Bumpers

[rlyell7544]

I have an 86 325, that's in pretty good shape. My question is, what causes the 'spider web' like patterns on the chrome portion of the bumpers? I've tried waxing, which doesn't seem to have any affect. Is there a protective plastic or something over the chrome? It seems like this spider webbing is happening between the protective coating and the chrome. Any ideas on how to correct this short of replacing with new bumpers?

[oilhead]

First of all, those bumpers are aluminum, not chrome. The "spiderweb" pattern you are seeing is likely to be actual deterioriation of the aluminum due to the fact that the bolts and brackets used to hold them to the vehicle are made of steel. Over time these dissimilar metals will chemically react, resulting in the corruption of the aluminum.

I learned this when my I destroyed the rear bumper on my 86 325e by bumping into it with my motorcycle (BMW, of course) while I was pushing it out of the garage. I managed to catch the edge of the bumper with one of the cylinders and the aluminum around the fastener broke away. I was able to pull the bumper off without releasing the other fastening bolt and using only arm strength.

My suggestion is to either live with it or replace the bumper. I believe they cost about $200 USD from the dealer. You may wish to put some sort of material between the bumper and the steel parts holding it to the rest of the car, but since it took 16 years for this bumper to rot away, it probably isn't worth the trouble.

[Wayne 962]

I think that we also stock this replacement bumper, but at less cost than the dealer...

-Wayne

[Bimmerv2.0]

if you want ill sell you the bumpers for front and back all the stuff
price can be negotiated