Has anybody heard of this?

I have heard of this on another thread. Sorry all the information I know.

I changed out my V6 bumper to a GT bumper. Under the GT bumper on the backside where the exhaust is there is only 3 push pin type of body plugs holding it in place on 3 tabs that are part of and built into the bumper and they look half way split when you look at them. When I opened up the box that had my takeoff GT bumper I thought that they were partially snapped in half when it took it out which kinds pissed me off at first. This was until I took my V6 bumper off and they were identical. It comes from the factory like this because mine was a Saleen takeoff mod and the license plate screws werent even screwed in yet confirming it was brand new. Worse yet is the V6 only has 2 of the push pins! Not very sturdy for sure but thats the way it was produced from Ford.

Here are some pics Jason sent me showing the added support brace his
dealer put on the rear bumper.

http://2005stang.com/gallery/displayimage.php?album=lastup&cat=0&pos=0

http://2005stang.com/gallery/displayimage.php?album=lastup&cat=0&pos=1

http://2005stang.com/gallery/displayimage.php?album=lastup&cat=0&pos=2

Hmmm...I bounced a deer off the corner of mine at 60, and it seemed pretty stout. Maybe I should recheck...

Has anyone heard of this?

I guess "out of sight-out of mind". The repairs probably work to help support the bumper but they look rather amature. If that is not a Ford authorized fix I would think that it would affect the re-sale value of the vehicle and it might appear that the repair was the result of an accident.

adrenal said:

My friend Jason who has an identical '05GT to mine came over today and during our conversation told me that his girl friend was following him one day at 70+ MPH and noticed the rear bumper seemed to be very loose and moving in and out very quickly and that she thought the
license plate was about to come loose.

Click to expand...

ultraclyde said:

Hmmm...I bounced a deer off the corner of mine at 60, and it seemed pretty stout. Maybe I should recheck...

Click to expand...

Say What?

You bounced a deer off the corner of your rear bumper at 60?

Were you going backwards at the time, or were you just being chased by a very fast deer?:laughlitt

My thoughts too, but I was afraid to ask!!!

GTYUP V8

I've noticed the same problem with all GT rear bumbers including mine when I followed my wife driving mine. All that deal did was change where that center hanger was bolted. They just turned it down into that center panel. That is not an acceptable fix because as time goes by all 3 of those rubber braces will fail. Just look at the glue they put on it where it is molded to the bumper!! The body shop that did my stripes looked at the rear bumber and even suggested I do exactly what your pictures show. I did not do that because it puts too much stress on that molded crease. I thought about making alumminum braces to put all around the center but havnt came up with a proper solution. Any structual engineers out there with some ideas??