w123 front bumper adjustment??
 

Ok this is a strange one,
The front bumper on my 300d is kinda tilting down, almost like it is frowning when you look at it from the front.
My question is, is there anyway to adjust the angle at which the bumper sits? It was like this when i bought it, it almost looks like it may have been towed or lifted from the bumper and it caused it to tilt downward.
Its hard to see from the angle of this pic.
Any ideas??

http://www.phillysolutions.com/images/eds_benz.jpg

I looked at an exploded parts drawing of the bumper and don't see any angular adjustment. If it's truly tilting down more than normal (I'd try to compare to another car) you probably have bent bumper shocks or shock brackets.

What puzzles me is that improper towing or jacking would likely bend the bumper up....not down??

Yes, it is tilting down, as in up in the middle & down on the ends as it wraps around, like it is frowning:(

Sounds like someone jacked it up by applying the jack to the center of the bumper. They either bent the bumper or the brackets. You might be able to improve the appearance by loosening the bracket bolts, pushing down in the center and retightening bolts. There may be enough slop in the bolt holes to get some improvement??? Perhaps someone will respond who has some practical experience.

That sounds like my only option other than replacing the brackets, i'll give it a try and see what happends.

Thanks for the help !!

If its frowning down, then maybe the previous owner hit somebody and bent the bumper. Check to see if the mounts are bent.

Thanks for all your help guys.
While im at it, does anyone know how the rubber ends on the bumper that wrap around to the fenders are held in place? (one side is loose and kinda hanging)
Is there a kit i can purchace to re-do these?

take it off...take it all off.
 

For those of you who wish to keep their MBZ diesels for a long time, and dont want their bumpers to corrode away, take the entire bumper apparatus off the car, both front and back, and repair. VERY easy.

The rubber ends that curl around the sides, both front and rear, are held in place by stamped metal frames that attach to the fenders. On the rear the nuts are located in the trunk at each wheel well. On the front, detach by removing nuts inside of the fender. These are steel and rust badly.

As I recall, these metal supports cost about $20 each at the dealer...probably about $15 each elsewhere.

Also in the rear is a metal support (also steel) for the rubber that is located at the top of the bumper near the trunk body. Also cheap and real easy to replace...several screws from underneath.

The bumpers themselves detach and re-attach very easily.....just start taking them apart and you will see how straightforward.

The insides of these aluminum bumpers tend to corrode (depending on your location)....I've seen some that have corroded right through, particularly at mounting points, and bumber is ready to fall off!! On mine, I removed them from the car, scraped down insides...removed dirt and aluminum oxide, washed real good with detergent and brush and let dry in nice hot summer sun, then coated insides with a good quality primer, followed by 3M underbody coating (the best). I cant remember the exact type of primer I used....I was looking for a good quality aluminum protectant, and remember considering the high-zinc primers...I dont remember if this was a suitable protectant for aluminum....(getting too old, brain fuzzy!) maybe someone else has a good suggestion ( i know the airline industry uses some special stuff on insides of aluminum airplane skins..never found out what it is or how to get it). Anyway, the bumpers have not continued to corrode since I did this.

Also important on the rear, there is a plastic guard on each side inside bumper, just behind each wheel to protect from road dirt coming off tires...they fall off easy. I permanently installed by drilling hole in plastic, installing plastic anchor, and fastening with aluminum screws through existing holes. (beware of dis-similar metals and resultant corrosion in aluminum)

Try to get the primer made for aluminum, something zinc something...If not, then use regular primer. Paint won't stick very long to straight aluminum (except overspray of course, nothing will shift that!)

If you have access to a professional paint store which caters to body shops, they have spray cans of primer made for airplane bodies-that weird mustard color primer...