DIY: W123 Bumper tuck.
DIY: W123 Bumper tuck.
From this:
![[Image: 15052011259-1.jpg]](http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g233/rolfi2/w123/15052011259-1.jpg)
To this:
![[Image: 07a6d108-1-1.jpg]](http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g233/rolfi2/w123/07a6d108-1-1.jpg)
This DIY describes how I did this on my car. I am not a trained mechanic, I work on cars as a hobby. The oil will damage the environment if allowed to leak into the ground or into water.
IF YOU CHOOSE TO FOLLOW THIS DIY, YOU ARE DOING IT ENTIRELY ON YOUR OWN RISK! I take absolutely no responsibility for any damages, injuries, legal problems or anything that might occur after following these instructions.
The oil in the shocks is under high pressure, be VERY careful!
You are hereby warned!
Tools and equipment I used:
17mm Combination wrench
13mm Combination wrench
13mm Long socket for ratchet wrench
Ratchet wrench
Drill
1.5 or 2mm drill bit
Brake cleaner or similar cleaning agent
Glue, self-tapping screw or whatever you want to use to seal the hole.
Angle grinder with cutting blade
Permanent marker
Sharp knife (I used a OLFA Non Slip L, with OLFA Ultrasharp black laser cut blade)
A big roll of paper towel
For your own safety:
Wear thick gloves (kevlar is nice), safety goggles and hearing protection. Especially when working with an angle grinder! When dealing with oil under pressure, wear a pair of safety goggles as a minimum!
Time: ~3 hours, if this is your first time.
-
1. Remove front bumper. There are 3 nuts (with washers) on each side, 17mm. A total of 6. Lift up the rubber skirt thing on top of the bumper, and you'll reach all of them.
To avoid damaging the bumper, put a blanket or something soft on the floor/bench and put the bumper down with the backside facing up.
2. Undo the 8 (4 on each side) 13mm nuts that holds the shocks in place. TAKE A PIC, OR BE SURE TO REMEMBER HOW THE SHOCKS SAT. I didn't.......
Now it's going to get messy. So take the shocks outside or somewhere you can clean up the oil that WILL leak out easily.
3. Take your drill (I used a 1.5mm or 2mm drill bit) and drill a "guide track" which isn't deep (not all the way through) around 2cm from the bottom of the shock.
Take a lot of paper off of your roll and hold it around the drill bit, then drill it. (That's why you need the guide track)
You'll feel when you've reached through.
There isn't much oil coming at first, but wrap the shock in more paper.
4. Put the big end of it on the ground, and step on the top of the shock to compress it.
There will be a lot of oil coming out, and without the paper wrapped around the shock it will shoot out like a fountain.
Let as much oil as you want out, then spray it with brake cleaner or something similar and wipe off.
5. Weld, solder or glue (I glued) the hole, and the worst part is done.
This is just to keep the shock compressed, so that it won’t pull itself out, or be possible to pull out. You can drill in a self-tapping screw if you want to. I just sealed the hole with glue.
6. Mount the compressed shocks back on the bumper. Put the bumper on the floor, with the bottom side upwards. You need to cut some pieces off of the bottom, just to be able to put the nuts back on and mount the bumper.
Draw lines where you want to cut. I cut it approximately like this:
![[Image: 5492f437.jpg]](http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g233/rolfi2/5492f437.jpg)
Use a good quality blade for your angle grinder, and have one or two extra just in case.
7. Mount the bumper back on the car, and cut the rubber skirt things to desired length
Then you're done.
If you have questions, comments or corrections, feel free to contact me by PM or by replying in this thread!
-rolfi
1980 Mercedes-Benz 300D (US-spec)
+BMW E12, E21, E28, E30 and E32
DIY: W123 BUMPER TUCK
From this:
To this:
This DIY describes how I did this on my car. I am not a trained mechanic, I work on cars as a hobby. The oil will damage the environment if allowed to leak into the ground or into water.
IF YOU CHOOSE TO FOLLOW THIS DIY, YOU ARE DOING IT ENTIRELY ON YOUR OWN RISK! I take absolutely no responsibility for any damages, injuries, legal problems or anything that might occur after following these instructions.
The oil in the shocks is under high pressure, be VERY careful!
You are hereby warned!
Tools and equipment I used:
17mm Combination wrench
13mm Combination wrench
13mm Long socket for ratchet wrench
Ratchet wrench
Drill
1.5 or 2mm drill bit
Brake cleaner or similar cleaning agent
Glue, self-tapping screw or whatever you want to use to seal the hole.
Angle grinder with cutting blade
Permanent marker
Sharp knife (I used a OLFA Non Slip L, with OLFA Ultrasharp black laser cut blade)
A big roll of paper towel
For your own safety:
Wear thick gloves (kevlar is nice), safety goggles and hearing protection. Especially when working with an angle grinder! When dealing with oil under pressure, wear a pair of safety goggles as a minimum!
Time: ~3 hours, if this is your first time.
-
1. Remove front bumper. There are 3 nuts (with washers) on each side, 17mm. A total of 6. Lift up the rubber skirt thing on top of the bumper, and you'll reach all of them.
To avoid damaging the bumper, put a blanket or something soft on the floor/bench and put the bumper down with the backside facing up.
2. Undo the 8 (4 on each side) 13mm nuts that holds the shocks in place. TAKE A PIC, OR BE SURE TO REMEMBER HOW THE SHOCKS SAT. I didn't.......
Now it's going to get messy. So take the shocks outside or somewhere you can clean up the oil that WILL leak out easily.
3. Take your drill (I used a 1.5mm or 2mm drill bit) and drill a "guide track" which isn't deep (not all the way through) around 2cm from the bottom of the shock.
Take a lot of paper off of your roll and hold it around the drill bit, then drill it. (That's why you need the guide track)
You'll feel when you've reached through.
There isn't much oil coming at first, but wrap the shock in more paper.
4. Put the big end of it on the ground, and step on the top of the shock to compress it.
There will be a lot of oil coming out, and without the paper wrapped around the shock it will shoot out like a fountain.
Let as much oil as you want out, then spray it with brake cleaner or something similar and wipe off.
5. Weld, solder or glue (I glued) the hole, and the worst part is done.
This is just to keep the shock compressed, so that it won’t pull itself out, or be possible to pull out. You can drill in a self-tapping screw if you want to. I just sealed the hole with glue.
6. Mount the compressed shocks back on the bumper. Put the bumper on the floor, with the bottom side upwards. You need to cut some pieces off of the bottom, just to be able to put the nuts back on and mount the bumper.
Draw lines where you want to cut. I cut it approximately like this:
Use a good quality blade for your angle grinder, and have one or two extra just in case.
7. Mount the bumper back on the car, and cut the rubber skirt things to desired length
Then you're done.
If you have questions, comments or corrections, feel free to contact me by PM or by replying in this thread!
-rolfi
1980 Mercedes-Benz 300D (US-spec)
+BMW E12, E21, E28, E30 and E32
3 Guest(s)
3 Guest(s)