| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| pauley | How is the front bumper removed |
| Mike Krehel | Hi Pauley, Here are the instructions per Real Rod for removing the front bumpers: 1 Release hood latch and open hood 2 Remove the screws that attach the grille. 3 Carefully remove the grille. Note, once the screws are removed, there is a tab on the bottom of the grille that you simply push towards the rear of the car to disengage. 4 Disconnect the park?turn signal lamp connectors. 5 Remove the 4 bolts on each side that secures the bumpers to the frame. Three are easy to reach, the forth has to be removed 1/4 turn at a time. If you wish, you can remove the headlamp modules (2 screws each) and then the bolts are easily accessable with a socket extension. I hope this helps!
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Mike Krehel
ProwlerOnline.com  |
| kverges | No need to remove the grille. Here's how I did it (on my 2000). There are 4 13 mm bolts that hold each bumper and one electrical connector to the lights. The bolt heads face forward and the nuts are on the back side of the frame. The nuts also have tabs welded to them so they will not rotate, i.e. you only need to turn the bolt head (this makes life a lot easier since you need only get in there with one tool). Undo the electrical connectors so you won't forget later. Use a 13 mm socket wrench to get at the bolt heads. Two of the bolts are easy to get at and you can easily see them with the hood open. Go ahead and do those first, so you'll feel liek you are making progress Another one is a little tougher, but doable. Remove this one next, so you'll have the mistaken impression that you are 3/4 done. The fourth bolt is wedged behind the aluminum frame for the bupers and a real pain in the *. I found it easiest to remove the first three and then you can rotate the bumper slightly for better access. I also used a 1/4" drive ratchet, because it was smaller and easier to rotate (actually I used a 1/4" drive air ratchet, but hand tools should work). You may have to break the bolts loose with a combination wrench or 3/8" drive to get enough leverage. It took me about 45 minutes to get one side off and then 5 minutes for the other. Most of the time was jockeying around, selecting the right tools, and hurling obscenities over that 4th bolt. Hope this helps ------------------
Keith Verges - Dallas |
| Ed W. | quote:
Originally posted by kverges:
Most of the time was jockeying around, selecting the right tools, and hurling obscenities over that 4th bolt.Hope this helps
That fourth bolt is a _____ to get back in AND started
on the fastener. At this point, I am using just three to hold it in. Mike Krehel indicated that there are only two bolts holding in the headlight assembly. Is that true? Which ones are they? With the light assembly removed, I would think the fourth bolt would be a piece of cake. This message has been edited by Ed W. on 05-08-2007 at 08:47 PM |
| MDProwler | It's still easier with the grill removed so you can easily get your arm twisted to get the hardest bolt. No need to remove the headlamp but if you insist it has two screws on the top, one nut underneath and one screw at the back end that the side panel needs to be removed to get to. Just not worth all that. This message has been edited by MDProwler on 05-08-2007 at 10:10 PM |
| MDProwler | quote:
Originally posted by Ed W.:
That fourth bolt is a _____ to get back in AND started
on the fastener. At this point, I am using just three to hold it in. Mike Krehel indicated that there are only two bolts holding in the headlight assembly. Is that true? Which ones are they? With the light assembly removed, I would think the fourth bolt would be a piece of cake.
Ed do you put them on for special occasions? they make good porta potties when camping. I only took mine off. No idea how hard they are to put on. |
| Ed W. | quote:
Originally posted by MDProwler:
Ed do you put them on for special occasions?
I just replaced them with a body color (painted) set. I'd like to put the fourth bolt in, but can't seem to get it to work.......
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| Prowler X | Someone else posted once that he dropped a tool into a "tight" space while removing these bolts and could not recover the tool. Just a caution. I'm taking mine off tomorrow after the kids across the street go to school in case I start cursing! Warren |
| Ed W. | quote:
Originally posted by Prowler X:
I'm taking mine off tomorrow
Warren
The two inboard bolts are a breeze. The "outer" bolt on the bottom is challenging, but do-able. I found that a ratcheting boxwrench is the ticket on that one as well as getting the upper ("outer") bolt off. The challenge is to get the outer/upper bolt back in & started.
REMEMBER THIS, the outer two bolts are threaded into machine nuts that are welded to a strip of metal. One end of that strip is raised so you can get hold of it during re-assembly. DO NOT put a wrench on the machine nut during assembly or disassembly.
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| ALLEY CAT | quote:
Originally posted by Prowler X:
Someone else posted once that he dropped a tool into a "tight" space while removing these bolts and could not recover the tool. Just a caution. I'm taking mine off tomorrow after the kids across the street go to school in case I start cursing!Warren
Warren - its not that bad,,,,just take your time, and remove the grill. I only used four cuss words during the take-off, lol. An extra pair of hands or larger box helps stable the bumper while unbolting. |
| Prowler X | Took them off with no problem. One suggestion, remove the two hard bolts first as the two easy ones help to hold the bracket in place so it does not bind the hard ones. I like the look w/o the bumbers. Warren This message has been edited by Prowler X on 05-10-2007 at 11:04 PM |
