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Bumper Rot 200

posted by  RicoS on  Thu Jan 8 11:14 CST 2015
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last visit: Fri Oct 24 02:18 CST 2014
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OK, it's happened to a second 240, so it's not a fluke. The elements and the laws of chemistry conspired to rot away a rear bumper around its mounting holes. Once again, I dutifully gusseted the bumper and secured it to its mountings enough to last through what life remains in the car.

But, I still have 3 very nice 240's with bumpers that have spent little time in the Northeast. With an eye towards preservation, has anyone tried a dielectric mounting scheme in order to prevent the galvanic erosion of the aluminum bumpers? Or else, are solid 240 bumpers (1990 - 1993) still generally available in the boneyards of milder climates?

Rich (Near Pittsburgh)








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    Bumper Rot - 240 galvanic reaction - drill the 4th hole and mount with fresh metal 200

    posted by  FitzFitzgerald on  Thu Jan 8 12:37 CST 2015
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    last visit: Wed Jun 25 23:15 CST 2014
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    My best advice is to drill out and utilize the "4th" bolt position for the bumper mount. You'll notice that only 3 of the 4 holes were drilled to attach the bumper shocks to the aluminum channel. I've done this on my own vehicles and it works great. Lube it up with a bunch of sticky dielectric grease, or marine grease if you don't have a dielectric compound.

    Here in Michigan, the road salt (mixed with splash-water) accelerates the galvanic reaction. Do you live in a wet climate or go through car washes frequently?

    God bless, Fitz.








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      Bumper Rot - 240 galvanic reaction - drill the 4th hole and mount with fresh metal 200

      posted by  RicoS on  Thu Jan 8 13:33 CST 2015
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      last visit: Fri Oct 24 02:18 CST 2014
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      No, I don't live in a wet climate, but the roads do turn into a salt bath. I live in Johnstown, PA surrounded by fairly low, but steep hills, so the roads are always salted. My daily drivers spend the winter in the cooler and then I treat them to a good bath in the spring.

      I've taken advantage of the spared bumper mount hole plus I plated the bumper with 1/4" X 1" AL bar stock. The splined bumper bolts are just long enough to re-use them and catch a full nut even with the extra thickness of the plating and the 1" dimension fits the channels in the bumper nicely. It's surprising how relatively easy it is to chip off the corred AL caa-caa from the bolts.

      Thank, Fitz, for turning on the light regarding the grease. I'd forgotten about the tons of No-Ox I've seen smeared on AL-CU electrical connections.

      Best,
      Rich (Near Pittsburgh)







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