Bumper mount/energy absorbers

Camtron

Camtron

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Has anyone made solid bumper mounts for their car?
I have an 89 Fifth Ave and have one energy absorber pushed in on both my front and rear bumpers. It drives me crazy. Was checking to see if anyone had made their own solid mounts or had any luck pulling the absorber back out to normal position. Things are $165 + shipping for the few I’ve found online.
Thanks for any info.
 
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Yes if you have only one pushed in the angle of the bumper could be holding it in. Sometimes a pull from a 5 lb slide hammer will release it or a push from a porta power.
 
Oldiron440 said:
Yes if you have only one pushed in the angle of the bumper could be holding it in. Sometimes a pull from a 5 lb slide hammer will release it or a push from a porta power.
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Didn’t think about the angle keeping it wedged in. Thanks for the info, will try to pull them out this weekend with my slide hammer
 
Get a chain and a tree (or another immovable object). In most cases (and being gentle) the bumper shock(s) (yes, a bad name to call them) should pull back out. The only cases I’ve seen they will not pull back out is when a lot of damage is involved.

I reckon a slide hammer might do it - but I wouldn’t want to go that way myself (too much work).
BudW
 
Camtron said:
Has anyone made solid bumper mounts for their car?
Click to expand...
The J-body’s all used solid bumper mounts – but they also didn’t have the heavy bumpers either. Some J’s use a metal bumper but most used a rubber/plastic bumper cover over a metal bumper (bumperette?).
BudW
 
The bumper "shocks" are basically a piston inside a cylinder held tight by rubber. They will come back out, it takes quite a bit of force though. A slide hammer probably won't get you very far but it's worth a shot, you never know! Most likely you'll need some sort of hydraulic assistance.
 
Thanks for the replies, very appreciated. Maybe I can work them free this weekend;some time after I replace my shocks, brakes and tie rods, install my ISO delete kit and fix my exhaust leak off my left header. Just chain up to my neighbors tow hooks and try to pull them out lol
 
It will take longer to find and drag out the chain than the rest of the job will take.
A great idea on using someone’s existing tow hook(s).
BudW
 
When i was a kid I pulled one out with a chain and a tree. I sure there was better ways but that was all I had at the time.
 
Just pulled some rear ones from a mid 80's Diplomat. At the back, where the end is secured, there is a stud & nut like a shock mount. I removed the nut & the shock slid out of the mounting.
 
Camtron said:
Has anyone made solid bumper mounts for their car?
I have an 89 Fifth Ave and have one energy absorber pushed in on both my front and rear bumpers. It drives me crazy. Was checking to see if anyone had made their own solid mounts or had any luck pulling the absorber back out to normal position. Things are $165 + shipping for the few I’ve found online.
Thanks for any info.
Click to expand...

Start asking around the demo derby guys for bumper shocks. The love running these cars , I did . Pulling them out can be a hazard to a cherry picker , I learned the hard way. If your looking to make them solid yourself then by all means grab some black iron pipe and weld away.It's not hard.
 
Its semi easy to take them and cut (sawzall with metal blade or band saw, dont torch them) the inner end off (the car side, not the bumper side) and remove the oil and piston and then moch them up for proper fitment then weld them into there bracket that bolts to the end of the frame so in the end they are solid.

It does remove some weight and makes them solid. The wall thickness is a surprise because they are thicker then one would think like a heavy pipe so if you found the right diameter pipe youd save a hair more weight but this way is the most simple from a fab standpoint.
 
XfbodyX said:
Its semi easy to take them and cut (sawzall with metal blade or band saw, dont torch them) the inner end off (the car side, not the bumper side) and remove the oil and piston and then moch them up for proper fitment then weld them into there bracket that bolts to the end of the frame so in the end they are solid.

It does remove some weight and makes them solid. The wall thickness is a surprise because they are thicker then one would think like a heavy pipe so if you found the right diameter pipe youd save a hair more weight but this way is the most simple from a fab standpoint.
Click to expand...
Be careful, they do have a coil spring inside. The first one I cut & let it drain the oil out. Then, had in the vice, not real tight, as soon as I only had about an 1/8 of material to finnish cutting thru, it shot the piston & spring across the shop.
 
Used a forklift as an anchor and chained up to it. Popped them right out. Bumper will look great with a quick polish when I get home tonight.
Thanks again for everyone’s reply. Greatly appreciate the input.
 
Not even a month later and, I need a new rear bumper and energy shocks. I got rear ended this afternoon. Tin canned dents, a split in the bumper and both bumper shocks pushed back in.
Taking it in tomorrow for the insurance company to assess damage to see if they’ll repair/replace it pay me out. Luckily the lady admitted fault and didn’t drag anything out.

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