Having noticed several posts on here regarding corrosion on the bumper mounting brackets, I have experienced this problem first hand. The front bumper mountings were fully intact and offered no resistance, but not so with the rear bumper. One of the mounting bolts just turns constantly, going nowhere. The other was very stiff and needed an extension on the socket, whereupon, something "gave" and the bumper came away quite easily on that side. The "something" that "gave" seems to be the aluminium/alloy part of the mounting, which seems to have split down the middle, thus releasing the bumper. The opposite side is very inaccesible, with little room to even get at the mounting. I have tried to (gently) pull the bumper off, with the leverage offered by the free side, but no joy. Also, removing the chrome exhaust trim is a non-runner and wouldn't offer much extra room anyway. Any cures, suggestions as to how to free up the stuck side? Is it possible to actually unbolt the 4 or 5 nuts on the mounting bracket itself? 2 or 3 of the nuts are accessible, but some seem to be hidden behind the fuse box in the boot, along with the black plastic liner on the inside of the boot lip. I have also tried to remove this plastic panel on a separate occasion but despite the absence of any visible nuts/fixings, it refuses to budge. Any suggestions in this regard also. Many thanks and apologies for the long post.

 

Can you list the model and MY of your car? Not sure what we're working on here.

 

Steve if memory serves (dubious I know) from an earlier intro' X300 97 ish.

 

Yes, apologies, the golden rule..............doh! It's a 1997 xj6/ x300. I don't mind breaking the existing adjuster on the bumper mount as I will be replacing both of these anyway. But rather than cutting the actual mount off, does anyone know if the nuts that hold it on are all accessible? This would seem like a much more sensible option. It's raining hard here today (bank holiday in Ireland!!) so I won't be under the car for the moment, but any suggestions most welcome. Thanks for the interest so far. Incidentally, the non cooperative side seems to be a case of the large fixing bolt spinning around as a result of the embedded nut coming loose.

 

Sorry for the late reply, I am going to have to bow out of this one as I don't believe I've ever removed a back bumper on an X300. I'm a small shop and do not get every MY and every repair in great frequency. I've checked my documentation and cannot offer anything given the challenge you've described. Maybe over to the X300 section. Someone might have run across this before.

Best,

 

Hi Sogood

Yes, you have found the Achilles Heel of the X300, (and X308) models, namely the bumpers that fall off. In fact the front bumper mounts are similar, but these dont get bathed in salt spray like the rear ones. The steel securing bolt passes through the mazak alloy casting of the actual mount and thus electroytic corrosion occurs namely the casting gradually dissolves.

Now that your "captive" nut is now no longer captive, it will be a matter of hacksawing the mount which you cannot loosen, (it is scrap anyway), so you can get the bumper off and deal with the stuck bolt. New mounts are quite cheap, but you may need some ingenuity in resecuring the captive nuts into the bumper moulding. On reassembly, don't forget to use Coppaslip on the bolt, and also coat everything liberally in Waxoil.

See here also: -

http://www.skjagtech.co.uk/support-p...er-mounts.html

 

Thanks for the responses guys. It looks as though I may well have to go the "hacksaw" route, but before doing so, I hope to take a closer look at the mounting fixings themselves tomorrow, weather permitting. As mentioned, some of the small fixing nuts are easily accessible and I would hope to remove the mount intact, as I was thinking of making an alternative insert, to replace the crazy alloy part. I imagine some sort of plastic, rubber, or even gun metal tube would suffice. I might lose the height adjustment aspect, but if the sleeve was made (and fitted) to the right specifications, it might just work. I will let you know how I get on and post some pics if I am successful.

Thanks again.

 

I think you wil find it far, far, easier to buy new mounts, (they are not expensive), and then add on all the protection from salt spray and road dirt that is so sadly missing. As I said, use of Coppaslip and Waxoyl will provide this. Possibly also replace the securing bolts with stainless items; there are a number of suppliers of stainless nuts and bolts on the internet.