PontiacBonnevilleClub.com

Broken plastic parts are like the worst nightmare. Looks like the Devcon epoxy might hold in this application though.

It is. Especially 20+ yr old plastic that's all dried out. I forget the specifics on the Bonneville bumper but it was injection molded and couldn't even be plastic welded.

On the smaller side, I'll eventually dig more into using my 3D printer for stuff but I'm still only a hand full of prints deep in that direction.

I'm pretty naive on plastic composition, but it seems like hard inflexible plastics can be generally successfully welded or repaired. Flexy plastics, on the other hand, not so much. Like dirt bike fenders - they can be kluged together, but once you snap one off it's pretty much toast.

I think that's a good rule of thumb. Especially for thinner or old plastic. I went back through my Bonneville posts about messing with the bumper and found it was thermoset and not thermoplastic. Thermoset cannot be melted down or plastic welded after it's molded into it's initial shape where thermoplastics can.

The front fender liners are cracked on this car. Replacements aren't in the budget and I know plastic welding them will just warp them then fail. I see fender liners on the side of the street all the time. So, I actually picked one up to cut up then use as a backing plate for epoxy repair. I'm going to try "3M 04240 4240 Semi-Rigid Plastic Repair Urethane" for that one.

I also bought a 59k transfer case in CT that I have to pick up some time soon. I've more or less narrowed down a grinding noise down to the TC. About 45k miles and 6-7 years ago a nut on the side of the TC mysteriously came loose and was leaking. The nut torques down one of the two shafts (excluding the output) internal to the TC and I'm assuming sets preload for all bearings on that shaft. I remember re-torquing it to whatever spec I could find and punching the nut again so it would stay. Ultimately though something like that would reduce the life of some of the bearings. I did change the fluid 10k miles ago and there was some material on the drain plug. More than I would expect for 40k old fluid (replaced when I got the car and replaced the trans) but it's also only 0.5l of fluid. The output seal is also leaking and at this point I don't want to put any effort into re-sealing that with the likelihood the TC isn't going to last.

Anddd the front driver door lock actuator that's integrated into the latch checked out yesterday. The key still works fortunately. That's ordered. The nice thing is the door card can be R&R'd easier now with my riv nut mod.

Before all that though, I'm planning on knocking out the other front wheel bearing as PM tomorrow. There will be some duplication of effort since the axle and knuckle come apart again on that side for the TC but I know I can't do both in one day at my buddy's shop.

The front passenger wheel bearing R&R went pretty smooth in comparison to the driver side.




The backing plate on the outer brake pad on the passenger side started to twist again so I just removed it on both front brakes. Not ideal but more ideal than having them spin into the rotor again.

If I have a stubborn press-fit bearing I'll commandeer the kitchen and put the bearing in the freezer and the part in the oven (or warm it with a torch if my wife is home). Amazing how much easier it'll drop in after that.

Can also warm the part in the hot sun, just takes a little longer...

That makes sense. I've never really had an issue (yet) getting a new bearing in.

The heat/chill technique works really well for installing crank bearings in a 2-stroke engine with aluminum crankcases, for instance. Bearings practically drop in.

Since I have a couple of those. I'll definitely make a mental note of that!

Here are some pics after the first wash.





Same spot almost to the day, 8 years ago.

The driver's side headlight decided to braze it's self to the connector like the passenger side but I had a new connector and bulb to solder in already from the last round.



I'm planning on picking on the T-case tomorrow. Hopefully that goes smooth.

I did 400ish miles to CT and back today to pick up a 49k transfer case.

Ya do what ya gotta do.

That's a nice parts hauler lol

I'm gonna need to deal with the S2's press in bearings next year before I can track. Just doesn't look like a good time.

It certainly hauls.. lol.

I highly recommend torching the inner race on the hub of you have access to one. I have a gif of that in my M5 thread.

I knocked out a door lock actuator and window switch this weekend. The actuator was integrated into the latch.. The switch has been broken since 2020.. It would work but you had to push it back into place. I pulled a switch in San Diego in '21 and finally remembered to swap it out after having the panel off like a dozen times.

I hate when I finish a job and realize I should have done "this" while I was in "there".

The front bumper support brackets that are riveted in were both previously damaged from the bumper getting bumped. I attempted to repair them pre-paint with my plastic welder and wire mesh but it didn't survive the R&R at the body shop. Getting these locally means spending 5-6 hours plus $50 in gas to go look at a few in a salvage yard that are also likely broken. I found someone on UK ebay selling the brackets removed from the bumper but they weren't shipping to the US. I used their picture and google lens to find Auto Reserve Jaguar, also on that side of the pond, who would ship to the US. It ended up being $70 USD shipped for the pair but it was better than potentially flushing a day down the drain. They also arrived in good shape and it only took about a week.

Originally I was going to re-rivet the bracket back in but didn't have the correct size so I used fasteners I had on-hand.






I also prepped the transfer case for install by replacing the passenger axle seal, output shaft seal and the o-ring for the output shaft bearing carrier housing. For the output shaft nut, I marked it with a dremel and look pics to ensure I ended up with the same bearing preload. Per a TSB I found, I RTV'd around the shaft under the nut and I red loctited the nut. Prior to this I used my bore-scope to verify the internal axle seals were still good. This separates trans fluid from the t-case gear oil. Luckily it was because pretty much the whole unit has to come apart to replace those.

Once more update. I've tried different trim restorers on the rear bumper lower trim over the years but none seem to last. I decided to try painting it this time.

I went with:
SEM 38338 Scuff and Clean with a Grey Scotch Brite pad
SEM 38353 Plastic Prep
SEM 39103 Black Original Flexible Bumper Coater

Plasti-Dip works pretty well for an application like that too. Which reminds me, after 10 years it's about time to re-do the plasti-dip on the sub-bumper of my 03 Silverado.

I actually completely forgot about plasti-dip. I painted a set of winter wheels for the i30 with it and it seemed to hold up.

I've never gone this trim paint route before. I've seen others do it and now I guess I'll see how well it does. Hopefully it lasts longer then dye, gel, and oil products I've tried before.

I got the transfer case in that I picked up last month. It was a little more of a PITA than I remember since a R&R was required for the trans replacement I did when I got the car. That was 8 years ago though.. One bolt in particular was past the rear bank cat and the TC. It really required a torque adapter that I didn't have. I broke it loose with a 13mm stubby gear wrench and a pry bar and worked it that way for probably 30 mins or more. I also broke a bolt for the rear bank exhaust manifold band clamp when I was torquing it back down but that was easy to fix. Honestly that was like getting away with murder considering it's a salt belt car. The car/engine now has about 120k, trans has about 87k and this transfer case has 59k.





I also replaced the front wheel liners with aftermarket ones. Both had cracks where they attached to the bumper support brackets I replaced a few posts back.