pulling up the rear bumper

[kolosy]

the gap between the fender and the rear bumper increases moving rearward, from about 2mm to about 5. I know that's actually within spec, but it's visible and annoys the crap out of me.

IMG_0060 2.jpg

i pulled the bumper off, replaced the clips, and verified that the plastic rail it slides along is in good shape. what's setting the position of the rear portion is the actual bumper mount, which does have an adjuster in it (a 14mm allen), but that seems to be maxed out. no signs of impact or any other damage, and it's a clean carfax. any suggestions? this seems to be a relatively common issue judging by pics, i just wish i could fix it.

[yinzerinmass]

sorry no help here but Id like to know this as well. However I'm missing a couple of those push in buttons that hold the plastic slider tight to the body. A body shop that the PO used did not replace them or they fell out

[s8ilver]

the gap between the fender and the rear bumper increases moving rearward, from about 2mm to about 5. I know that's actually within spec, but it's visible and annoys the crap out of me.

There are 4 rivets that hold the bumper to the fender. Did you replace those? You can also adjust the height of the rear with the threaded adjusters in the bumper shocks, if they're not frozen. IIRC it's a 14mm hex.

Edit: just read your additional text under the photo. It sounds like your adjusters work, so that's good. All I can think of is that something is tweaked or the bumper is just warped a bit. Another possibility is that the support holes have ovaled a bit and are just droopy. They were $6 apiece back in the day; now they're $38/side.

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sorry no help here but Id like to know this as well. However I'm missing a couple of those push in buttons that hold the plastic slider tight to the body. A body shop that the PO used did not replace them or they fell out

They usually break if you look at them wrong, the pieces that pull the front of the bumper up. Those don't attach to the sliders though, so don't exactly follow what you mean.

If you're talking about the two rivets (BMW calls them "clips") each side that push into fender, what I found to be the best way is to seat them in the bumper first, remove the plastic slider mounts, pull the bumper up into the fender, and then reinstall the sliders.

In my case, the new clear coat made the fit very snug so sliding the bumper over the "push in buttons" just sheared them off. Luckily I had extras before I started.

20190809_145545.jpg20190809_151256.jpg20190809_192147.jpg

The sliders are just held on with two plastic nuts (51 71 1 958 025). The bumper is pulled to the fender with "clips" (51 12 8 399 166).

#7 & #11, respectively. Oh, and make sure you actually buy the black ones. The green ones that replaced the ...166 parts don't fit.

https://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/sho...diagId=51_2330

And for anyone that cares, Roadster bumper shocks fit just fine on a Coupe. I just removed the ginormous weights. ~$30 for good used ones on eBay vs. ~$500 for new Coupe shocks.

20190809_141143.jpg

[kolosy]

There are 4 rivets that hold the bumper to the fender. Did you replace those? You can also adjust the height of the rear with the threaded adjusters in the bumper shocks, if they're not frozen. IIRC it's a 14mm hex.

Edit: just read your additional text under the photo. It sounds like your adjusters work, so that's good. All I can think of is that something is tweaked or the bumper is just warped a bit.

- - - Updated - - -



They usually break if you look at them wrong, the pieces that pull the front of the bumper up. Those don't attach to the sliders though, so don't exactly follow what you mean.

If you're talking about the two rivets each side that push into fender, what I found to be the best way is to seat them in the bumper first, remove the plastic slider mounts, pull the bumper up into the fender, and then reinstall the sliders.

In my case, the new clear coat made the fit very snug so sliding the bumper over the "push in buttons" just sheared them off. Luckily I had extras before I started.

20190809_145545.jpg

yeah, i bought 8 and used all of them through the several rounds of on/off

how much room does the adjuster have? maybe i didn't have the hex seated enough or something, need to check again.

[s8ilver]

yeah, i bought 8 and used all of them through the several rounds of on/off

how much room does the adjuster have? maybe i didn't have the hex seated enough or something, need to check again.

That many threads worth (I upload upright and the Forum rotates for some reason):

20190720_114320.jpg

There's where mine were at when I pulled the bumper:

20190721_112312.jpg

Clean and lube them really well and run them fully through the shocks to make sure they don't bind.

[kolosy]

That many threads worth (I upload upright and the Forum rotates for some reason):

20190720_114320.jpg

There's where mine were at when I pulled the bumper:

20190721_112312.jpg

Clean and lube them really well and run them fully through the shocks to make sure they don't bind.

yeah, maybe that's what happening. that should be plenty to address my misalignment.

looks like i need more clips!

[s8ilver]

yeah, maybe that's what happening. that should be plenty to address my misalignment.

looks like i need more clips!

I'd keep at least 2 or 3 threads engaged minimum, but once you bolt them up they can't really go anywhere.

Here's another idea: loosen the bumper shock base mounting bolts and set them as high as they will go. They have quite a bit of play when you loosen the bolts.

[amancuso]

There are 4 rivets that hold the bumper to the fender. Did you replace those? You can also adjust the height of the rear with the threaded adjusters in the bumper shocks, if they're not frozen. IIRC it's a 14mm hex.

Edit: just read your additional text under the photo. It sounds like your adjusters work, so that's good. All I can think of is that something is tweaked or the bumper is just warped a bit. Another possibility is that the support holes have ovaled a bit and are just droopy. They were $6 apiece back in the day; now they're $38/side.

- - - Updated - - -



They usually break if you look at them wrong, the pieces that pull the front of the bumper up. Those don't attach to the sliders though, so don't exactly follow what you mean.

If you're talking about the two rivets (BMW calls them "clips") each side that push into fender, what I found to be the best way is to seat them in the bumper first, remove the plastic slider mounts, pull the bumper up into the fender, and then reinstall the sliders.

In my case, the new clear coat made the fit very snug so sliding the bumper over the "push in buttons" just sheared them off. Luckily I had extras before I started.

20190809_145545.jpg20190809_151256.jpg20190809_192147.jpg

The sliders are just held on with two plastic nuts (51 71 1 958 025). The bumper is pulled to the fender with "clips" (51 12 8 399 166).

#7 & #11, respectively. Oh, and make sure you actually buy the black ones. The green ones that replaced the ...166 parts don't fit.

https://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/sho...diagId=51_2330

And for anyone that cares, Roadster bumper shocks fit just fine on a Coupe. I just removed the ginormous weights. ~$30 for good used ones on eBay vs. ~$500 for new Coupe shocks.

20190809_141143.jpg

If the 166 clips don't fit, what is the part number for the black ones?

[s8ilver]

The "166" clips are the correct black ones. When you post the "166" clips into a site like ECS, they are automatically superceded by the green ones.

Sent from my SM-G975F using Tapatalk

[kolosy]

Yeah, the green ones are crap. They don't snap in as snugly (because the black ones have more of a fish hook shape, whereas the green ones are continuous), so they are more likely to lever out.. they're also more brittle. FCP has the black ones still.

[amancuso]

Thanks. I am going to order some. My rear bumper has a large gap at the fender. It's equal from front to rear though, so my issue is different from the OP's.

[kolosy]

Thanks. I am going to order some. My rear bumper has a large gap at the fender. It's equal from front to rear though, so my issue is different from the OP's.

if the gap is equal, you can adjust the position of the mounting bracket (#5 here https://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/sho...diagId=51_2388). It sits on 2 studs secured by plastic nuts, and if you loosen it, there's a lot of room to move it around and reposition. My issue is definitely the shocks because i can't lift hte bumper any higher without hitting them.

[amancuso]

Thanks, I'll give that a try.

[yinzerinmass]

Yeah, the green ones are crap. They don't snap in as snugly (because the black ones have more of a fish hook shape, whereas the green ones are continuous), so they are more likely to lever out.. they're also more brittle. FCP has the black ones still.

I think FCP might be out if the black ones I placed an order last week and received one black and 7 greens. I didn’t call and specifically ask for black though they picture black and I assumed they would be.