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Installing the silver front reflectors

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Trex
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Location: Bryn Mawr, PA

Installing the silver front reflectors

Post by Trex » Mon Aug 31, 2009 9:19 pm

LeatherZ has available for the U.S. market the silver front fender reflectors to replace the orange ones. Cost is $50 for the two. Orange replacement reflectors are $18 each.

LeatherZ states that removal of the front wheel is not necessary. I strongly suggest that you do so. With the car jacked up and a front wheel removed, take out the two upper and lower light access panels in the front of the black plastic wheel-well liner. This will add flexibility to the front of the panel as you maneuver it about to get to the back of the reflectors. Use the biggest, thickest flat-head screwdriver you have to rotate the two retaining buttons on each of the access panels. If one of the retaining buttons falls out, you'll observe that it can click right back in to its semi-circular attachment.

Now remove the lower 8mm nut at the bottom of the black plastic wheel-well liner and remove the four black plastic push-pin connectors on the front inner wheel-well lip. If you are not familiar with these connectors, they stay in place by having a plastic pin push through the connector to expand it in the back. When installed properly, the pin is flush with the visible domed head of the connector. The way to remove them is to push the pin all the way in with a small round object like a dental probe or a small diameter punch. You'll hear the pins fall out the back - don't worry, there is a lower horizontal inner panel that will collect the pins.

Now that front part of the inner panel is able to be pulled back and you can see (and feel) that there are two 10mm nuts holding the reflector on. The nuts are not the normal hard metal nut, they are a self-threading metal cap that threads onto the plastic posts of the reflector and it can be difficult to get a socket properly seated on the nut to loosen it. The lower nut is easy to get to and comes out with no problem. The upper nut is close to a metal headlight support and getting a socket in there is not easy. Should you decide to use an open or closed end wrench, you'll find little room to work with. I happened to have a 10mm nut driver that worked if I pressed hard against the reflector surface to get the socket seated properly. The plastic posts on the back of the reflector are tapered at the end, so once the 10mm nut is loose, it will come off with your fingers.

Installation is the reverse. I did screw in the (old) 10mm metal cap onto the plastic post a turn or two to get the thread started and to insure that the nut will not be threading at an angle. Place the push-pins into the connector just a bit and put the connectors into the liner and the fender and then take a soft mallet and drive the pins in. Couldn't find all four of those black plastic push-pins? Try a toothpick to jam in there. It will hold until you get to the dealer to get another one. They are about $1.00 each.

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clintman17
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Re: Installing the silver front reflectors

Post by clintman17 » Tue Aug 13, 2013 2:53 am

Trex, I realize this post is four years old, but having just recently purchased a 2005 z4 I was looking for a solution to this orange (and red in the back) problem.

I looked at LeatherZ's site, but didn't see these. Any idea if they are still around anywhere?
Image

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