REMOVING BUMPERS

Spammer Joined: 27 Jul 2004 Posts: 5717

most screws bolts holding the front and back bumpers are well rusted ,it will be hard to get them out but needs doing sooner or later as i want to respray the bumpers sometime. would like to know how many bolts/screws to remove out ther and where exactly are they ?? in case (most probably) i need new bolts/ screws to use on fitting the bumpers back ,where can i get them from ???

is it illegal to drive without a front or back bumper for a day or 2 as i will be driving back and forward to work while waiting for the bumpers to dry unless i can wake up and finish the job in a sunny wales day ?

Forum Moderator Joined: 02 Mar 2004 Posts: 19978

nope I drove for months with no front bumper, eventually 2 arsehoe police pulled me and said I was a liar when I said other coppers never had a prob and the traffic cops said it was fine.

Anyway theres 6 10mm bolts, 2 to the subframe under neath, 2 ontop of the bumper, 2 at the inner wings.

Theres also 4 T20 screws in each arch.

Back bumpers there are 5 10mm, 2 inside the boot in the middle and the side behind the black trim thingy 2 underneath

1 under the fuel filler and then a few T20's.

You will not get them off without damage.

Spammer Joined: 27 Jul 2004 Posts: 5717

so its not illegal then ,i wont be driving around without my bumpers that long hopefully chris
any idea where to find replacement screws /bolts ,they dont have to be original renault t screw thingies as far as i am concerned
cheers for the info mate

Forum Moderator Joined: 02 Mar 2004 Posts: 19978

go to the scrappies like I have said many a time before and remove the top wing bolts and cages from scrap cars.

genuine ren replacement and they don't tend to rust and come in pretty colours.

Level 6 User Joined: 20 Jun 2004 Posts: 155

Its a pig of a job if the nuts are rusty - I know cause I've only just done it on my front bumper!

The nuts on the bottom of the subframe were actually easier to get off than the other four, although thats probably because you have better access to both sides of the bolts. They all have self tapping spring jobbies and its these that rust onto the threads of the bolts and make it a total bugger to get them out, especially if the wing bolts have done this as you can't get proper access to the spring clips on those. The two bolts on the top of the front of the bumper (between the headlights) also have limited space to mess with them, but they are easier than the wing bolts.

As Chris told me before, you may well end up ripping the bumper out from the wing bolts, but thats OK because theres a spare hole on each side that you can use to re-attach the bumper to the wings.

It's the loosening of the spring clips (these are what the bolts screw into) thats the most difficult part - if you are planning to take the bumper off, WD40 them several times over the preceeding weeks/days to loosen them off or you will have a hell of a job.

I have to say that I would not want to try getting a bumper off intact and fit for refitting - my old bumper was already smashed up (which is why it was coming off) so I was free to mangle it. Don't know whether I could have got it off at all if I hadn't been able to do this!

One more thing - the torx screws that attach the wheel arch liners to the bumper will be very very stiff. They seem to be super hardened steel, so you won't be likely to bugger the heads, but you might not be able to turn them either. I had to rip the bottom ones out on both sides from the bumper. You may also find that the plastic wing runner that the bumper sits on is manky, especially the end in the wheel arch, but you don't really have to use the screws on that to hold the bumper on if they are duff.

I think Chris' theory about reusing bolts off a scrapped 19 is the best if you can do it, but I didn't have the option of scavenging from another car, so I ended up scavenging enough spring clips for the two wing bolts and the front two upper bolts from the post-removal debris, and I used large zinc repair washers and zinc plated M6 bolts (I think but don't quote me) to screw everything back together as ALL the existing bolts were rusted to hell. I imagine that by the time they corrode badly enough to make removing the bumper difficult, the car will be well and truly in car heaven Smile

Cheers
Alex

PS: Don't forget to disconnect your front fogs wiring loom if you have em before you try and walk off with the front bumper Wink

Spammer Joined: 27 Jul 2004 Posts: 5717

i have spotted most of the bolts ,screws by the front bumper today ,they are in bad condition really ,all rusted .
i also found out the car had some light front end damage in the past ,the part under the number plate is cracked and the bolts between the headlights look damaged too .

no bolt there must be broken due to a light crash

the metal bit the bolt goes into is a bit bent

i might have problem fitting the bumper back on after removal

Level 6 User Joined: 20 Jun 2004 Posts: 155

Ahh that looks like a phase 2 to me - the phase 1's are different on the front bolts (and maybe the others I dunno). If one has snapped off then all the better as it means less work for you. Those front bolts look easier to get off than the phase 1 jobbies to me anyway.

If the bumper is a bit knacked in then you would probably be as well to buy a 2nd hand one and do that one up - it will also mean you have to be a lot less careful getting the existing one off which believe me will be a big plus.

I think there was one going on ebay the other day for bugger all, or a scrappy would be the place to go if you are lucky enough to be near a good one. Or better than that, post in the wanted section of the forum!

Good luck whatever you decide to do!

Cheers
Alex

Spammer Joined: 27 Jul 2004 Posts: 5717

yes it a ph2 mate ,its really hard to see everything underneath .it needs a good pressure clean first i suppose .
but will get it out in the end .the bumper is not too bad the cracked bit is only under the number plate ,so its servicable as far as i am concerned .
will see what i can do.
cheers

Forum Moderator Joined: 02 Mar 2004 Posts: 19978

ph1 ph2 are the same bolt wise.

The ph1 has those bolts as well.

Level 6 User Joined: 20 Jun 2004 Posts: 155

Yeh you are right Chris - mine has those two horiztonal rounded-rectangular shaped holes in the front of the bumper, but on my car there is nothing to bolt into under these ones; the bolts go through a vertical bit of the bumper into the side of the tops of the subframe legs by the looks of it.

I actually guessed it was a phase 2 from the headlight cause I remembered that they have much more prominent top mounting brackets due to their more triangular shape.

Cheers
Alex