bumper foam UPDATED with pics

Wenuden · Post by **Wenuden** » Tue Oct 30, 2007 4:32 pm

So... I got rear-ended on sunday and the accident dislodged the foam support under the bumper. It is now resting on my brand new exhaust... and leaving melted styrofoam on it. i can't figure out any way to support it above the bumper w/o removeing the bumper, which i don't want to do until i get the damage estimated. my question is, other than the smell, should i worry about it? the foam seems to come off relatively easily when it's warm, i just don't want it to get melted on and have to buy a whole new rear section from modern. anyone got experience?

Post by **occasional demons** » Tue Oct 30, 2007 10:10 pm

There's always duct tape. Won't be pretty, but then can't be much worse than you have now, that is as long as the bumper cover will hold everything up.

Wenuden · Post by **Wenuden** » Tue Oct 30, 2007 10:19 pm

anything would look worse than what i have now lol. there's minimal damage (and i mean minimal: 35 mph impact at least, there's a paint scuff (that will clay-bar off) and a couple chips in the paint, that's it) to the bumper cover. it's the rear "frame" end that got bent downward, and the foam piece is dislodged, i think the clips that hold it up broke. i might get a whole new bumper out of this. i'm thinking about riviting a metal strap to the inside of the bumper to hold the foam above the muffler tip. it stinks real bad and makes me ashamed to drive the car lol. hopefully everything will be repaired by the end of next week.

ragek23 · Post by **ragek23** » Tue Oct 30, 2007 10:24 pm

the foam isnt held in by much anyways u might as well just toss some tape on it.

Post by **occasional demons** » Wed Oct 31, 2007 12:03 am

you will want to get a new cover if the foam is that bad. Mine's been bumped twice and the foam is still intact, but the paint is cracked and now it's starting to come off. Unless they switched to flexible paint yours is damaged worse than it looks.

Hudson_Neon · Post by **Hudson_Neon** » Wed Oct 31, 2007 1:10 am

ok, so i don't know if you've removed your bumper cover before. but there's like two prongs that protrude out from the bumper cover that go into holes in the foam. in all reality, as long as you don't get rear ended again, you COULD just remove it completely. the whole reason for it being there though is to provide a coushin inbetween the bumper cover and the bumper. your computer is counting on it being there though. if you get rear ended again without it the calculations that have been preprogramed into the computer will still think it's there and deploy the air bags too late...

just some info i picked up goin to school for auto body and collision

Paul56 · Post by **Paul56** » Wed Oct 31, 2007 7:46 am

Oh Crap! You just got the beast and someone rear-ends it.

I'd be fit to be tied.

OverDrive418 · Post by **OverDrive418** » Wed Oct 31, 2007 8:07 am

Wouldn't hurt to pop it off and see what hidden damage is underneath. I seem to remember someone on here not too long ago who had a "small fender bender" that ended up with a crooked frame under the bended fenders.
duct tape > rivets.
Go kick the snot out of it a few times before the insurance guy gets there, that'll garauntee a new bumper!

Andpto · Post by **Andpto** » Wed Oct 31, 2007 9:29 am

i got rear-ended a while back, all it was just paint damage. But i looked under and some of frame was bent and the rear crash bar was bent. So it went from a 540 estimate to paint the bumper to 875 dollars to repair. And the guy who hit me paid it all in cash...

Wenuden · Post by **Wenuden** » Wed Oct 31, 2007 4:51 pm

Hudson_Neon wrote:ok, so i don't know if you've removed your bumper cover before. but there's like two prongs that protrude out from the bumper cover that go into holes in the foam. in all reality, as long as you don't get rear ended again, you COULD just remove it completely. the whole reason for it being there though is to provide a coushin inbetween the bumper cover and the bumper. your computer is counting on it being there though. if you get rear ended again without it the calculations that have been preprogramed into the computer will still think it's there and deploy the air bags too late...

just some info i picked up goin to school for auto body and collision

i was under the impression our cars only deployed airbags if the car deccelarated at a certian rate, not specifically on impact? i was petrified as i watched this guy coming at me with the brakes locked up, that i was about to lose my car if the airbags popped.

just got it estimated at the dealership body shop, came out to $815 for a new bumper support, straighten the tips of the frame, and new bar across the back of the frame, repair and respray the bumper. that's going to have to change to a new bumper, since one (or both) of those tabs that holds the foam in place snapped off, and i don't particularly want them held on there with body filler or bondo. and a new rear muffler section if i can't get the melted foam out of the welds around the muffler where you can't see, w/o scratching it.

Hudson_Neon · Post by **Hudson_Neon** » Wed Oct 31, 2007 5:11 pm

an idea for the melted foam. heat it up and use some "000" grade steel wool. a lot of budy shops use that on glass, when they get a used piece of glass from the junk yard, to remove the marker. it leaves no scratches on glass so i dont see why it would scratch the muffler

01WhiteNe0n · Post by **01WhiteNe0n** » Thu Nov 01, 2007 9:08 am

the sexy white Srt got hit ? :O
I'd be pissed

Post by **occasional demons** » Thu Nov 01, 2007 9:51 am

If the insurance will pay for a new rear section, WOOT! If not you could also try WD-40 and warmng the pipes. spray the gooey foam with the penetrating oil while wiping. The oil will get between the foam and the metal breaking the bond. It's worth a shot. I freed a snake from a glue trap by using penetrating oil. Nothing else worked. If you pulled hard enough it would have ripped it's skin off. whithin 30 seconds of spraying the glue trap I was able to lift it right off, washed it with warm soapy water and one extremely happy snake. I figured if it works for stickers...

Mmmm.. better move this to the animal rescue section

Wenuden · Post by **Wenuden** » Thu Nov 01, 2007 4:14 pm

01WhiteNe0n wrote:the sexy white Srt got hit ? :O
I'd be pissed

it's still a sexy white srt, it's just got some under-the-skin imperfections lol, like every sexy chick. and it stinks going down the road. i'm not going to be able to convince my friends it's the new cat for much longer lol.

01WhiteNe0n · Post by **01WhiteNe0n** » Thu Nov 01, 2007 5:45 pm

Haha just take off the bumper and take that shit off haha,
When I did my bumpers i forgot the foam and It sat in the garage since, Nvr saw the point of it.

Andpto · Post by **Andpto** » Thu Nov 01, 2007 6:09 pm

01WhiteNe0n wrote:Haha just take off the bumper and take that shit off haha,
When I did my bumpers i forgot the foam and It sat in the garage since, Nvr saw the point of it.

so say if somebody backs into you. the foam wont be there to cushion the hit so your bumper will prob crack instead of some slight paint damage

Wenuden · Post by **Wenuden** » Thu Nov 01, 2007 6:15 pm

that has to wait till after the insurance adjuster takes a look at it. i'm still in the process of getting estimates from random body shops, so i havn't scheduled an appointment with them to come look at it yet. i'd like to give them the highest estimate and get a check as soon as possible after they see it.

here's some pics....

Pass. side frame rail/crash bar

Drivers side frame rail/crash bar. the muffler is hitting the crash bar, causing it to rattle a bit while idling... annoying as piss. it stops after the car warms up?? you can also see how much of the foam has melted lol. most importantly, you can see (right above the muffler where the crash bar and frame rail meet at the bottom) where rust has started to develope where paint cracked when the car was involved in an accident with the previous owner... had a clean carfax, and i completely overlooked it when i checked the car out before i bought it... i was even more pissed when i got under it and saw this at the scene of my accident.

chips in the paint (blurry pic)

paint scuff that will clay-bar off after adjuster sees it and before it goes to the body shop

The most interesting thing... the angle of the muffler. i can't adjust it to center of the cutout (or anywhere else for that matter) for shit. don't know if it's cause of the damage or not. i can't tell from looking under the car how it could be from the damage. it's pretty annoying too.

60trim · Post by **60trim** » Thu Nov 01, 2007 6:51 pm

ouch. sorry to hear that you got rear ended. Get the highest estimate you can.

Wenuden · Post by **Wenuden** » Thu Nov 01, 2007 6:59 pm

word. my girlfriend's brother works for enterprise at a pretty large body shop, i'm thinking they're going to be my best bet. plus a rental of a mercedes or something along those lines lol. the dealership body shop guy told me he was going to give me a discount since i'm a repeat customer (this would have been my 6th or 7th visit to them). i told him not to, it's insurance repairs, but he did it anyways. went from over $1100 to around $815.... that's retarded, and lost him my business forever. i swear, they love trying to screw me lol.