Long story short my wife drove over a curb and what now looks like she was stopped by a pole. (more info here: https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...425-post1.html)

I'm pretty bummed. After removing the front spoiler I uncovered something I wasn't quite ready for. The crash prevention bumper frame got bent (see below). Now I know she hit the pole and that's what stopped her...

Now I really could use some support to help me decide what to do
Nothing else seemed damaged. The IC got close though but it's not touching. All the painted body parts are okay which is amazing considering the bend.

1: It looks like I could put everything back together and pretend it never happened. Visually nothing would really be noticeable. The main upper bumper metal frame has not been affected as far as I can tell.
I just put everything back together and you wouldn't know something behind is bent.

2: That all said I am a little concerned the frame has being hit enough that in case of an accident it could possibly reduce protection so I may have to change it, I'm not sure...

2a: The car is new from this last August and that's a real bummer. I could just take it to the dealer. Have them quote me the repairs and have our insurance take care of it. Ofcourse the car would take a real hit on its value and I would still have to pay for deductible.

2b: It looks like I could also entertain doing the work myself. It does't look too bad to do myself (I very manual) but I'm not familiar with removing the MINI entire front bumper and I'm not quite sure what I'd be getting into yet. Further more I'm having a hard time identifying the metal bumper part frame and I'd need to find information on bolt torque numbers as well...

Anyway, can anyone chirp in and help me out decide what to do...
What do you think I should do?
1
2a
2b






Ps: since it's a more significant repair I'm creating this thread which now seems to be more appropriate here, on this section of the forum... sorry for the duplicate posts.


.

 

I would PM one or more of the vendors on here (ie Way, ECS, etc). See what they would recommend. For example, if the bent part is replaceable, I would certainly do that.

 

I would replace the bent bumper frame as well. You will need to remove the front end or better know as service mode. To do this look on here for details on how to put your MINI in service mode. I wouldn't chance leaving it at all.. Its weak and if it gets hit there again you will have much more damage then just the bumper frame. Im sure you can order that part from a vendor on here.. Not sure if a junk yard would sell just that piece. But I would order new anyways. Good luck!

 

Thank you. I look into replacing it I think. I just have to figure out if I want to do that myself or have it done and let the insurance pay for the labor since I assume my deductible will be close to the parts them selves.

I contact the vendors and see what they think. It's a good idea since (if I'm not wrong) I think many of them are shops anyway I think.

 

If I'm seeing it correctly, you can do the repair yourself. It is just bolted on.

Taking off the front bumper cover is easy - there are many youtube videos (or visit the Helix website) because you have to do this to replace the intercooler. Since it is the first time for you it will probably take 2 hours to remove the cover.

The metal crash bumper is then held on by 3 nuts on each side.

While your at it replace the stock intercooler with a FMIC, like Helix, Forge, Wagner, etc.

If you decide to replace the bumper cover, then I'd go with the JCW Aerokit version.

NOTE: When trying to reinstall the metal crash bumper I've found it easier to have the wheels on the ground otherwise the car is sometimes torqued and it won't go on very easy. (verse the car being on jack stands).



Great color choice BTW.

 

Hey Cerenkov, that's great info. Thank you. It helps me feel a little more confident to go that route.
I've taken off bumpers before and install DP, FMIC, cat back exhaust, shock, trusts, brake components, tune, etc... on my other car.
But I also know every car is a different story and sometime that comes with a lot of swearing

Do you know what torque number to use for the bumper frame?
I recently mounted a hitch receiver but I don't know if the front bolts are torque the same as the rears.

Thanks for the tip as well!


ps: I won't be changing the painted bumper, but I could look into the FMIC.
My wife drive the car weekly so this MINI won't get tuned for a long long time. Plus it still under warranty. So we'll see about that...

Great kite blue by the way . . .


.

 

Another plus to DIY, it won't show up in a carfax..

 

That's what I'm thinking to.
I don't think it hit really hard or there would have been more body and parts damage. It's just the way it the pole, and with the weight of the car, it must have been sufficient to bend that piece where it pushed it (a 1/3 way in from the side). So if when I change it I feel very confident the car would be back to its factory self. Yet I know how the human psyche works and once a car has been in an accident it's natural to feel suspicious regardless how minor the accident, which makes its value drop like no tomorrow . So yes you're right . . . or so I hope

 

I didn't torque them to a spec. I usually do but I didn't in this case because I couldn't find one. I just made sure they were good n tight.

On most model years you don't have to remove the crash bumper for a FMIC but MINI tweaked the design of the crash bumper in ~2012/2013 so we do.

 

I see, all good info. Worse come worse, the car is still relatively new, so if I can't find the torque spec I'll try to measure with a torque wrench until the bolts get loose.

 

I'm thinking you're going to be fine. After all, the air bags didn't deploy, she couldn't have been moving very fast when she hit the pole. Keep us posted how it goes..

 

No I don't think she hit the pole very hard either so you're right.
I'll definitely keep you posted and take a few pictures of the install if/when I do so!

 

The actual torque specs for the 3 13mm (M8) bolts facing forward is: 16 ft-lbs.
Torque for 2 16mm (M12) bolts holding the metal subframe extension (aka crash bumper) to the lower rails is: 74 ft-lbs.

Having removed and re-installed and loosed again that subframe at least 5 times during my engine swap, I ended up zapping all of the above with my 14.4V impact wrench to ~80 ft-lbs. Everyone lived.

a

 

Awesome
This is very helpful considering someone had given me the 16 ft-lbs spec for all of those fasteners...
Thanks a lot!

Parts should arrive by the end of this week if all goes well.

Greg

 

Just got the parts today.
It sounds like I have my Saturday or Friday night cut out for me...

The parts are surprisingly light!

 

That kinda explains how it got bent so easily. Be sure to post some pix of the repair..

 

Yep,

I will...

After I inspect it I probably will put the damaged one up for sale for those doing tracks or those on a budget who feel like messing with it...
I'll see once I inspect it and put them side by side for dimensional comparison.

 

Please tell us *she* will be lending you a hand with this project ...


a

 

You would think that would be fare and a good idea but... let's just say I'm happy to do this quietly on my own
You got a point though . . . I should found something to get in return while I do this

 

Okay, mission accomplished! I spent the entire evening replacing the bumper inner frame...

Replacing the frame itself was pretty easy.
Removing and remounting the bumper wasn't so much fun.
But everything considered it wasn't too bad since I was able to do it in one evening. I was prepared to finish in the morning but that did not happened so over all that was definitely worth doing myself...

Oh, and I could not use the lower crushed tube since for some strange reason the bolts were not threaded :confused5: . . . maybe they are self threading but since I wasn't sure I decided not to take the chance to damage the bolt.
Of course I checked very well the current one and it seemed perfectly fine with no deformation so I feel fine about not having been able to replace it.











The last thing I didn't do tonight is cleanup the garage and put the car back on the ground

A bit tired now