Mazda Bumper to Wolkswagen Passat

[Anonymous No.1755606]

The retardedly retarded Finnish vehicle inspection didn't let my Mazda pass without a spare part that would have cost as much as the car itself, so I decided it was time to give it up and buy a new car more optimized for the Finnish conditions. At the moment the Volkswagen Passat is hideously ugly, but I'll make new fins to it as soon as the weather warms up.

Back on topic, I saved the Mazda's bumper because it looks much better than Passat's original, and I'd like to connect it to the front of the new car. It's a little flatter than the original so it wouldn't fit together with the inside of the wheel wells, so I think the best idea would be to carve away some plastic from the inside of the bumper to mount it over the original bumper.

What's the best way to connect the bumpers firmly together, and what other tips do you have for this?

[Anonymous No.1755609]

Here's a sideview showing the height difference between the bumpers, which is why simply replacing the old one wouldn't fit together with the inside of the wheel well.

[Anonymous No.1755617]

The Mazda bumper is also a bit more angular, which is why I'd need to carve some of its center off to get it smoothly along the front of the Passat. It's also a bit wider than Passat, but if necessary I can cut a small piece off the center and connect the sides back together.

[Anonymous No.1755667]

Fiberglass and body filler are your friends. you will need to cut the Passat bumper in half (top and bottom) and create mounting tabs. To blend it into the body you could try using spray foam and sculpting it with a knife and then fiberglassing over top of it. To make it look decent it will obviously need a new coat of paint and actually good body work. Best of luck, post progress/results as you get to it, don't be a pussy, do it.

[Anonymous No.1755670]

>>1755606
So, out of curiosity, what did the import authorities want that cost so much?

[Anonymous No.1755677]

>>1755606
Note: Step 1 of basically all maintnence and repairs to the engine of that car require you to put it in "service position". Step 1 of that is remove front bumper.
(make sure your new bumper is removable, as you will be removing it)

Also, does the ABS still work?

[Anonymous No.1755695]

>>1755667
Thanks. I've never done anything with fiberglass before and apparently it's longevity in Finnish weather varies wildly, but I think a thick layer of Dinitrol protective mass should help that too. I still haven't ever dealt with fiberglass at all, so how should I get started learning it?

>>1755670
Inspection authorities. The part was Axle Beam (akselipalkki in Finnish). Just a big metal piece that I could easily have fixed if law didn't dictate that it must be a single piece, and could easily have made a new one from scratch if law didn't dictate that it must be type-approved. It would have cost 400 euros, so along with needing to fix three rust holes and a broken rear spring, it was just easier to buy a new car altogether and start over with a zinc-dipped one that would last longer.

[Anonymous No.1755696]

>>1755677
I've never head of removing a bumper for repairs, but apparently it's a thing with this car. I already looked into removing the front grille and thought that needing to remove the hood latch for it was a ridiculously bad design. The video I watched on topic confirmed that it is indeed very likely to break from this, so is there any reason not to just dremel it's hole wide enough to pull the mask off with the hood latch still in place?

As for removing the bumper, if I just mounted the new bumper in front of the old one it should still have all the original old connectors holding it in place. Wiring wouldn't be a problem since my old car doesn't have signal lights on the bumper, and I already intend to replace the stock foglights with the bigger ones I salvaged from my old Mazda.

I also didn't think of removing the bumper before bolting the new one onto it, but it might make things easier. Not sure though, because just removing the bumper from my old car was a pain and that I didn't even need to put back on again.

[Anonymous No.1755714]

>>1755696
Removing the plastic hood latch you pictured is also a part of getting into "service position", and yes they do break at the end that connects to the latch. A new one made from zip ties works fine.

Unlile your old car, The bumper plastic on these are one piece, with the grill glued into it. If you take the whole thing off you may be able to saw off the bottom and stitch your mazda lower half to the top half of the new one, but any type of bondo or glue would most likely fail due to how much it needs to bend when removing or installing it. To install you loosly allign the top, then bend each side to shove it under the fender before screwing it down.


Try taking it off, then re-evaluate your plans.
There are screws at the top, bottom, inside the wheel wells (the main one into the fender is here), and one on each side that is accessible by removing the headlights (or only the marker lights if it is pre-2001)

[Anonymous No.1755743]

>>1755714
Here's a better explanation of how I'd go about fixing the latch issue.

Taking the bumper off will have to wait for warmer weather though. Not because of any technical issue, just because days are still short and weather uncomfortable to work on anything extensive at this time.

[Anonymous No.1755757]

>>1755743
Ya, I got what you meant about cutting, nothing wrong with doing that, just warning after a few times removing that latch the fork part at the back will snap if you are not careful. A flexible (zip tie) replacement has the advantage of not having to remove it everytime you take the bumper off for repairs (which will be often)

Also, don't use fram oil filters with this car, the bypass pressure is too high, so it will not filter the oil
Also, mixing regular antifreeze with the coolant this car uses will turn to gel and ruin everything.
Also, keep a good battery, they get weird with an old battery
passatworld.com is a good resource (but not many people left on the site anymore), someone there told me everything that could be done to these has already been done, I proved them wrong.

Also, happy to see one of these being modded again, you'll love it fin anon.

[Anonymous No.1755770]

>>1755757
Thanks for all the tips. However, the video about grille removal led to a rabbit hole of just how many expensive repairs a Passat might need and now I'm terrified. Should I start modding this car after all or just sell it asap and get something more reliable?

[Anonymous No.1755779]

>>1755770
If you have 06-09 with DSG you might be fucked, but if it has been a daily driver for someone so long, it's probably fine. Any car can get expensive with repairs if you're out of luck. I just paid almost 2k for my 150k km Toyota Avensis. Brake lines broke, radiator was leaking, ABS sensors had dislodged, and some other minor stuff. Was supposed to be a nice and low maintenance car.

That Passat should serve you well. In case it breaks, 1.9 TDI is godtier for modding I heard.

[Anonymous No.1755791]

>>1755779
OP is a 98-05, appears to be 2001.5-2005 model

>>1755770
I spent an ENORMOUS amount of time and money, I spent at least double the purchase price in parts (lots of mods too), almost all repairs were done by me, this was many years ago. I even started making money towards the end as I had special tools and knowledge that had been aquired along the way and could fix others for cash. Now that they are older ANY car in that price range will have problems, but not many cars in that price range will be worth for the enjoyment of driving it.

I don't regret it for a second.

[Anonymous No.1755793]

>>1755770
Also, the only big things are determining when was the timing belt last changed, the engine will grenade when it snaps, and if you have to replace a driveshaft or suspension you will meet what is, by far, the WORST bolt I have ever known in all of my history repairing cars (people have scrapped the car over that one bolt)
Also be prepared for the abs/traction unit to go out if it hasn't already, it's a design flaw.

Again, in my opinion it is an amazing car and worth a little work

[Anonymous No.1755811]

>>1755779
>>1755791
>>1755793
Yes, the car is a 2005 model.

It is worth noting that the main reason I bought Mazda last time was that I can't repair mechanics, so I thought a reliable engine would be all it takes as I could repair body rust myself. When it turned out that our nannystate just flat-out forbids repairing certain things I decided to prioritize on rust resistance, but now if the rest of the car is going to require repairs it could easily drain my savings in just years. Maybe even one single repair, if they can cost several thousand dollars.

[Anonymous No.1755821]

>>1755811
For more details, I got the car for 1460€ freshly inspected and maintained, so I could still sell it away for at least as much. However, if I keep driving it until it breaks down and requires a 4000€ repair, I'd be out of money and stuck with an unsellable piece of junk. Reviews like this are making me worried that it might indeed be too expensive for me: https://www.edmunds.com/volkswagen/passat/2005/consumer-reviews/

Comfort is really a non-issue for me, as that is something I have the skills to build into any car. I'm actually worried about how many people praise Passat for being comfortable, as it implies they might have completely different priorities for what makes a good car than I do.

[Anonymous No.1756095]

>>1755821
Which engine do you have?
Was the timing belt done yet?
How many km?

Well maimaintained german cars usualy fall apart around their still working engine. There are common problems, most can be prevented such as: oil building up in the pcv system, left unchecked it will blow the valve cover seals and start leaking oil, left unchecked that oil will dump directly onto the alternator breaking it as well, and requiring service positiin to fix. Or the dirty pcv tube could have been cleaned out (it's right on top and easy to get to) preventing this chain of events from happening.

I would imagine there is a person like me for every car, not trying to scare you off, just have a lot of experience with them is all, and they have had more than their share of issues (there was a class action lawsuit over the 1.8t), but at that price i'm guessing everything will, and evidemce of its maintnence would be the most important feature of any car.

As for comfort, I was after sport that can fit 10foot pipes in without needing a wagon or a truck. It being somewhat comfortable was just a bonus.

[Anonymous No.1756096]

>>1755821
>>1756095 (cont)
All that being said, I know a few people who would say only RUN AWAY. If it has no history and is right at the mileage where the timing belt is due I would begrudgingly agree.
The last owners could have seen what it costs for a shop to do a timing belt in that car, and read online what happens of you don't, and instead just dumped it as fast as possible.

[Anonymous No.1756103]

>i failed my car inspection
>Help me fail another!

[Anonymous No.1756121]

>>1756095
The exact model is 1.8 20V Turbo Comfortline Variant. Gasoline engine, timing belt has been changed and should have 70 000km left on it. It's been driven 250 000 km, with last maintenance done at 243 000km in 5.2016.

I literally never maintained my Mazda so I don't know how often it should be done for the Passat or how much it would cost each time. Buying it already cost me more than Mazda and all its repairs put together, and I really don't want to spend that kind of money into a car every year.

>>1755677
I just noticed this, but at least there's on warning lights on so it should be okay for inspections.

[Anonymous No.1756626]

>>1756121
The nice thing about a passat, besides all it's flaws, is was a great platform and modders came out in full force. The joke is everything that could be done has been done, and the challenge is to do something new, i did.
So did this guy: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=IKR8Or6Im6w