So last night I backed into an object.. was in a tight area and, before I knew it my back passenger side 'kissed' a solid object... damage is far FAR less than I had originally thought.. from hearing it.. Might be a little wet sanding to do but, How hard do you think it would be to put the bumper cover back in its place? (look at pictures) Im thinking I can take the tail light out, gain access to the panel partly and pull it back up. Anyone Know?

 

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badplan, that should be an easy fix. What you will need to do is stick your arm up along the rear wheel well liner. Just above the side marker light (on the inside of the bumper), you will find a 10mm bolt. You will need to undo this bolt. This will allow the corner of the bumper to be free. From there, you can push the tabs back into place and get the bumper cover back where it needs to be. Reinstall the bolt and should be good. If you have messed up those tabs, then hard to say what all would need to be done.

if you need more help, let me know. I've had the bumper cover off of my car a few times.

 

wow is it really that simple, just 1, 10mm bolt? Thanks for the help Thermo! So just remove the inter fenderwell to gain access to the bolt your talking about right? Is it possible when i hit, I just popped some of those tabs out of place? or is having broken some far more likely?

 

badplan, the extent of damage is hard to determine from the pictures. What I would tell you to do is pull off the bumper cover and see what things look like. If you have any mechanical ability, it will be fairly obvious what needs to be done. Worst case, take some more pictures, post them here and I will look at them and give you my opinion.

 

Thermo, Many Thanks! I will let you know how it goes/ what I find. I consider myself to have a moderate mechanical ability, least i hope, I did restore the outside of my 83" Benz this past summer at least.

Agian thanks for your help and offer, Ill keep you informed!

 

Thermo freakin kicks @$$... Always has great advise.

 

Thermo, Wow you were not kidding when you said that it should be fairly easy to repair. I think that was by far the quickest body repair I've ever done on a car. From putting the X-type on the jack to, taking it off took 1 hour at the most... And I even took my sweet time inspecting things!! Many thanks Thermo I could NOT have done it without your help!!

What I found underneath was 'worst case' scenerio. As suspected, The mounting bracket on the body (black plastic) had broke. However, It couldn't have broken in a better spot There was enough of the body clamp left to be able to properly re-mount the bumper cover... I even went as far as taking out the tail light to check things out and the alignment of it all.

Everything came apart and went back together smoothly. Some Meguires scratch-X 2.0 (new formula) and this situation NEVER HAPPENED

Seriously though, There is maybe 1 tiny scratch I was not able to buff out. Other than that, Good as new!

Thanks Agian Thermo!! You saved me $$, Stress and gave me a bit of knowledge

 

badplan, not a problem. I was thinking it would be fairly easy, but couldn't say for sure. Unfortunately, this probably will not be your last time of pulling off the bumper covers. There are some things that you can not access without pulling off the bumper covers. So, keep these instructions in your head for the next time.

Enjoy your toy.