Bumper bracket broken, weld back on?

[Sean240Z]

I just noticed that the side bumper bracket on my front bumper (early 240Z style) is broken (see pic below, note that bracket is turned ~45 degrees to support the bumper).

I have done no welding so I'm asking one of you with welding experience, if it would be possible to have someone re-weld the bracket on to the bumper, without damaging the chrome finish on the outside of the bumper?

[olzed]

You might be able to weld it back on if you stand the bumper a shallow tub of water to absorb the heat. Of course you wouldn't want the water spilling over the weld area. It should have a good chance of working.

[ajmcforester]

The problem is to re-weld the part and to make sure you have good penetration will more than likely discolor the chrome. Otherwise it will not hold. You might want to talk to a bumper chroming specialist they should help many prefer to do the repairs because some people just do not do it right for re-plating. My question in the first place is why did it brake, did someone hit you, was the bumper not fixed property before. These just bolt to stabilize the bumper and when the bumper and fenders are good their is only a .25-.5" gap.

[Patcon]

I agree with ajmcforester, it will be hard to keep the heat down enough to weld it without turning the chrome blue from the heat. Also I agree why did it break? Did it rust and break or break from stress? If you want to risk it and try welding it you might be able to buff the chrome and polish the blue back out. I am assuming the blue is a form of oxidation so it shouldn't be very deep. Whether the chrome is thick enough to allow sufficient buffing I have no idea. On second thought if the break is not directly on the back of the chrome face bar and you have some distance you might could place it in water or on top of an ice pack. Can you get a picture of the break with the bumper off?

Charles

[siteunseen]

Looks like the bolt to me. Maybe it's just loose? maybe my eyes are going bad? (most likely the latter)

Edited October 14, 2014 by siteunseen

[siteunseen]

I went and looked at one I just took off. It looks like it was stamped on originally.

If you need any more pictures, let me know.

[tlorber]

They are not "stamped" on, they are spot welded. My advice would be to drill a hole where the spot weld was (two of them) and then plug weld (fill in the holes) with a mig welder while having the bracket clamped to the bumper. Both surfaces must be ground down to clean, bare metal. You may be able to weld it without discoloration by hitting it with short bursts, but the functional aspect is more important that the cosmetic one.

Absent of welding, you could try an epoxy like JB weld. You have a decent amount of surface area to bond to. This is not as permanent of a fix but it might suit your purpose.

[zKars]

To expand on Tlorber's comments about using an adhesive, which I think is about the only hope you have of making an invisible repair, there are some pretty agressive and strong bonding agents out there now. No need to weld I would think. Epoxies are one option, but do a bit of goggling about bonding body panels and look at the line of 3M products.

[Sean240Z]

Guys, thank you for all your input. The bracket broke where it first contacts the bumper, it was somewhat corroded. Also, the bumper had taken a slight hit (in the very middle) before I installed it on my car (I bought it used); consequently the ends are flexed outwards slightly. This summer, I retightened the bumper and needed to force the end inwards to start the threads on the bolt, so I'm sure that contributed to the failure.

Over the winter, I'll attempt to repair it using an epoxy or maybe fabricate a new bracket and use the existing trim bolt (can be seen in siteunseen's pic above, just below the bracket), to secure it to the bumper. If that doesn't work, I'll convince my wife I need to buy a new Euro style chrome or stainless bumper

Cheers,

Edited October 14, 2014 by Sean240Z

[ajmcforester]

You need to get the bumper back to shape, otherwise you will have this problem again.

The other thing is you can put the rubber pieces back on the bumper when you weld the bracket on, that would cover the blue sections in the chrome.

Paul's Chrome is one of the best in the county, it might be cheaper to send your bumpers, and have them repaired and re-chromed from them than to buy a new stainless steel bumper.

[Sean240Z]

To follow up, I ended up making an "L" shaped support from some scrap 11 gauge steel I had lying around. I used JB weld to secure the bumper mount and support bracket. The bracket appears to be firmly attached to the bumper and is reinstalled on the Z. I guess I'l see how it holds up after I get the Z back on the road in the spring. Thanks again for your advice.