Panel gap: Solved

[JRoman]

Fantastic Job there!

If Ford only still followed their motto "Quality is Job 1" from years back, we wouldnt have this issue.

:ford:

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[krt22]

Good write up but one possible issue. What if the whole black mounting piece is what is sliding down over time?

 

[xXANCHORMONXx]

Good write up but one possible issue. What if the whole black mounting piece is what is sliding down over time?

I see what your saying. The brackets in pic 1/2 were both low before adjusting them. Judging by the markings on the screws they did not move but were not installed properly.

Also the tab were I put the screw in does not do a very good job of holding the bumper up which is why the screw was added.

 

[krt22]

Gotcha. I only say that because when I got mine, the gap was fine, and it has increase over time, so I wouldn't know for sure which component was moving due to the the extra weight of the GT350 specific bumper. If I do this I might put a dab of epoxy on each bracket as well.

 

[machsmith]

That's the beauty of it, the screw only goes into the plastic tab. It goes no where near metal.

You'd probably be ok with the screw but the bumper is heavy. A lot heavier than it looks

Cool, didn't want to put a hole in the metal Haha, still hate holes but I could handle it in the plastic. I'll probably try a couple screws and a little fastener. Basically sandwiching the tab between a top plate and nut block.
Thanks again for the write up. Got it saved in my files. Someday when I get tired of it, or it gets too bad, I'll give it a go.

 

[rb92gt]

Great work! Mine is also black so any gap is barely noticeable. I did realign my front passenger fender to "catch" the front bumper tab by the headlight as it was assembled "untucked"

Can you elaborate a little, I have the same problem on my front driver side. Car being black definitely hides the "Ford Quality" for the most part except for this.

 

[ARS1]

After washing mine today I have a slight gap on the rear bumper but the other gaps look pretty good. The car is Black so it doesn't stand out and it's OK for right now. If it starts to sag though I'll be doing this :cheers:

 

[EF300]

nicely done ! I am debating weather or not I care enough to do this.

 

[montreal ponies]

Gotcha. I only say that because when I got mine, the gap was fine, and it has increase over time, so I wouldn't know for sure which component was moving due to the the extra weight of the GT350 specific bumper. If I do this I might put a dab of epoxy on each bracket as well.

That is exactly what i did on mine. I ended up using my floor jack and a 2X4 cut to the right lenght to serve as a lever to jack up the bumper while the epoxy was curing.

 

[Cobra Jet]

Just curious - how is your tail light to bumper cover alignment (where bottom of tails meet cover top) and the gaps in between the tails and the center trunk lid panel? What about the gaps near the side of the tails where it meets the 1/4 panel sheet metal - any issues with trying to realign after correcting the bumper cover?

*I would certainly add this to the DIY sub-forum, it will help all S550 owners for sure. Thanks for the detailed info and pics!

 

[Relak]

Thanks for the write-up, the finished product looks 1000x better. On a side note, I'm going to start a gofundme to get you some proper disposable gloves haha. I bought similar ones from target once to try them out, they didn't last five minutes into my project. Harbor Freight has some heavy duty ones that are thicker and last the whole project. Thanks again though!

 

[Rich of So Cal]

I looked up "simple" in the dictionary. That's not it!!! :headbonk:

But nice job.

 

[chops44]

I had my car at the local ford dealership for another repair and they offered to fix my bumper sag while it was there. I showed the body shop manager this repair method and they did it!! Looks way better and I expect it will hold just fine.

 

[Mootang]

I am going to try this over the weekend since my rear bumper is already off. Nice write up!

 

[johnny1]

Printed off this how do and gave it to my Ford service department. My 2016 blue with black stripes has the sag, you can even see the tabs on the top edge. I only have a little under 3,000 miles on car. We have a very reputable body shop here that has done work for me before and does there body work. I told them I didn't want to do any thing till spring cause didn't want them unnecessarily messing with plastic in cold weather but want them to see if Ford will pay to correct mine. Service said to let them know when I wanted to see and they would write a ticket and see if Ford will take care of it. Hope so, we'll see come spring.

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