[IntrepidXJ]

Anyways, I went shopping today, and went to park. I was talking to my girlfriend and wasn't paying too much atention to what I was doing. Needless to say, I bumped the curb in front of the spot

AT first, I thought "no big deal, it's just that plastic piece under the car that is meant to get hit"

Well, I decided to look anyways, just to make sure. I didn't see any damage, so I decided to feel under the car on the bumper. There it was!!! I cracked the bumper right in the middle pretty badly. It is under the car, so it is not visible unless I get on the ground and look for it.

Here's my questions:

1. Can this crack spread over time to the point where it's visible from the front? (like i said, it's pretty bad)

2. Can a body shop fix this for me without replacing the whole plastic bumper? It is really bothering me, even though no one can see it

Thanks for your info. I'm feeking sick...

 

[80]

I feel your pain. My front end is cracked in exactly the same place, except it has run all the way up to the front license plate holder. The good thing is, I doubt anyone is going to notice except me. I want to get it fixed, but plan to wait out the winter months so the new bumper is not damaged from snow hazards. I hate walking toward my car from a front angle, the damage is ALL I seem to see anymore

 

[IntrepidXJ]

I got a suggestion to use duct tape on the inside of the bumper (out of sight) to prevent it from traveling....

any thoughts?

 

[jsylvester100]

I scratched the drivers side front fascia hitting a high curb in a bank drive thru. I never fixed it yet, as I figured as soon as I did, I would end up getting another scratch. The front of this car is pretty low.

I was quoted about $250 to take the bumper off, sand, and paint. Of course, you would need to replace your bumper and repaint the entire thing, so it will be more.

 

[Sysman]

Maybe a bunch or crazy glue would hold it together enough to keep it from spreading...

 

[IntrepidXJ]

Originally posted by taxman:
I was quoted about $250 to take the bumper off, sand, and paint. Of course, you would need to replace your bumper and repaint the entire thing, so it will be more.

They'd have to replace the whole bumper?? There is no way to just fix it?

 

[blkbute]

if you knew how to work with fibreglass or bondo. you could try and come up with something. that would be alot of work though.

 

[IntrepidXJ]

Originally posted by blkbute:
if you knew how to work with fibreglass or bondo. you could try and come up with something. that would be alot of work though.

I don't plan on doing it myslef. I'd bring it to a body shop.

 

[ATFCharger]

If you want an easy fix to keep it from spreading, get the two-part epoxy syringes from any auto store or walmart, kmart, etc.

Squeeze some into a paper cup and mix it with something, like a toothpick. Then use the toothpick or small hobby brush and apply it to the crack. Should work pretty well.

 

[redblurr]

For a permanent fix I'd use Fiber glass. It comes with a piece of fiber glass cloth & resin you spread onto the cloth. Once it sets its done. Apply it from the back and it should be tough to notice.

 

[Don Hardy]

Hey Trep99 - on the car I had just before my R/T, I also cracked the front bumper. Not really visible but, like you, it bugged me to no end. And yes a body shop did the repair and you could not tell it had been broken. You probably don't need a new bumper just a good shop. It wasn't all that expensive, best I can recall about $200.

 

[WildChild]

actually i just fixed a friends car it was a 81 Z28 it had a crack in the rear bumper up here in Canada they sell some crap at crappy tire that is a plastic repair kit it's casicly crazy glue and some firbe cloth to add strength then you have this crap that is basicly bondo to fillin any dents or cracks it very easy to use and it cost about 12 bucks. try pep boys i'm sure they''d have it

 

[lilgroby]

I cracked my front bumper too. Only it os on the driver side right in front of the wheel (damn high speed-dumps ). But I just went down to my dodge dealer ship and ordered a whole new front bumper it was my B-day present from my brother

 

[p3]

I had a crack in the same spot. i bought a fiberglass repair kit. I mixed the stuff put it on the "mesh" sheet, put it on both sides of the crack and let it dry. Then i did ALOT of sanding on the visible side to make it flush, and then i sprayed the bottom with touch up paint. you cant even tell that it happend....and its not hard to do.

 

[DCREPID'00]

RANDY- a simple but effective fix (instead of the fiberglass stuff which sounds messy) is called a stop drill. at the very end of the crack drill a small hole with a size 30 drill bit. We use this on airframe cracks and it always works. if it happens to be more of a chip just round out the area with a file. in nature round is stronger than rigidity..get it. THIS IS NOT FOR COSMETIC PURPOSES-MERELY A SIMPLE FIX SO THE CRACK DOESNT SPREAD!!!

 

[IntrepidXJ]

Thanks everyone for the info. I may bring it to a body shop for a quote soon? We'll see what they say...

 

[celticmyst]

we sell this stuff at work called duramix.
its a 2 part urethane epoxy. theres different set times and strengths as well as area to be covered. this stuff ROCKS and is probably what the body shop would use anyway. the body shops around here buy em all the time for "minor" repairs jobs. they actually use it to adhere metal to plastics and plastics to plastics and so on. it dries super hard (better than fibreglass id say)but leaves enough for natural panel flex. course you can use this with a piece of fibreglass for reinforcement, but i dont think it would be necessary.

 

[IntrepidXJ]

Took it to the body shop. They basically told me I'd have to replace the whole bumper

He told me to wait till it gets worse, cuz I'll probably hit it again. And when it's bad enough, then get a new bumper.

I really don't think I want to do that, so I guess I'm on my own fixing this....

 

[thebulgd]

Ya know, that just doesnt sound right at all to me, and I'll tell ya why.

We'll can this "MY I'm a ****ing idiot story"
(I gots a ton of these)

So I have my shiney new Trep for about three weeks, I have maybe 300 miles on this thing at this point. I go to lunch with on of my buds and we decide to take my car, since it's all shiney new and all. I pull out of the parking lot and head down the road. I stop at the stop sign then go to pull out. aAbout a second later I realize that it's not a 4way stop and hit the brakes as a car is headed right at me. I get the car into reverse and move about 6 inches before impact.

ouch

Surprisingly enuff the damage is not much, the front bumper cover is torn in three places and that abou tit. So I take it to my buddy and he says I have three options

1. he can repair the bumper
2. he can order a rebuilt bumper to save time
3. order a brand new OEM bumper

I go with option 3 as I dont want repaired parts on a brand new car. I was told that to repair the bumper he would use some kind of process that was like fiberglassing, only it was with the same type of rubber the bumper is made of and would be just as strong and not noticable at all from the outside. So I guess the moral of the story is that if they can repair it here, they should be able to repair it there. At the very least a rebuilt one should be available at a reasonable price.

and there was that incident with the sheep........