Not joined yet? Register for free and enjoy features such as alerts, private messaging and viewing latest posts and topics.

Rear bumper removal

How-To articles are in here.
Post Reply
flybobbie
Lifer
Lifer
Posts: 4015
Joined: Sat May 25, 2013 8:27 pm
Location: Stourbridge

Rear bumper removal

Post by flybobbie » Mon Oct 17, 2016 10:15 pm

Couldn't find anything on the internet so thought I would post a few pointers.
Last edited by flybobbie on Fri May 22, 2020 8:57 pm, edited 3 times in total.

goldbcfc
Senior Member
Senior Member
Posts: 1049
Joined: Fri Feb 05, 2016 2:39 pm
Location: Birmingham

Rear bumper removal

Post by goldbcfc » Fri Oct 28, 2016 8:02 am

Its amazing Bmw kept that poor designed plastic bracket which gets brittle over time and snaps ive had 2 e85 now where ive had to replace them. Where the angled part goes down and atttaches to bumper they can break thenthe bumper comes loose. Weight saving i suppose but very cheap design like a lot of things ive noticed on Z4 working on them

flybobbie
Lifer
Lifer
Posts: 4015
Joined: Sat May 25, 2013 8:27 pm
Location: Stourbridge

Rear bumper removal

Post by flybobbie » Fri Oct 28, 2016 9:42 pm

Weight saving = cheap, so that is the driving force.

User avatar
cj10jeeper
Lifer
Lifer
Posts: 17846
Joined: Fri Jun 22, 2007 11:50 am
Location: Lichfield, England

Rear bumper removal

Post by cj10jeeper » Sat Oct 29, 2016 10:28 am

goldbcfc wrote:Its amazing Bmw kept that poor designed plastic bracket which gets brittle over time and snaps ive had 2 e85 now where ive had to replace them. Where the angled part goes down and atttaches to bumper they can break thenthe bumper comes loose. Weight saving i suppose but very cheap design like a lot of things ive noticed on Z4 working on them
Surely the whole purpose is they are sacrificial brackets so that if you bump the car the brackets break or release the bumper and not transmit the impact into metal panels that then bend. Then you'd be cursing if you needed a new wing or rear quarter for every car park tap or zealous mech removing the bumper.

Has to be a subtle trade off between strength and breaking.
Jaguar F-Type 3.0 Supercharged V6 S, Stratus Grey, LSD, Active Exhaust, CF wheels, Performance brakes, Sports seats and mods ongoing
Gone but not forgotten Z4 3.0i SE Roadster ///M front, Red ///M leather seats, Aero sills

User avatar
charmlea
Member
Member
Posts: 68
Joined: Fri Oct 25, 2013 2:37 pm
Location: Cambridge

Rear bumper removal

Post by charmlea » Sun Oct 30, 2016 12:07 pm

many thanks for this great post, im just about to remove mine this morning due to some little ragie hitting me up the arse end in an astra and driving off, he hit me with such force i thought the total rear end would be a right off, the only damage was to the bumper thanks to the crash bar behind which now needs replacing or straightening, i could get away with repairing the bumper and repainting it, it does need new clips and black spacers between bumper and rear wing but hopefully they wont cost to much, oh and a new no plate which i had a spare anyway, thanks for the that, this will make my job a little easier this morning, mick [ cambridge]
Time for bed said "Zebedee"

New2Zed
Member
Member
Posts: 97
Joined: Sat Apr 12, 2014 2:17 pm
Location: Wihite Peak, Derbyshire

Rear bumper removal

Post by New2Zed » Fri May 19, 2017 8:57 pm

Hi Flybobbie

Hope you see this post as I need to ask you a couple of questions.

I want to fit some rear parking sensors to my wife's E89 (a car with a list price of £35,000 and no parking sensors, only the Germans could get away with that one).

Obviously I need to remove the rear bumper and have been reading your post on the issue. I can't quite make out what your third photo is showing. I think it's of the boot lip so do you have to remove the trim there to get at any fasteners. Are the only fasteners all accessed from under the car as you suggest.

No doubt all will become clear when I tackle the job, just trying to gain as much knowledge as I can before I start.

Many thanks.
2014 Z4 2.0. (driven by her in doors cos she thinks she looks pretty in it).
Range Rover Evoque (toss up between one of these and an X4)
Alfa Giulia Quadrifoglia

flybobbie
Lifer
Lifer
Posts: 4015
Joined: Sat May 25, 2013 8:27 pm
Location: Stourbridge

Rear bumper removal

Post by flybobbie » Fri May 19, 2017 11:37 pm

Third pic shows how the bumper attaches between the tail lamps.
And should point out that you do need to remove the tail lights as they get in the way of pulling the bumper back.
Fasteners that need remove are the hex head ones under the bumper. The two screw where you see me poking with a screw driver (one each side) which can only be get at by removing the rear section of the wheel arches, three bolts each side.

To refit the two screws where you can see me using a screw driver I had to tape the screw to the end of the screw driver so as to guide it into the hole. All very fiddly.

LichMike
Newbie
Newbie
Posts: 30
Joined: Wed Sep 16, 2020 6:20 pm
Location: Lichfield

Rear bumper removal

Post by LichMike » Wed Sep 01, 2021 9:33 pm

flybobbie wrote: Mon Oct 17, 2016 10:15 pm Couldn't find anything on the internet so thought I would post a few pointers.
Looking to remove the rear bumper to replace a dodgy parking sensor, looking for pointers - but can’t seem to see your original post…
2004 E85 2.5i SE Sterling Grey - weekend
2016 Mk7 GTD Carbon Steel Grey - daily

flybobbie
Lifer
Lifer
Posts: 4015
Joined: Sat May 25, 2013 8:27 pm
Location: Stourbridge

Rear bumper removal

Post by flybobbie » Thu Sep 02, 2021 7:43 am

Not my video but this might help;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tsM4TUdpD4M
Seems like video of what not to do.
At 1:43 you can see he pulled bumper off without removing a screw, hole just left of finger.
b.jpg
b.jpg (19.58 KiB) Viewed 2437 times
You need to remove the wheel trim and longish extension with (can't remember) m8 or m10 socket to remove bolt.
When replacing bolt tape it to the socket to hold in place.
Do on a warm day so as not to break the plastic cut outs he has broken, but sometimes can't be avoided, just be careful.

Post Reply