount on the bumper a little. Apply some fluid, and carefully twist with a socket or spanner the heated nut back and forth. It’ll slip out of the plastic mount on the bumper. Once it's out squeeze the plastic mount together a little to keep its shape while it cools down.
That's it job done, use the same tricks on the other side.
Underseal wherever it's needed before putting the wheel back on, and the jobs a good un'
OP
OP
Excellent post, I didn't have the luxury of heat, would one of those DIY plumbing torches suffice?
Liam
Liam
