Does anyone have an idiots guide to removing the front bumper - I want to change the chrome centre section and i believe the bumper has to come of to do so?

Thanks.

 

Assuming that you're missing the splash shield underneath, you won't have to remove that particular item! As for the bumper itself, disconnect the front fog light and indicator plugs, accessed from beneath the front corners of the car, just in front of the front wheels. You should also have a pair of sensors, one on each side, fitted into the air vent pipes which feed air back to the front discs. Trace the wires back to their respective plugs and disconnect them. Identify and keep them separate, replacing them in the right place, as they are different and do two different jobs.

Now, down on the front underside of the bumper, just each side of where your licence plate sits, there are a pair of bolts (19mm I think), recessed into the bumper. Now the bad news. When trying to remove these bolts, the workings within can and often do collapse. There is a crazy mix of metals at work here. A steel bolt, an alloy sleeve and a brass bush and the resulting combination can lead to seizing/corrosion. The brass bush is pressed into the top section of the bumper, beneath the chrome strip and this can also rotate, causing more problems. Many users have finished up having to replace the bumper mounts after tackling this seemingly simple job. The are easily available!!

If everything works out and you remove the bolts without any issues,the bumper will slide off, with the aforementioned air vents.
Before reassembly, apply grease liberally on the mounts/bolt/ inside alloy sleeve, etc.

You might want some replacement screws for the chrome strip also, as they tend to corrode into place. After removing the screws, the chrome strip unclips from a series of little brackets, hidden beneath the front edge of the strip itself. Reassembly is the reverse.

Good luck and hope this helps.

 

Very informative - Thank you!!

I now wish even more that i could find a set of headlamp washwipe housings!
But i cant, so i will tackle the bumper removal to replace with a standard chrome blade.

 

I have a front bumper with headlamp washers on you can have the hole bumper for the right price do not went to split in JGM saphire

 

Thanks - but there is nothing wrong with the rest of my bumper.
If i could have found the jets (or the chrome housings) i would have bought some, to keep the car original - But i don't actually like the thought of having them on the car, enough to spend any real money on purchasing some.

 

Hi
I just removed my front bumper to do some patch repair...... I did follow the process set out by Sogood..... It's not too difficult. The tricky part is being very careful unbolting the bumper bolts................ Once thats done it slides out with a little gentle tugging. Make sure you have a blanket spread out underneath.

I have some pics that I can post if that will help you...

BigBossRadio in Dallas TX