Bumper removal

[tezles42]

Can anyone advise on the rear bumper removal. I am looking at trying to sort the parking sensors so thought i would start with a contact clean etc.
Regards

[J44EAG]

My own knowledge is sketchy on this procedure. Hopefully someone else will have a better insight but here is what I do know.

I believe you will need to remove both rear wheels to release a number of Torx bolts which fit through the rear arch liner into the back edge of the bumper cover. Be prepared to use WD40 as the quality of the corrosion protection given to the fixings is far from good. I had a similar fight at the front end of my car when I did the fuel filter located at the back edge of the NS front wheel. Not much fun when you struggle with rusted fixings.

There are certainly at least three clips along the top side edges of the side of the bumper cover where it fixes to the lower edge of the rear wings. These might be snap or push fit locators.

No doubt there are several clips or screws holding the rear top and bottom edges of the bumper cover to the rear of the car. Regret I`ve never dug this deep so my knowledge at this point deteriorates. I`ll try to find out more.

The Technical Overview publication is hopeless on these details. Anyway, here is a link which you might find generally useful although not being of any use with bumper cover removal details.

http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j& ... mNCn-j6uNQ

Mike

[National2188]

Have their been any further updates to this topic since 2012, please?

I have a 2004 3.0 SE (bought in Mar 2015) and I need to remove both the front (fog light issue) and rear (parking sensor(s) issue) bumpers.

An idiots guide would be very useful for me to follow.

Thanks in advance.
Phil

[Martec]

Oldtimer has removed his in the past I believe and may comment on this before long (when he wakes up!)

Brian

PS Plusgas release oil is better.

[oldtimer]

Well , I've got one eye open , for a short while.
Hi Tez,
I'll give you the short version, then you can tell us if you have the skill and equipment to do the job. Not much point in giving the full works if you are going to go to the fellow down the road !

Push both back seats forward, Boot carpet out, both L/h and R/h side panels out. Plastic panel over boot lock off. With this access you can now remove 9/10 bolts retaining top edge of plastic bumper cover, use 10mm socket on long 1/4 inch drive extension.

OK so far

The bottom edge of plastic bumper cover is secured in place with a combination of assorted screws. Details next time

If the car were brand new I would allow an hour or so to take the bumper cover off

BUT
There is a risk that these screws and bolts have never been touched in which case corrosion may prove a problem in un doing them.

That's all for tonight - let us know your plan and we can go from there

Oldtimer

PS. I had mine off to fit a tow bar - some interesting stuff under that cover

[National2188]

Morning, Oldtimer.

It was me asking about an update to Tez's original post from 2012, as I bought my S Type in March of 2015. Further reading means that my plan of action now will be to:
1. Test the park distance sensors and hope that it's a front one that's playing up / broken.
2. Remove the front bumper and deal with 1 above plus remove the front fog lamp wiring for test ( the interior warning light works but the front fogs do not)
3. Revert to Plan B if it's not a front sensor and remove the rear bumper, as per your advice, which should be straightforward enough. You do, however mention 9/10 bolts. Is that 9 or 10 bolts, or 9 out of 10? If so, where's the tenth bolt?

Thanks for the Plusgas tip too.

All the best
Phil

[oldtimer]

Hi Phil,
It's a good while ago that I had the bumper cover off, so I cannot remember exactly how many retaining bolts there are around the top edge but it will become abundantly obvious once you get into the job. I vaguely remember having to release an electrical component from it's mount for access to one of the bolts but did not disconnect the battery. This bit of the job is quite straight forward, tis the lower edge which could be problematic.

In fact, I would suggest you start along the bottom edge by removing the assorted screws. These can be seen from underneath. You will require a torkes bit into a socket and 1/4 inch drive small ratchet handle for the ones in the wheel arch. I would suggest that you work on an explority basis and remove and replace each and every screw in turn to ensure that it can be removed prior to actually starting the job. Put some copper slip on the screws , you may have to repeat the job another day

Although it is not necessary to remove the back wheels if only taking the bumper cover off, However, I would strongly recommend that the wheels are taken off to allow the wheel arch liners to be removed for cleaning purposes. You will find a tremendous build up of road dirt which is thrown up by the road wheels. This even reaches up to the rear light unit especially on the off side (the near side of the boot tub is constructed differently to allow fitment Sat Nav and stuff)

If you choose to go this route then don't miss the opportunity to wax oil the whole area

Whilst the bumper is off examine the air con exhaust ducts for security of fitment. I've written about this previously under water leaks in the boot.

I hope that helps a bit - come back if you need more

Oldtimer

[Martec]

I've been into that area this morning to clean a bulb in the rear light fitting, It passed its MOT yesterday with one tail light bulb out hence todays fix.

The bumper is held on with 10 bolts accessible from the boot, but as Oldtimer says you need to release the back bits of the arch splash panel from inside the wheel arch. With my work in removing the subframe I also removed these and found them rusted up. So suggest you start by applying plusgas NOW to the exposed theads (twice a day for atleast 3 days), and eventually they will come
loose. Refit everything with copperslip (a copper rich grease) to ensure it will release next time and if you are feeling particularly pernickety then a dab of underbody wax over the threads to protect it.

Best of luck
Brian

[National2188]

Dear Oldtimer & Brian,

Thank you. I'll have a look at this in about three weeks' time, due to holiday / work plans.
I'm going to start with the front bumper first. I've also contacted a local scrap yard and if they have S-Types in ( post 2004) then I'll go and have a 'play' on their breakers as a practice run before starting on mine. I'm applying oils to the front fastenings too, but the Plusgas is on order!

Cheers for now
Phil

[J44EAG]

Regret to say this fixings issue is one of the things that has lead me to changing my car. But I don`t expect the new one will be much better.

Every time I try to get a job done underneath the car, this gets thwarted (nautical term which only Brian and I truly understand the meaning and Oldtimer won`t understand because he lives miles from the sea) and delayed because I have to fight off the effects of galloping fixings corrosion. The ones around the front of the front wheel arch liners and the lower front undershield can be difficult enough to want to make you set fire to the car out of pure frustration.

I wonder if Jaguar have tackled this issue on later cars and built in some more resilient fixings.

I took an old P-reg X300R apart for a giggle. I have to say all fastenings on that car came apart as if fitted the day before. What ever happened to Jaguar quality in the late 1999 period?

Mike

[National2188]

Thanks Mike,

I've ordered the PlusGas and a couple of cans of Silver Hook spray grease/ PTFE, so I'll keep my fingers crossed that I don't get 'thwarted' either ( I live in West Yorkshire now, but I did grow up in East Yorkshire ...slightly nearer the sea than our present home!).

I appreciate all of the advice and shall keep you posted - but let's see how my battery replacement goes first.

Kind regards
Phil

[J44EAG]

These fixings can be a terrible problem. My new to me X350 also suffers from these horrible steel corrosion fastening issues. Rusty as you will ever see. The quality is very poor. I`ve seen far better fixings on an old P-reg X300R where the fixings were in great condition a couple of years ago. So much for modern plating processes.

You might save a bit of rebuild grief by obtaining some new fixings and liberally apply copper grease when you fit the car up again. New fixings are great. Old ones can be a pain.

Mike