Bumper Blowout

[Kneale Brownson]

Just a heads up regarding rustbelt vehicles:

Couple days ago I walked  past my 200q20v sedan and noticed the rear bumper
cover was loose on one side and slightly askew.  Figured I'd lost the bolt,
but couldn't understand how it came loose without taking out that little
cap that fills the hole in the cover.  Pulled the cap, and there was the
bolt, tight as ever.  Pulled both bolts, pulled the cover, and the steel
part the bolt holds onto the shock-like extensions from the frame on the
"loose" side remained in place.  The alloy metal bar beneath the plastic
cover had corroded around the bolts attaching the steel brackets enough
that they'd come loose completely on that side.  On the other side, two of
the three bolt holes also had given way.  I forgot to take pix before doing
my fix, but what I did was separate the metal bar from the cover and go get
six 8X25mm bolts to replace the 8X18mm bolts.  I added  heavy large washers
to cover the corroded out holes in the bar so I could fasten it securely to
the brackets.  Reinstall the cover on the bar and reinstall the rear bumper
on the car.

So we have an alloy metal bar with steel bolts and washers in an area that
gets wetted regularly and salted all winter.  The alloy just turns to powder.