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- 2003.5 Titanium Gray MSP #1699
I just recently did this & got a PM asking how. I looked before & found no explanation on how to do it & not even a real How-To for taking the normal MP3/P5 bumper off.
There are a lot of screws, so keep the ones from each step separate so that you don't mix them up or lose them. Make sure that you do this carefully so that you don't strip any of the screws or scratch your paint. You should have a Phillips & flathead screwdriver along with a 10mm ratchet wrench.
1. Take off your grille (2 screws & 2 plastic pop-out screws). Use the flathead screwdriver to pop the middle of the plastic screws out & then the whole thing will come out. After you remove those 4 things, you lift up on the sides of the grille where the screws were to release the tabs & then lift up on the bottom (there are 3 points where it attachs to the bumper).
2. Remove the screws from inside the fenders (2 screws & 4 plastic pop-out screws). The screws go through the very back part of the lip & after you take them out, you will have 2 big washers fall out. These plastic screws come out by turning the middle with a Phillips screwdriver. The pop-out screws are above them (you don't have to take out the 3rd set).
3. Remove the screws that hold the sides of the bumper up (4 screws). Once you remove the screws from inside the fender, you can pull back the plastic fender guards & you will see 2 screws holding the bumper up. The 1st one is right at the edge & the 2nd is further in (hard to see at first, but just follow the seam). After you get all of these out, the bumper will pull out from underneath the headlights.
4. Remove the screws that hold the bottom part of the plastic fender guard to the bumper (6 screws). Basically in the same location as the last step, except on the bottom of the bumper.
5. Remove the last 4 screws in the bottom middle part of the bumper. The lip & the bumper each have tabs that reach in underneath the car with screws to hold them on. I think the ones for the bumper are bigger, closer to the middle, & further back.
6. Stand in front of your car & hold the bumper on each side where the grille screwed in. Gently lift up & back & the bumper should come off. You may have to pull the sides out a little to give it room. Set it down on something padded so that it doesn't get scratched.
7. With the bumper off, you can see that the lip is held on in behind the small, side mesh inserts with 3 bolts. The bolts are attached to the lip itself, but the 3 washers that go with them need to be removed.
8. The only thing still holding the lip on is double stick tape. You will have to first separate the lip on the sides of the bumper. Just go slowly & it should come off. The center is tricky because it is held on with tape & the bolts that are behind the mesh inserts. Even with the washers removed, the bolts still hold the lip on. Carefully pull the lip away to get them out & make sure not to scratch the paint on the other side once the bolts are out. It took me a few minutes to do this because you really have to push on the bolts to get the lip out.
9. Put the bumper back on your car & follow all of the steps in reverse order to reattach it. When you tighten all of the screws, make sure you don't go too far or you can easily over-torque it & strip the threads that hold the screw in. Make sure that it clips in under the headlights. If you don't align it before you tighten those 2 top screws on each side, you will be left with a big gap at the front of the fender. This should be a lot easier because the lip adds extra steps to putting it back on (getting those stupid washers in the right place). Also check to make sure that the plastic fender guard tucks in behind the bumper (you'll understand when you see it).
10. Once you have the lip off, you will probably see what I did...that you not only have the double stick tape on your bumper, but that it is also stained from having never been washed. Tear off as much of the tape as you can & then go at it with lots of Goo Gone & a plastic scraper (I used the plastic cap off the 20 oz. bottle off Goo Gone I had). This took me about 30 minutes & that's even with my past experience on previous cars. You just have to rub the Goo Gone on there with a rag, scrape the adhesive off, wipe it off, & repeat. Eventually the adhesive will look clear, but you have to feel the bumper with your finger to make sure you got it all. Once you have it all off, clean off the whole bumper with Bug & Tar Remover. This stuff is great & absolutely pwns all of the stains & other stuff on your bumper. I spent about 15 minutes doing this, but it's a lot easier than the Goo Gone.
*I had only taken my bumper off once before & I didn't have any help or instructions. Doing all of this took about 90 minutes, but I could probably do it in an hour now (there is no real way to speed up getting the adhesive off).*
ENJOY!
There are a lot of screws, so keep the ones from each step separate so that you don't mix them up or lose them. Make sure that you do this carefully so that you don't strip any of the screws or scratch your paint. You should have a Phillips & flathead screwdriver along with a 10mm ratchet wrench.
1. Take off your grille (2 screws & 2 plastic pop-out screws). Use the flathead screwdriver to pop the middle of the plastic screws out & then the whole thing will come out. After you remove those 4 things, you lift up on the sides of the grille where the screws were to release the tabs & then lift up on the bottom (there are 3 points where it attachs to the bumper).
2. Remove the screws from inside the fenders (2 screws & 4 plastic pop-out screws). The screws go through the very back part of the lip & after you take them out, you will have 2 big washers fall out. These plastic screws come out by turning the middle with a Phillips screwdriver. The pop-out screws are above them (you don't have to take out the 3rd set).
3. Remove the screws that hold the sides of the bumper up (4 screws). Once you remove the screws from inside the fender, you can pull back the plastic fender guards & you will see 2 screws holding the bumper up. The 1st one is right at the edge & the 2nd is further in (hard to see at first, but just follow the seam). After you get all of these out, the bumper will pull out from underneath the headlights.
4. Remove the screws that hold the bottom part of the plastic fender guard to the bumper (6 screws). Basically in the same location as the last step, except on the bottom of the bumper.
5. Remove the last 4 screws in the bottom middle part of the bumper. The lip & the bumper each have tabs that reach in underneath the car with screws to hold them on. I think the ones for the bumper are bigger, closer to the middle, & further back.
6. Stand in front of your car & hold the bumper on each side where the grille screwed in. Gently lift up & back & the bumper should come off. You may have to pull the sides out a little to give it room. Set it down on something padded so that it doesn't get scratched.
7. With the bumper off, you can see that the lip is held on in behind the small, side mesh inserts with 3 bolts. The bolts are attached to the lip itself, but the 3 washers that go with them need to be removed.
8. The only thing still holding the lip on is double stick tape. You will have to first separate the lip on the sides of the bumper. Just go slowly & it should come off. The center is tricky because it is held on with tape & the bolts that are behind the mesh inserts. Even with the washers removed, the bolts still hold the lip on. Carefully pull the lip away to get them out & make sure not to scratch the paint on the other side once the bolts are out. It took me a few minutes to do this because you really have to push on the bolts to get the lip out.
9. Put the bumper back on your car & follow all of the steps in reverse order to reattach it. When you tighten all of the screws, make sure you don't go too far or you can easily over-torque it & strip the threads that hold the screw in. Make sure that it clips in under the headlights. If you don't align it before you tighten those 2 top screws on each side, you will be left with a big gap at the front of the fender. This should be a lot easier because the lip adds extra steps to putting it back on (getting those stupid washers in the right place). Also check to make sure that the plastic fender guard tucks in behind the bumper (you'll understand when you see it).
10. Once you have the lip off, you will probably see what I did...that you not only have the double stick tape on your bumper, but that it is also stained from having never been washed. Tear off as much of the tape as you can & then go at it with lots of Goo Gone & a plastic scraper (I used the plastic cap off the 20 oz. bottle off Goo Gone I had). This took me about 30 minutes & that's even with my past experience on previous cars. You just have to rub the Goo Gone on there with a rag, scrape the adhesive off, wipe it off, & repeat. Eventually the adhesive will look clear, but you have to feel the bumper with your finger to make sure you got it all. Once you have it all off, clean off the whole bumper with Bug & Tar Remover. This stuff is great & absolutely pwns all of the stains & other stuff on your bumper. I spent about 15 minutes doing this, but it's a lot easier than the Goo Gone.
*I had only taken my bumper off once before & I didn't have any help or instructions. Doing all of this took about 90 minutes, but I could probably do it in an hour now (there is no real way to speed up getting the adhesive off).*
ENJOY!
