Extending bumper shocks?

[Daily02]

I did a search and I can only find threads about collasping the diving board shocks. Is there a way to extend them back to original, or are they sacrificed upon inpact? One is compressed about 20mm on one side on the rear bumper.

 

Regards

 

Dono

[Russell74Fjord]

I have heard of folks spreading them apart, I haven't needed to. 

 

I think they are supposed to bounce back, return to their original position. on their own when compressed.

 

One person had a cable system, wrapped around bumper and something very strong, like a telephone pole them "drove" away, slowly to re-position bumper and shocks - pulled them out. Others have taken them out, placed shocks in a vise pounded them to the fully extended position. 

[esty]

for them to work as intended you'll have to get new shocks or repair the old ones, collapsing them requires drilling holes and removing the compression fluid

[Daily02]

I'll try taking them out and extexding them. I see some on eBay, but don't want to buy another crushed one. Since it is a daily driver I want the full diving boards on both ends just in case. Thanks!

 

Regards

 

Dono

[esty]

they will work as well as or better than the small chrome bumpers that are no more than ornamental...pull them out and put a bolt through them to keep them from collapsing  

[Son of Marty]

In the land of suv's and pick em up trucks all 02 bumpers are mostly useless as the bumpers of these monsters are too high to engauge with your bumpers.

[TobyB]

...now I want to put a 2002 shell onto my spare 92 Ferd Eff wun Fiddy frame.

 

t

 

[Gordon]

4 hours ago, Daily02 said:

I'll try taking them out and extexding them. I see some on eBay, but don't want to buy another crushed one. Since it is a daily driver I want the full diving boards on both ends just in case. Thanks!

 

Regards

 

Dono

Diving board bumpers won't save your 02 if you're in an accident with a pickup/SUV.  The bumpers on these vehicles sit much higher than a 2002 bumper.  AMHIK!  The majority of new vehicles sold in the US are pickup/SUV's so the issue isn't going away any time soon. 

[JohnS]

I suffered a low speed rear impact on my '74 back in the 80's and those big bumpers saved my car from being totaled.  The low speed impact collapsed two of the three rear bumper shocks and I ended up having to get new ones because we couldn't fix the collapsed ones.  They did their job.  Good luck,

John

Edited May 18, 2023 by JohnS

[Daily02]

Thanks John,

 

Considering that about 65% of vehicles are not SUX's or pickups I want this type of protection. It saved the previous owner at some point: )

 

Regards

 

Dono

[Conserv]

If you parallel park frequently, the U.S. big bumpers will save you LOTS of headaches — money, time, anger, and frustration. They are 5-mph bumpers, and that’s their sweet spot. Beyond parallel parking, their highest and best use is as a seat while you’re drinking a beer: the rear bumper being much better than the front for this application… I’ve heard… 😉

 

Regards,

 

Steve

 

[Jimmy]

On 5/17/2023 at 1:40 PM, Daily02 said:

I did a search and I can only find threads about collasping the diving board shocks. Is there a way to extend them back to original, or are they sacrificed upon inpact? One is compressed about 20mm on one side on the rear bumper.

 

Regards

 

Dono

 

They were meant to be single use. The "5 mph" part just means a 5 mph impact cannot damage lights, the engine, or anything related to the safety of the vehicle like brakes or fuel system. In 1980 they expanded the law to limit allowable damage to the bumper itself.  

 

Even if the shocks are compressed because they have taken an impact and were not drilled and "pushed in" or "tucked" by someone for stylistic reasons, it's common for the moving parts to be scratched as they compress together, damaging the metal and potentially the seal. If one could successfully pull them back out, and the seal, oil, and nitrogen remained intact, the scraped portion is likely to rust resulting in impaired function in a subsequent impact. It's also common in cases where only one side compressed that the uncompressed side gets bent a bit and doesn't compress as easily if at all. 

 

That being said, an original shock on a driver that's been aged and weathered may not function as intended, either. 

 

If you just want it to look better, pull it out with a chain. If you want it to work as new, find some new shocks or have yours repaired and restored. I have no idea what the prospects are for either option. 

[Conserv]

10 hours ago, Jimmy said:

 

…If you want it to work as new, find some new shocks or have yours repaired and restored. I have no idea what the prospects are for either option…

 

Thank you!

 

I believe, Jimmy, that there are LOTS of used, and not-yet-compressed bumper shocks out there. So many that they should all be free, but somehow they’re not!
 

I have a vague recollection that there are three part numbers: (1.) 2 front bumper shocks, (2.) 2 rear outer shocks, and (3.) 1 rear center shock. So not interchangeable — I think.

 

About once a year, I see an NOS example listed on eBay, at a price I’d never pay! Maybe it’s the same one year after year!

 

Best regards,

 

Steve

 

[calw]

In years to come, we'll find out that the rarest '02's will be the square tail light cars with original un-tucked bumpers.  Wait and see...

[Daily02]

25 minutes ago, calw said:

In years to come, we'll find out that the rarest '02's will be the square tail light cars with original un-tucked bumpers.  Wait and see...

LOL!