Front bumper removal.

[Heat Seeking Missile]

I've finally found what the high pitched "chinking" noise coming from the front of my car was. The long bolt that holds the alternator in, is making a bid for freedom and I cant get to it without dropping the front bumper off. I was hoping to do this all in one hit when my Samco's arrive, to save taking the bumper on and off again but I dont like the idea of how loose it the alternator is, or might be, after driving around for so long without realising what it was, so I'd rather get on it and tighten it up before anything bad happens.

Are there any secret or hidden bolts or any particularly nasty plastic clips ready to disintegrate as soon as I aim a screwdriver near them?

Cheers,

Mark

[Acidburn]

Pretty easy to remove, biggest problem normally is the screws that join it onto the wing as they normally end up rounding off.

do you have an undertray, not sure how easy they are to remove as i've never had one.

I managed to swap the alternator on my s2 with everything still intact, might just need small hands

its relatively easy to remove the bumper

1x screw each side holding indicator on
2x screws holding fog lights on
2x 13mm bolts each side hidden behind the above to remove the bumper
whatever holds the undertray on
iirc 2x screws each side possibly one for the side trims.

just remember when you move it out the washer jets will still be connected, think thats all you need to know good luck its not too hard.

[bertman]

Had exactly the same problem on mine,managed to tighten the bolt by taking the alternator belt off and moving the alternator out to its furthest point,then getting very long extension and tightening from above the alternator where the shroud for the radiator is.

[Heat Seeking Missile]

Cheers, that doesn't sound too bad to be honest. I got a nasty feeling that one of the indicator screws rounded off though.

I have tiny hands and I cant even get into where this bolt is lurking, I can only just see it. The bumper is the only thing that has stopped it from dropping out by the look of it.

Should be a good chance to see what condition everything is in behind there, namely the intercooler and the pipework, I might even be able to get the bumper to line up properly and see why the headlight washers dont work.

All good fun eh?!

Mark

[4WheelDrifter]

I thought this was a no brainer, but here's Paul's sticky guide.

You could always try reversing into a ditch, that might get it off easier.

[Heat Seeking Missile]

Good work 4WheelDrifter, I dont know how I missed that. I might take some pictures while I do that and see if they're worth adding to that sticky.

The ditch tried to remove it last time but it stayed fast, even with a Landie swinging off the front of it, so I'm going to try a different method of bumper removal over the weekend...........A socket set and some screwdrivers.

I've heard these "tool" things are all the rage these days.

Mark

(Another attempt on bumper removal a few days ago left it with a small crack in it, but we'll not go into that )

[dest]

When I removed mine I found it easier to do slightly different to the guides on here.
When you remove the fog lamps it reveals an L shape bracket, one side has 2 bolts gat go into the front of the car, and the other side has 1 bolt that goes into the bumper.
People say to remove the 2 bolts, this then allows you to remove the bumper with the L bracket attached to it.

I found it easier to remove the 1 bolt and leave the bracket on the car.
This then makes it slightly easier when refitting it, as its easier to line it up against the bracket.
The only thing is, you need a wrench that will work in a tight space (the height of the gap where the fog lamp sits!) my Halfords Pro one did it no problem

[LHD_Kid]

One other small thing which is a good idea, put a blanket or something underneath along the front, then you can put it on the ground to remove the washer supply hose (there might well be some stinky water in there though....) without fear of scratches....
Chris

[newsh]

I always undo the two bolts that go sideways into the brackets and leave the brackets in place, dont lose the adjustment then

[Heat Seeking Missile]

Thanks for the replies everyone

I'm pretty sure it could do with being readjusted anyway, so its not the end of the world if I lose where it is. If my headlight washers haven't been working for a while, there's probably going to be some retched stagnant water in there. I'll bear that in mind when I take it off.

Mark