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  #1  
Old 02-07-2012, 04:08 PM
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Trying to Dismantle a Euro 3 Piece Bumper

title says it all, trying to take apart a rear euro 3 piece bumper for the w123. specifically trying to remove the huge bar that attaches to both the bumper and the car so i can swap in a trailer hitch set up. anyone have any pointers?

see attached photos, there appears to be 4 total direct bolts into the actual bar hidden behind the rubber strip. however, they just seem to spin and spin and haven't actually loosened any part of the bumper. hesitating to remove the other 4 bolts that hold the three pieces together as i don't want to mess up the configuration. will it be obvious to me if i first remove the two corner pieces?

i'm afraid that my center bar is welded into the bumper shell. thanks for the help!

Attached Thumbnails
Trying to Dismantle a Euro 3 Piece Bumper-bumper1.jpg   Trying to Dismantle a Euro 3 Piece Bumper-bumper2.jpg   Trying to Dismantle a Euro 3 Piece Bumper-bumper3.jpg   Trying to Dismantle a Euro 3 Piece Bumper-bumper4.jpg  
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  #2  
Old 02-07-2012, 05:59 PM
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Drill thru the side of the nuts--parellel to the bolt shaft--then take a chisel and bust them the rest of the way off.
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  #3  
Old 02-08-2012, 02:40 PM
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Are you saying you can't get onto the back of the bolts - the heads of which you can see in this picture...



...because you've got that big bar in the way?

If so I'd go for careful drilling of the heads (shown in picture above) until there is no metal left - if you are good you can drill the head right off without the need for a chisel. This is similar to panZZer's recommendation but to my mind leaves less chance of damage due to slipping chisel on chrome...

...take your time with the head drilling solution. Start with a small drill bit - say 2mm or a bit smaller and make your way up to larger sized bits. If the bolts spin whilst drilling - hold the bolt heads in place with a ring spanner. Make sure you have the whole bumper securely fastened to sturdy work bench so that you can drill in a controlled vertical position into the head of the bolt. If your drill bit wanders off away from the centre of the bolt head you can drill at an angle with a slightly larger drill bit at an acute angle to "push" the centre of drilling point back to where it should be.

When drilling hard steel you should ideally use cutting oil / light machine oil to help you along. If you can get them gucci cobalt drills are great - but they need to be turned slowly => more slowly than HSS




The best way, however, would be to remove that bar on the back of the bumper though and then get molegrips on the nuts at the back of those bolts...
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Don't leave that there - I'll take it to bits!
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  #4  
Old 02-08-2012, 04:58 PM
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well, upon further digging, i think i've stumbled upon a u.s. d.o.t. overzealous welding situation.

check the attached pics, it appears that they have welded a large piece of rectangular metal support bar from angled pieces that attach the bumper to the car, all the way over to the bend. they then welded smaller metal bars from these pieces all the way to the hooks that hold the bumper on the sides of the car... this has made it impossible to remove the original metal bar that runs along the center as they are now welded directly to the bumper via the small hooks on the ends.

now if someone has the pics or memory to confirm this theory i'd really appreciate seeing them, any pics of the back of a three piece euro bumper would really help out here. i think i might have to get out the angle grinder and try to get in there...
Attached Thumbnails
Trying to Dismantle a Euro 3 Piece Bumper-bumper6.jpg   Trying to Dismantle a Euro 3 Piece Bumper-bumper7.jpg   Trying to Dismantle a Euro 3 Piece Bumper-bumper8.jpg   Trying to Dismantle a Euro 3 Piece Bumper-bumper9.jpg   Trying to Dismantle a Euro 3 Piece Bumper-bumper10.jpg  

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  #5  
Old 02-08-2012, 05:01 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Army View Post
The best way, however, would be to remove that bar on the back of the bumper though and then get molegrips on the nuts at the back of those bolts...
that bar is exactly what i'm trying to remove but it seems that i can't. i thought that it was bolted via the bolts in my/your picture but they just spin, even when loose, and the bar stays tight in place.
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  #6  
Old 02-08-2012, 05:21 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Squabble View Post
well, upon further digging, i think i've stumbled upon a u.s. d.o.t. overzealous welding situation.

check the attached pics, it appears that they have welded a large piece of rectangular metal support bar from angled pieces that attach the bumper to the car, all the way over to the bend. they then welded smaller metal bars from these pieces all the way to the hooks that hold the bumper on the sides of the car... this has made it impossible to remove the original metal bar that runs along the center as they are now welded directly to the bumper via the small hooks on the ends.

now if someone has the pics or memory to confirm this theory i'd really appreciate seeing them, any pics of the back of a three piece euro bumper would really help out here. i think i might have to get out the angle grinder and try to get in there...
I had to deal with the same situation--I drilled out the sides of the nuts--(of the bolts under the two stainless trim straps covering the seams)
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  #7  
Old 02-08-2012, 05:37 PM
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Your going to have to grind off those welds on the bumper end mounts.

Here is a picture I dug out of the back corner of my bumper.






.
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Trying to Dismantle a Euro 3 Piece Bumper-eurobumperback.jpg  
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  #8  
Old 02-08-2012, 05:45 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by panZZer View Post
I had to deal with the same situation--I drilled out the sides of the nuts--(of the bolts under the two stainless trim straps covering the seams)
i think i understand what you're saying but i think the bar itself is welded to the actual bumper, meaning even if the screws were completely removed and the nuts drilled, the bar would be welded to the sides of the bumper via the "hooks" that slide into the holders on the rear fenders.

see attached photo with ms paint help: the blue are the original spot welds that hold the "hook" to the bumper, the green is where the bolts are coming through the other side, and the red is where the big welds are for all the large reinforcing metal. with those red weld spots, the bar is attached to the bumper, no matter what the bolts are doing. right? am i crazy? i just might not be seeing it...
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Trying to Dismantle a Euro 3 Piece Bumper-bumperpaint.jpg  
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  #9  
Old 02-08-2012, 05:46 PM
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well shoot, that settles it...

to the grinder!

Quote:
Originally Posted by DeliveryValve View Post
Your going to have to grind off those welds on the bumper end mounts.

Here is a picture I dug out of the back corner of my bumper.






.
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  #10  
Old 02-08-2012, 06:07 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Squabble View Post
well shoot, that settles it...

to the grinder!

Another advice.. sometimes the welds are too hard to grind. It might be easier to just cut the metal bar near the weld. I don't think a little bit of the bar and weld near the corner mount will hinder anything.



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  #11  
Old 02-08-2012, 11:18 PM
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Adam, I got your message. I don't have any more pics than what you have, and if I did they won't be of any help because those bumpers you bought from me (not this one pictured) also had a reinforcement bar. However they were not in this condition. They allowed me to disassemble the bumper assembly completely because the corners were not welded. In your case the corner pieces are welded to the bar, which means even if you remove them they'll remain connected.

That bolt you tried to turn and only spins - has another nut on the opposite side. This is only accessible if the bar is removed, visible in this photo:



That 15 or 17mm bolt and the one adjacent to it, more inboard, holds the mounting bracket to the center metal piece of the bumper.

Four tabs per side (on the metal strip/cover hiding two bolts) need to be unbent in order to free up the other two nuts/bolts holding the corner pieces to the main center piece. Once this metal strip (one per side) is removed, the nuts/bolts holding the corners can be removed and the corner pieces detached from the main center piece. However since you have the welding issue to deal with, that would be the first place I would work on.


Last edited by MBeige; 02-08-2012 at 11:29 PM.
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