A lunchtime rear bumper easter egg...
The rear bumper had to come off to replace a broken parking sensor. The passenger side bolt turned 90° and seized so I unbolted the bumper mount and took it off complete
Bumper bolts are easy enough to get, whereas the aluminium bracket it bolts in to is not, so sacrifice the bolt to save the bracket. Off with it's head!
Then remove the two torx screws holding the bracket to the bumper
Leaving this:
Mount in the vice and weld a nut on to the stump of the bolt so it can be turned
and screw it
in to the bracket. Trying to force it out would destroy the thread in the bracket...
...and this is why. The exposed threads have corroded and galled the aluminium when the bolt was turned. Forcing it out of the bracket at this point would pull the gall through the bracket and tear the thread out with it rendering it kaput.
Chop the damaged thread off the bolt
and now it unscrews easily and leaves the bracket intact
Mounted back on the bumper
I have spare bolts for when it goes back on
