Page 25 - Transporter Talk - Issue 147

Transporter Talk No 147
The Mechanic then received a question from Club Member,
Peter Rogers, who asked:
I have a T2 Bay 1978 model, and want to t reversing parking sensors. I was planning on tting the sensors to the rear bumper, but the installation instructions state that they should not be tted to metal. Is it possible to t the sensors in the metal bumper with insulation around the sensor unit, or will the sensors still not work?
With no previous experience of tting parking sensors, this one got The Mechanic thinking.
From research, it would seem that parking sensors work more e ectively when mounted into plastic bumpers and most retro- t instructions seem to state this also, however due to the age of the vehicle, there is a lack of plastic to mount the sensors on the rear of the vehicle (or anywhere!), but there may be some possible solutions, although they have not been tested and are advice only.
A late bay rear bumper has a centre depressed section for an optional rubber centre strip. The sensors could be mounted into this strip and that may stop any interference from the metal
bumper, they would also be virtually invisible due to the black strip and black sensors.
These strips are available from Just Kampers for £45 or you can buy the pair for the front and rear so the bumpers still match for £85.
Another idea could be to make holes in the bumper with larger diameters than the diameter of the sensors. Then t rubber grommets into these holes and then t the sensors into the grommets, thus providing an insulated mounting point for the sensors that should be minimally distorted by the metal bumper.
Grommets are available cheaply in most DIY stores or online.
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