I just bought a 1987 S4; it is in quite nice shape appearance-wise, having been repainted extremely well at some point a few years ago.

I've noticed that the rear bumper cover has a strange distortion; the piece above the left tail light bows upward, leaving a gap over the light and pressing the cover into the closed hatch door corner, where they rub.

I took the light out to see if there was possibly something stuck in the cavity that would cause this, but everything looks normal. Any idea what could have caused this distortion or how to correct it? It is a very nicely repainted cover, to have this unfortunate flaw. I'm also worried it will cause water intrusion through the tail light cavity.

-Sean

 

My rear bumper was deformed and I made up a foam insert from faom blocks and shaped to the correct profile required and fitted it between the shock absorbing aluminium bumper and the inside of the rear bumper. It worked great.

It required the rear bumper to be removed.

Tails 1990 928S4 Auto

 

Hi Sean: Can you post a picture?

 

Uh, sorry folks,

digital photo capabilities are sadly offline at the moment.

-SF

 

The car was probably hit in the back. Did you ask the PO why was the car repainted?

 

Could maybe be related to heat from the exhaust? bruce

 

My thought was maybe there is something I don't know about how this cover is supposed to be attached. Replacing the cover after removal for painting and new seals could possibly have been botched.

I just fixed a similar problem with the lower dam under the front bumper; it was bowed downward on one corner, and I found that it had broken free from two mounting screws and gotten caught on the wrong side of a mounting bracket. A few careful minutes with a screwdriver, and it is back in line, inside the bracket correctly.

 

+1.

There are collapsible bumper shocks that are one-time use. Either one is collapsed (either partially or completely) or when it was hit the mount for the bumper shock may have been bent. I think Andrew found this with his car.

My rear bumper had a distinct 'pucker' to it that was solved by removing the plastic bumper, replacing the bumper shocks and then gently heating the rear bumper cover with a heat gun and getting it back to it's original shape before replacing it.

Pics would definitely help you get a better answer from someone on here.

 

OK folks,

I guess a picture is really worth 1000 words, because it seems like my description is not understood.

I will try to redo this with pics soon, but just for now I will clarify that I am talking only about the tiny 2-inch thick section of the bumper that lies between the tail light and the hatch. This little section is bowed upward slightly. That's it.

The notion that such a small distortion on the corner would be caused by problems at the bumper shocks doesn't add up.

-Sean

 

Sean your right a picture would make things perfectly clear . From your info it sounds like one or more of the PU cover screws are not tight or one of them didnt go into its mounting hole and is pressing the PU cover outwards...
If the shocks are bad ( pressed in)then the PU will be distorted around the tops of the bumperettes

 

Exactly what caused my rear bumper cover to look like a overly large behind on a bar stool, one cheek not quite accommodated... Namely, I had reinstalled it incorrectly, and one section was caught under the bumper itself. It was that way for quite a while, and it took about the same length of time to reform itself after I put it back on correctly, but finally it did. Take a careful look underneath and see if you have the same problem.