Rear Bumper Cover Removal

Doing this from memory, I think there are four bolts that hold it on. I'll check when I get home.

Bob Wilson

 

Okay, there are 2 clips that have to be removed underneath the car. You will see them as they are very obvious. The trouble is, the clips get old and you'll probably wind up breaking them while trying to pry them out. They are fairly standard plastic clips and can be replaced, though.

Then, you'll need to remove all the carpeted area on the inside of the trunk. There may also be a large plastic panel on the very back side too.. You will find a total (if memory serves) of 10 bolts to remove, 5 on each side, I believe. They don't look like traditional bolts, though.

Just know this.. The bumper comes off very easily, without much effort, once all the bolts are removed. If for some reason it doesn't seem like it wants to come off, you probably forgot something.

 

There are about 3 nuts on the seam where bumper cover enters the trunk on each side. You may have to remove the 12V battery on the drivers side. , the battery may limit access to at least 1 of them. 3 on the other side too.

There are also at least 2long hex nuts in the rear panel of the trunk. remove the black plastic cover first to get to the brass colored long hex nuts. (4 plastic barbs hold on the rear plastic cover). Might be more long hex nuts, don't remember off the top of my head.

As you remove fasteners the bumper cover will become loose. When all fasteners removed it comes off very easily....and like the other person said, there are 2 plastic barbs you remove from under the car that go straight up...you are supposed to pop out the middle part of the barb down, but if dirty/old they may not cooperate.

The "T-bolts" that are built into the bumper often fall out when trying to attach to the car and get the nuts started....a tip is to use duct tape to hold them into the bumper when re-attaching.

One last tip, be careful with your sockets and wrenches. It is very easy to ding the outside metal part of the car when removing the 3 nuts on each side inside the trunk area.

 

I just did this recently on our 2001, after my daughter backed into someone. Remove the two clips on the bottom first. Be careful here as I broke one getting it off, and had to get a new one from the parts store. Remove the trunk liner fabric. Then from memory, there are three nuts to remove from each of the far left and right sides in the trunk area. It is easier on the left side to access the nuts if you remove the aux battery, but I was able to do it with a socket extension. After removing the truck floor, I believe there are four other nuts to remove along the rear truck lip.

I popped out our dent by CAREFULLY applying some heat with a heat gun (hairdryer should work), and massaging the dent out from the back side of the bumper. I had to push and hold the plastic while it cooled for it to retain the shape. They key here is not too much heat or you will melt the plastic, but enough to move the plastic. Do not expect the paint to look perfect. There are some crazing marks on ours where the dent was.