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mysteriously got shoved all the way in to the body on the driver's side. Is there an easy fix I might try for pulling it back out? No body damage apparent or visible damage to the bumper (except for a scratch).

From my experience the," chain it to a building and pull it back out", doesn't work.

There are hydraulic pistons inside, or two pieces that fit together to function as a shock absorber. Maybe new they would rebound, but not after thirty years. I think they compress and stick, and that's that.

Not to say it can't be done, but unless you have funds ready for a new bumper I wouldn't try pulling the shock out while on the car.

Some owners have removed the shocks, relieved the oil, shortened them to get a faux euro bumper look. Usually fronts but check the FAQ's

I'd just replace the shock. In fact, I think Mike Self gave that advice to an E23 owner in the mid-nineties. I'll bet swatterssr has a couple on that parts car of his.

Sounds like replace the shocks, I must. If anyone has a used set of rear bumper shocks, I'd be grateful.

I pulled some out last year and it worked pretty well. I levered them out, and it took some persuading, but I got a couple to come out, but one wasn't cooperative. The pic is a little hard to see perspecive wise, but it's how I did it. I had heard about twisting them to get them to free up, but that didn't do any good for me.

If you do end up looking for replacements, E24 rears work, they're the same size. The bracket on the end is different, but the shocks are the same and might be easier to find these days.

There's a 528i in a yard here and I could get what the OP needs if necessary, but swatterssr has a parts car...