angleiron
Enthusiast
Have a few minor scrapes that I want to take care of, looking for help on getting the fascia off. Thanks!
Front Fascia Removal....any write ups or directions available?
- Thread starter angleiron
- Start date
Andrew2KRT10
Enthusiast
I think I was going to try it once when I went to change something in the front and and found it was going to be a nightmare. I did what I had to do without removal.
AC
AC
JiPi
Enthusiast
Dave's Big Brakes
Enthusiast
Andrew, shame on you
even I can do it in about 20 mins with a nap 
Their are the 2 hidden nuts
right above the 2 holding the fascia to the bumper 
remove the 3 panels right in front of the radiator, and pull the side panels out( there is 2 plastic pushon's holding the panels in place.) Then you can get at the 15mm nuts, and the whole fasica comes off with the bumper in one piece Just remember if I can do it anyone can(except maybe Tom )Dave
Casey
Enthusiast
Yeah, it's a breeze!
20 mins. with a Nap sounds about right!
20 mins. with a Nap sounds about right!
AviP
Enthusiast
It's a breeze if all you are doing is removing the front fascia. If you decide to go further than the front fascia, watch out for all the shims. Everything is shimmed on a Gen 1/2.
Andrew/USPWR
Enthusiast
Yeah, it's a breeze!
20 mins. with a Nap sounds about right!
Take me about 25min, but I swap the Nap for Beer
Here's how to remove it
1. Remove the bolts holding the bumper along the left and right wheel wells.
2. Remove the bolts along the bottom
3. Open the hood and remove the plastic push pins (Christmas trees) holding the bumper to the reinforcement. (The pins under the headlight are a PITA).
DON'T pull out the pushpins - they will break and are a PITA to remove - they cannot be effectively re-used even if they don't break because they lose their grip. Once you have removed the bolts on the wheel wells and on the bottom under the radiator area, all you have to do is remove the hood latch bracket and four nuts (13mm, I am pretty sure) that hold the whole assembly to the car - including the core support. The first time it will take you a while to figure out how to access the four nuts two of them require removing the air deflector above the radiator area; I can get my fascia off this way in under 20 min.
Oh, and don't forget to unplug the driving lights.
The push pins on the skin itself I don't plan on touching at all. There are 2 pushpins, one on each side, that hold the plastic enclosure onto the frame rails. I find it easier to get to the two bolts between the plastic enclosure and the fascia, if those push pins are removed. I have replacements for those.
According to Tom the oil geek the below info is the "trick"
1. Remove the bolts holding the bumper along the left and right wheel wells.
2. Remove the bolts along the bottom
3. Open the hood and remove the plastic push pins (Christmas trees) holding the bumper to the reinforcement. (The pins under the headlight are a PITA).
DON'T pull out the pushpins - they will break and are a PITA to remove - they cannot be effectively re-used even if they don't break because they lose their grip. Once you have removed the bolts on the wheel wells and on the bottom under the radiator area, all you have to do is remove the hood latch bracket and four nuts (13mm, I am pretty sure) that hold the whole assembly to the car - including the core support. The first time it will take you a while to figure out how to access the four nuts two of them require removing the air deflector above the radiator area; I can get my fascia off this way in under 20 min.
Oh, and don't forget to unplug the driving lights.
The push pins on the skin itself I don't plan on touching at all. There are 2 pushpins, one on each side, that hold the plastic enclosure onto the frame rails. I find it easier to get to the two bolts between the plastic enclosure and the fascia, if those push pins are removed. I have replacements for those.
According to Tom the oil geek the below info is the "trick"
There are two good posts about removing the front fascia, but stupid me still didn't get it until this time. (I'm replacing headlights.) These are the telling pictures that explain that the urethane fascia is push-pinned to the fiberglass bumper, the fiberglass bumper is bolted to a steel plate, and the steel plate is bolted to the end of the frame rail. You only need to remove the 4 (four, only four) bolts (besides all the little ones underneath and in the wheel well) holding the plate onto the end of the frame rail and the assembly comes off.
Two (one on each side) of the four are visible through the grill. You only need to undo the outer ones. The inner ones you can see through the grill only attach the fiberglass to the steel plate. The upper bolts you need to undo (one on each side) are behind the fiberglass bumper. You need to remove the air duct over the radiator to get to them. What fools you is that the nuts you can see under the headlight do not need to be removed.
Here's the right side. The nuts labeled "B" are visible, but do not need to be removed. The extra hole next to them isn't used. The upper bolt labeled "A" is behind the bumper and is reached from the center of the car (reaching in from where the air duct was.)
Here's the left side and how I had mistakenly begun to take it off. The plate is still on the end of the frame rail. I removed the "B" nuts (didn't need to) and only the bottom of the "A" bolts. You can do it this way and while it maintains your fascia alignment, it is truly a PITA.
In a previous post about removing the fascia there was a comment about removing a second part of the air duct. To do so requires removal of two push pins, as shown here. Removing this helps reach the upper, hidden, bolt attaching the plate to the frame rail.
Once you know all this and practice once, the fascia can indeed come off in 20 minutes. But doing it this way means you have to position the assembly relative to the headlights and hood again.
I thought it would be quick to replace the headlights; took me most of a day. Could probably do it in 3 hours next time.
