I am getting ready to put my car in storage for the winter, the first on my to-do list is fix my bumer.

The bumper was a new one from Gm put on back in 2001 when the car was painted. The problems lies with the way it sags on one side only.

All the pieces are there, so i am not sure why it sags like that. Any idea how i can remedy that? I would rather not buy a new bumper cover, this style is really expensive.

Can i put something behind it to push it up? Foam or something.

I really need to get my front end aligned, any ideas?

I have attached a pic so you can see.

Ignore the diry wheels

 

You can adjust the front clip yourself. But to do it, it's easiest to remove the headlight buckets otherwise you have to get under the car, and trust me, where you have to loosen the bolts that attach the front clip, there is absolutely NO room for your hands. You will need a 10mm deep socket. There are two machine screws on the top part of the headlight buckets that hold them in, and two lined up in a row on the bottom. Pull the buckets straight up and out, disconnecting both the lamp and the motor. If you look towards the fender side of the holes left behind by the lights, you will see four 10mm nuts on a bracket that holds the clip in place. You will need to loosen all eight to get the clip to pivot properly. After that, realign the clip, tighten it up, reinstall the headlights, and go!

 

I guess i am unaware of any clip that would adjust that part of my bumper.

Are we talking about something diff, or am i just confused?

 

bump

 

No,no,no, the front bumper is called the front clip by GM, and that's how I refer to it.

 

here is what i am saying, my bumper is adjusted fine, there is just a single low spot on it, i am trying to even that spot out.

Thanks for your help, but i think we are talking about different things.

If you look at my pic, look across the top of my front bumper, you will see a dark spot, that is where it is low, i am trying to fix that. The bumper is on there correctly, but it has been pushed in somehow.


Thanks

 

Are you talking about that spot by the center of the hood? If you are I have no idea how to fix it other than to go hunting in a J/Y for a new one, but you can remove the front clip and try pressing it out with your hands. Now, if only someone would tell me how to even my hood with the front bumper... the driver's side is about a half inch too high at the end of the center part of the bumper and is annoying the s**t out of me... I've done everything I can think of to no avail... I"M TOO BROKE RIGHT NOW TO AFFORD A NEW HOOD!

 

What you have there is heat sag. These cars have a nasty habit of the bumper covers warping from sitting in direct sunlight for long periods of time. The only thing Ive even heard of remotely helping is to remove the cover, affix something to the back of it to straighten it out and use a heat gun to heat the plastic and SOMETIMES it will flatten back out. Other than that the only thing you can do is replace it. Also I was told once by Roy Fender at thirdgen resouce, that he was making bumper covers that were suppose to be thicker to avoid the warping, but I never checked back to see if he actually did it. Might be worth asking about, but Roys reputation around this board isnt very good.

 

Maverick have you tried useing the hoods adjustment points? There are two rubber stops on the radiator support that can be screwed up or down to aid aligning the hood. Now along the sides of the fenders are rubber stops for the hood to rest on. If these are worn out the hood can sag there also.

 

I've done that. The hood needs to be BENT back into it's original shape. I've put the rubber stop all the way down and all the hood does is wiggle in that corner, but it looks the same. And as far as I can tell, everything from the rad support foreward has been replaced, as they have numbers on them that say things like (on the front metal bumper support) 85 Trans Am (not original for an 87 base model, now, is it?

 

Actually it could be original, BUT with that stamped on it I highly doubt it. I have to cut out the rad support in my current project car (88 bird) and replace it due to an accident myself. Doesnt look like too big of a deal. Good luck with the hood... sounds like something is tweaked.

 

Yeah, I'll deal with it during the winter while it's in storage.