fender bender

[CzEcHy]

So I ran into the back of someone at about 3mph and it pushed my bumper cover in about half an inch and killed my turn signal.

Question is.. what is most likely keeping the bumper cover pushed in?

Just trying to get ot pulled out more but none of the screws or anything look messed up , anyone else have some experience with a low speed crash in one of these where the bumper got pushed in a tad? Thanks

[DBMaster]

Yes, many years ago. The bumper reinforcement and rubberized mounting brackets were messed up. These bumpers suck. They can't take much of a hit at all.

[CzEcHy]

So I guess I need to remove the bumper and try to fix the rubber mount some?

It looks terrible with the headlights down lol

[2oodoor]

Take a pic ok its hard to say what to best do

[DBMaster]

I should elaborate. When you remove the bumper as an assembly it includes the cover, the foam (a high density closed cell foam) absorber, and the boxed metal reinforcement. The bumper "absorbs" shock by first compressing the foam absorber and then crushing the reinforcement. The reinforcement is mounted to two brackets bolted to the radiator mounting surface. The brackets consist of an outer metal "box" and an inner metal piece secured to the outer box with a long bolt that goes through rubberized holes in the box. When I had to fix mine in 1990 I had to disassemble the bumper assembly, straighten the metal reinforcement, and take a hair dryer to the inside of the bumper cover. The heat made it return to its original shape. This works only if you don't have sharp "creases" in the deformed flexible plastic. Ultimately, years later, I ended up getting a replacement bumper reinforcement from a wrecking yard and buying new mounts from Majestic Honda. The mounts were damaged, and although they still held the bumper just fine the damaged rubber holes in the little boxes left the long bolts rubbing metal to metal and I had annoying noises when the car vibrated at idle.

As I said, these cars (and many more on the road like them) have shit for bumpers. They are nearly useless when you consider that a mere 5 mph "bump" can cause several hundred dollars in damage. I guess I miss the days when we had actual large hydraulic cylinders and all metal bumpers that could take as much as a 10 mph crash without causing noticeable damage. I never quite understood why the federal standard from the 70's (10 mph) was lowered to 5 mph.

Fortunately for you, all these parts should be available from a junkyard. Another thing to check when you have the bumper assembly removed is to see if the radiator support (kind of like a firewall at the front of the car) is dented in behind either of the bumper mounts. That can cause the front bumper to be uneven when you put it all back together. There are also several screw holes in the bumper cover and plastic snap fasteners that hold the headlight bucket garnishes that can be broken as well. I knew almost nothing about the innards of this car when I took it apart 20+ years ago. Once you do it you will see exactly what I am talking about.

In the diagram below:

4 - front bumper cover
24 - foam "absorber"
11 - bumper support bracket
Assemblies with parts 19 and 20 - bumper mounting brackets

http://www.hondaautomotiveparts.com/auto/jsp/mws/catimgs/13se001_b46.png

[CzEcHy]

Bent number 11 horribly.. I can't believe that, it seems almost impossible to bend that especially at 3 mph..


Took number 11 off my 88 accord and put it on, only has a slight dip in the middle of the bumper now.. not to bad for 2 hours of work


Odd thing is, the steel bumpers were different, and both cars are 4 doors except one is 88 and one is 89.. weird eh?

[DBMaster]

That is weird. I always thought that the 88's and 89's had the same bumpers. Yes, that number 11 part is flimsy as hell. Again, these bumpers are for ornamental purposes only. Maybe, if your kid runs his little trike into it...

[lostforawhile]

odd I have an 86 and I've run into stuff with no damage, if you like prefacelift bumpers maby you could swap in one instead, it will bolt right up, I think the idea of the bumper getting damaged is to prevent sheet metal damage behind it, the bumper can be swapped in a few minutes,vs metal repair having to be done, if the radiator support is bent, once everything is out, there is nothing that can't be fixed with a big hammer

[2oodoor]

It may have been replaced before with an 86-7 model backing brace.
I have one off right now for an 87 and it does't seem real flimsy but now im wondring... I was going to use it to hook a tow bar to pull a 3rd gen. I had my doubts though if the mounting bolts and rad supt could stand it.

[lostforawhile]

It may have been replaced before with an 86-7 model backing brace.
I have one off right now for an 87 and it does't seem real flimsy but now im wondring... I was going to use it to hook a tow bar to pull a 3rd gen. I had my doubts though if the mounting bolts and rad supt could stand it.

the sheet metal behind the bumper is pretty strong,it bolts to the front part of the frame structure, I do think the strongest point would be the tow hook mounting points on the frame

[2oodoor]

the sheet metal behind the bumper is pretty strong,it bolts to the front part of the frame structure, I do think the strongest point would be the tow hook mounting points on the frame

Yeah thats where i'd put the lower chain hooks from the tow bar most likely:cool:

[Vanilla Sky]

Did you check your bumper mounts? Those things tend to sag with age, and they're not incredibly difficulty to damage. They sag because the rubber gets soft, and they're easy to damage because there's essentially 2 bolts holding that bumper up.

[lostforawhile]

Did you check your bumper mounts? Those things tend to sag with age, and they're not incredibly difficulty to damage. They sag because the rubber gets soft, and they're easy to damage because there's essentially 2 bolts holding that bumper up.

if you get another set of mounts from the yard, you can shim the steel nut plates with a couple of heavy washers, one on top and one on the bottom,this fixes the old age sags

[Vanilla Sky]

Indeed, good tip.

[Dr_Snooz]

if you get another set of mounts from the yard, you can shim the steel nut plates with a couple of heavy washers, one on top and one on the bottom,this fixes the old age sags

Yes! I have washers all over the place under my front bumper keeping things lined up nicely.

[2oodoor]

Are yall talking about wiggley bumper even with the bolts tight?