Making a Bump-stop plate

I have no idea what this is called; it’s a little tripod with a round plate on the top that takes the ‘bump’ of the rubber bump-stop when the suspension is at the limit of its upward travel. Anyway, I’m calling it a bump-stop plate. The one on the left hand rear suspension arm had rusted away so I thought I’d make a new one. It’s not particularly beautifully made but it does the job. I include the job here to illustrate that your car is not scrap just because this part has rusted away. It took me a bit more than an hour and a half to do it (I’m slow) so if you need it done by a garage expect to pay 1 or 2 hours at most.

(Above) in the centre of the picture is a roughly triangular area where the bump-stop plate should be.

(Above) I made a template from some approximate measurements of the one on the other side of the car. I say ‘approximate’ because I repaired the other one and I have no idea what the exact dimensions should be. The curved tops of the tripod proved to be unnecessary.

(Above) I’ve cut out the templates and check that the assembly looks right.

(Above) I’ve cut the metal, bent it to shape and added a ‘crush-tube’ in the centre. I didn’t have any steel tube handy so I simply bent a piece of metal around a handy socket spanner. The sides are in thin 1mm while the tube is in 1.6mm – the original was made of much thicker stuff but did not include a crush tube.

(Above) the triangular area where it is to be attached was rusty so I hacked out the bad metal and (below) plated it over with a piece that had a new right-hand lip bent into it…

(Above) the plated area was tack welded prior to more substantial welding and a bit of shaping with the angle-grinder.

(Above) then the little fabrication was tacked in position.

(Above) The top was then welded onto it. I had at this point run out of Argon/Co2 so could not seam weld around the bottom edge. I spayed some paint on it just to see how it looked. The paint will have to come off again (quick spray of solvent and then wire brush) for the seam weld to be done: don’t be tempted to leave this only tacked together, it must be seamed, because it will take a fair bashing from the bump-stop – especially if you drive off-road. When finished and repainted, I’ll also drill a small hole in the top and spray a good amount of oil into it, and around the sides, to keep the rust at bay.

Below: this pic added later

(Above) The completed bump-stop tower and plate (seam welded at the bottom, to the suspension arm) with the new rubber bump-stop fitted, after a coat of paint.