help, front bumper dissasembly

[deQuincey]

hi,

I would appreciate some help with front bumper dissassembly and repair

I am trying to renew the front right bumper section, and clean and renew bolts and nuts of the rest

I noticed one lateral screw (ref.5) in each right and left parts, and then the central part has two long metal plates (Ref. 8 ) that come inside the engine compartment and are screwed to the front chassis members with two nuts each (ref. 11)

I have tried to dissassemble the two mentioned metal plates, but when i unscrew the nuts, the bolts (ref.12) are there and it is not possible to remove the metal plates unless you push the bolts to inside the chassis members

but, as the bolts are not passing the chassis members from one side to the other I am scared about missing the bolts inside the mentioned chassis members

any idea ?

regards

 

[matphill]

They are captive bolts. They fit in key hole shaped slots. They should not fall into the rails. You should only have to loosen the nuts and then you can slip the brackets forward and remove without removing the nuts.

 

[deQuincey]

They are captive bolts. They fit in key hole shaped slots. They should not fall into the rails. You should only have to loosen the nuts and then you can slip the brackets forward and remove without removing the nuts.

I was supposing something like that, thanks

But if so, if the bolts are there even when the nuts are taken away, you will not be able to remove the brackets

 

[jmackro]

if the bolts are there even when the nuts are taken away, you will not be able to remove the brackets

Yea, you can. The bolts are pretty short, and the brackets flex enough so that you can pull them outward to clear the bolts.

Or, you can loosen the nuts shown as #11 on your diagram to provide more play.

The hardest thing about removing/replacing the front bumper is just handling its weight and size while preventing the tips from marring the paint - having a helper is a good idea.

 

[Sven]

Here is a photo of the bolt slots. You can see the shape and the plates inside that keep the bolts from falling through.

 

[deQuincey]

Here is a photo of the bolt slots. You can see the shape and the plates inside that keep the bolts from falling through.

I really do appreciate this picture you sent

I can not see it in my car, so even that I could imagine a solution of that sort, now your picture is solving the doubt marvelously

even I can think of moving the whole bumber assembly backwards until the hexagonal head of the bolts become loose , and then get the brackets out from the chassis members

again, thanks

 

[Sven]

You mean forwards, not backwards. The wide portion of the slot faces the front of the car. You will not be able to remove the brackets with the bolts and nuts still attached because of the narrow slot at the nose of the car.

The method Jay described above works best. With the nut #11 loosened and the bracket nuts removed. Then you can pull the brackets off of the two bolts on the frame (they will now be at an angle) and pull the entire bumper with brackets forwards. If I remember correctly this is not an easy task and takes some careful thinking and definitely have a helper.

Good luck.

 

[deQuincey]

yes, now I see it must bee frontwards,

if that is the case that will not help because the brackets will be shorter from the front of the car, and subsequently bending them, will be more diffcult

the only question i am considering is that is possible that when you move frontwards the bolts (to the wider holes), maybe the depth of the slot will be also bigger, and the bolts will virtually dissapear towards inside the chassis member, an so you can remove the brackets because no bolt would be interferring there (i will check)

it is clear that I have to remove the nuts anyway,

what is almost impossible is to loosen the nuts #11, I do not have appropriate tools to do so before removing the bumper away from the car

it is clear that help will be needed because of the geometry, and also as jmackro pointed out, the weight

 

[deQuincey]

you lucky, i found all my photos, pass and take a look !

old screws, bolts, and...

new hardware

rear overrider, plus new rubber band (my own idea) to attach to rear body

the famous hole in the right side !

hole in left side, near exhaust

enjoy

 

[eriknetherlands]

Question on the rubber plate you used; did you insert that between the bracket and the body?
I thought about something similar to seal for water and prevent scratches.

If so, it offsets the left and right bolt on the rear quarter panel by the same distance rearward. Did your bumper still fit those side holes?
What thickness rubber did you use; something like 2-3 mm?

 

[deQuincey]

Question on the rubber plate you used; did you insert that between the bracket and the body?
I thought about something similar to seal for water and prevent scratches.

If so, it offsets the left and right bolt on the rear quarter panel by the same distance rearward. Did your bumper still fit those side holes?
What thickness rubber did you use; something like 2-3 mm?

good question,

seals and helps
in the case presented LH and rh had different thickness, because my car had an small hit some day , not under my ownership,
I made one as 2mm and other 5mm
not car is straight