bumper shock compressed

[GreenWater]

My car was backed into last night while I slept. One side of the front bumper is all the way compressed. Is there anyway to uncompress the shock? I have never had this happen before, and don't know anything about the bumper shocks, other than it has two in the front bumper.

[zedsn]

Hi, bumper is easily removed and you may have to find a used bumper shock on ebay. I had the same problem when I bought my 944. I had to shim the shock a little because the metal that holds on the shock was treeked a bit and to bring the bumper back out to the same on both sides I had to shim it a bit.

[Techno Duck]

You can pull them out also, however they will not have the same impact protection as before.

I have a bunch of extra shocks if needed. PM me if you want one.

[looneybin]

can both be compressed for a smoother look?

[Scuba Steve]

They can be drilled through and compressed. The bad part is that you're less protected if someone backs into you again. Bumper shocks are incredibly cheap... everyone's selling them these days.

[looneybin]

aren't the bumper shocks only for the 5 MPH impact requirement for DOT?
Do euro bumpers have them?
Does anyone have any pics of the bumpers compressed, i'd like to see how it looks.
I don't want to go to the effort & expense of converting to the turbo front end, & maybe compressing the bumper would give a sleeker line to the front???

[Wipeout]

I went to replace mine after I was backed into (someone backing into a parking place wasn't paying attention) and it snapped back into place. Try that first and see what happens.

[Techno Duck]

It looks far better with the bumper pressed in and the shocks collapsed. But as mentioned you loose that 5mph buffer if it matters to you. And no, Euro cars did not use bumper shocks, but rather a hard mount.

[looneybin]

Thanks Techno - you always come thru with the needed info & pics
I think i have a new weekend project to drill out the bumper shocks, or maybe i can just run into a conc. block wall at 6 MPH - HAHA
Is there any high pressure fluid in them? I drilled out the bumper shocks on my Fiat spider years ago, & when the drill bit went thru, the fluid under pressure shot out all over the garage (what a mess)

[Techno Duck]

Yes, be careful drilling them out. Wear eye protection and a face mask. It does make a mess. After drilling them out, i had to beat the snot out of one of them with a 6lb sledge to get it to compress. The other one compressed with a small mallet.

Some say it makes the gaps around the bumper huge and unsightly when looking at the car head on. Honestly i think it looks fine.

[Tidybuoy]

I had a similar situation where one side got pushed in and stuck. I was able to pull it out with lots of pulling but the bumper would push back in fairly easily if nudged.

I ended up finding one at the local wrecking yard for $5. It came off a volkswagen but was identical to the ones use on the 944 (both bosch).

Changing them out takes about 15 minutes - the bumper unbolts from underneath (two bolts) and once removed, the bumper shocks will be exposed - their held in place with 4 bolts.

Vern

[JustinL]

Here's mine compressed and shaved.

[959Komfort]

JustinL, that looks awesome! I always wondered how the bumper would look like without those ugly rubber mounts. Have you done the same thing with the rear bumper?

[hpservertech]

I just saw some on ebay for only $15 each. Can't remember who had them though.

[JustinL]

Originally Posted by 959Komfort

JustinL, that looks awesome! I always wondered how the bumper would look like without those ugly rubber mounts. Have you done the same thing with the rear bumper?

No I actually still have the rear bumper pads still on. All I did was add a rear valance and a tow hitch I have to do a repaint of the whole car, so they may come off then. I can't even take credit for the bumper. I bought it like that from ae1969. All I had to do was paint it and compress it.

[944Spec_bound]

Originally Posted by Tidybuoy

Changing them out takes about 15 minutes - the bumper unbolts from underneath (two bolts) and once removed, the bumper shocks will be exposed - their held in place with 4 bolts.

Vern

Took me about 5-10 min to get the bumper and both shocks off of a good donor car. ($5 each)
But... taking the bumper off my car with one side compressed was not so easy. The bolt hole for the bumper was back inside the lower sheet metal. I got my socket worked in there, got the bolt backed out, but then it wouldn't drop down enough to pull the bumper, and I couldn't get my socket or the bolt out. I was stuck. Fortunately, I have a big winch on my truck. I dragged the car halfway down the driveway, but the bumper finally pulled out enough to drop the bolt.
There's probably an easier way, but again, it wouldn't have been the cowboy way.

[Tidybuoy]

yeeehaaaa!