Front Bumper Removal - DIY by mister_roger

This post is a timely reminder that I need to realign my headlights so bumper off job. Is this a by the eye job or does anyone have a guide. Near side light is fine but off side was replaced by previous owner and its not quite right. My OCD does not like it.
 
I've just noticed by front bumper feels a little 'loose' on the nearside and the black plastic spacer thing looks a bit wavy. May need to use this excellent guide to do a bumper removal and inspect those pesky clips.
 
Just wanted to say thanks to this post for helping me with removing the front bumper removal to replace the balast on my foggy headlight!
 
Its great that 13 year old threads are still helping members out to this day, shows what a great resource this forum is :thumbsup:
 
cj10jeeper said:
Note also that in the lower rear corners (as seen in photo 2) there is an engagement lug in front of the bolts. If you dont get this connected in the square hole, the rest will not alight properly.
Click to expand...

A classic old thread I know but just saw this about an engagement lug. My front bumper appears to be sat incredibly low on the car. The bonnet and wings line up nicely but the bumper top line is just very low. The top strip has already been pushed as far back as possible to no avail. Currently idea is to shim the top strip to bring it up a bit. However, could this engagement lug thing as above from cj be causing the bumper to sit unnaturally low? Any ideas much appreciated!
 
Another thankyou very much to the OP, a great guide. Having never tackled anything like this in the past, followed step by step to remove and replace the bumper to allow a change of headlight units today. Job done in around 3 hours.
 
What a great thread! I hit a critter last Fall and it wound up shattering all three front splash guards and cracking the lower grill on my '07 3.0si Roadster. A local body shop quoted me a great price on a respray if I brought the bumper cover to them. Using this thread, I was able to remover and then reinstall everything with no trouble at all. Detaching the fender ends from the clips was the hardest part. I cracked one but replacements, although expensive, are easily sourced. It's off to the body shop tomorrow for a buff out to complete the job.

Thanks again!
 
Few tips from me if you want perfect gaps (in accordance to TIS also). Only if you car is accident free in the first place 8)
It is also a great time to replace low/high horn or foglights or air ducts for the M. I suggest buying new clips and rivets.
Okay. here we go. If you want to avoid this 'wave' let's call it:

EQPMLUd.png

you HAVE TO make sure, that those bad boyz are propercly clipped onto fender (no movement whatsoever of anykind if you pull this bracket). They've got to catch inside of the fender firmly:

9LJ6UmN.png

Gaps:

F5cxA0Z.png
 
Well, got round to doing mine today. Thanks to all who posted on this thread, was pretty straightforward. Wish I could say the same for the wing which I’m replacing too. Had to take an angle grinder to the wing to get to torx bolts which won’t budge, hopefully PlusGas does the trick! It came in handy for one stubborn engine bay bolt, would recommend having a can of PlusGas to hand for these 20 year old fixings.

Now need to get some side skirt clips ordered too as partial removal or skirt is needed to access bolts for wing removal.

IMG-9326.jpg
 
Am going to take my bumper, wing and side skirt off as I think someone has replaced them at some point, badly. The gaps are big and the bumper is on loosely and looks rubbish.

I have seen some fixings kits on eBay, which ones would I need as I would ideally like to be at least semi prepared before I take everything off rather than have it sitting for a week naked on the drive while I wait for stuff to arrive?
 
Hey,

You’ll need these bumper clips which clip the bumper on to the front wings

51117165180 (offside)
51117165179 (nearside)

I got them for around £27 each direct from BMW, which was cheaper than eBay.

Also these clips will come in handy:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/295491946125?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=egiIUv6sSZO&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=ufhkxma9syu&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

Sill clips:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/393019157090?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=aiUWzZxKTF2&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=ufhkxma9syu&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

Some tips for the sill clips above: https://z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=145308

Not an exhaustive list but gives you an idea!
 
Are the bumper clips that are available on AliExpress the same quality as the Genuine BMW or OEM clips. These are half the price of the Genuine brand parts.

Here are the links:

https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256807028393473.html?src=google&pdp_npi=4%40dis%21USD%2125.00%2125.00%21%21%21%21%21%40%2112000039834304736%21ppc%21%21%21&src=google&albch=shopping&acnt=708-803-3821&isdl=y&slnk=&plac=&mtctp=&albbt=Google_7_shopping&aff_platform=google&aff_short_key=UneMJZVf&gclsrc=aw.ds&albagn=888888&ds_e_adid=&ds_e_matchtype=&ds_e_device=c&ds_e_network=x&ds_e_product_group_id=&ds_e_product_id=en3256807028393473&ds_e_product_merchant_id=107913831&ds_e_product_country=US&ds_e_product_language=en&ds_e_product_channel=online&ds_e_product_store_id=&ds_url_v=2&albcp=20546179816&albag=&isSmbAutoCall=false&needSmbHouyi=false&gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAAD6I-hGdFFwbD3b90accwrtF3iCUa&gclid=CjwKCAiA8Lu9BhA8EiwAag16b9OxVsEpgyWQETV4S4M-_9i6Z3w3a7Ocm1n2MJafSRv1Axu_OcfgehoCKN0QAvD_BwE&gatewayAdapt=glo2usa#nav-review

Here's the FCP Euro link:

https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/bmw-support-side-panel-front-right-51117165180?ads_cmpid=21608570793&ads_adid=172030790768&ads_matchtype=&ads_network=g&ads_creative=710410055271&utm_term=&ads_targetid=pla-297546631617&utm_campaign=&utm_source=adwords&utm_medium=ppc&ttv=2&gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAAD3np3W2Ja969kBvaozmXoaGl13Te&gclid=CjwKCAiA8Lu9BhA8EiwAag16b1_7lSJ1CUSebHd2owdllpm2DwKvG7XyM513qk6FmeXBWZNuEpc3vBoCgGMQAvD_BwE
 
Hi,

Have you called BMW parts directly? I think the price wasn’t far off the Ali Express one when I bought mine from my local BMW dealer. Hardly any wait too, was ready for collection I think after a day or two.
 
I looked on the BMW parts website and it's about $46 per side. AliExpress is about $50 for a pair.

I usually buy either from Pelican Parts or BMW NorthWest....

I think I need rear bumper clips as well.
 
Ah sorry, didn’t click you were in the US.

Could be worth a try, the Ali Express ones. Sorry I can’t be of more help!
 
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