Aligning the front bumper

[Batoutahell]

I loosened the front bumper in order to install the front type r chassis bar, although I did not remove it entirely. Now when I try to tighten it back up, the passenger side cinches up just fine. I wish I could say the same for the driver's side. The best I can get is about a 1.5 mm gap between the bumper and the fender. The gap is at it's greatest where the bumper and fender meet at the headlight.

I can "muscle" the bumper into place to where there is absolutely no gap, but I have not found the right combination of tightening the nuts/bolts to hold the bumper in place. The gap reappears when I let go of the bumper.

Before somebody asks, I am fastening each side of the bumper by tightening 2 nuts and 1 bolt inside the fender, 3 bolts in the front, and 2 bolts on top (in front of the radiator).

Is there a trick to cinching the bumper tightly into place?

 

[whrdnsx]

Are you sure you have it back on both the Hooks? You have to lift & push back the Bumper to make sure you hook it into the mounts.

If you do the Bumper will stay there without any bolts fitted.

 

[Batoutahell]

Good point. My problem is I can't find the hooks. I've been staring at the service manual drawing and crawling under both sides of the car and I can't find the hooks. Can you describe where they're at?

 

[Batoutahell]

I could really use a hand. Can anyone tell me where I can find the bumper hooks? Thanks

 

[drew]

take some pictures of what you got so we can see what you're doing and what you're working with.

Its been a while, but I think you are looking for parts 24/25 hook into parts 8/9

http://www.nsxpartsdb.com/parts/G/B46/

 

[Shaun Ray]

Sorry to hijack he thread but can either of you tell me if removing the bumper skirt (71102-SLO-00ZZ) is difficult? I'd like to remove and take to a body shop for repair and paint. Got a small crack and some rock chips on the piece. Prefer to keep the upper bumper original paint and could save some $$ doing the removal and reinstallation.

Good luck with the bumper, Jim.

Shaun

 

[RU N LUV2]

Its been a while, but I think you are looking for parts 24/25 hook into parts 8/9
http://www.nsxpartsdb.com/parts/G/B46/

There are square hooks on the back of part 10 (the heavy crash bumper) that hook into "square holes" on parts 8/9. I had mine off this weekend doing the chassis bars and I had a little gap. I was able to hold the bumper in place while I hand tightened the nuts through the wheel well. The bumper should hang with very little effort needed to close the gap.
Make sure the radiator duct is tucked in nice and neat.

Good Luck :smile:

 

[NSXclear]

Sorry to hijack he thread but can either of you tell me if removing the bumper skirt (71102-SLO-00ZZ) is difficult? I'd like to remove and take to a body shop for repair and paint. Got a small crack and some rock chips on the piece. Prefer to keep the upper bumper original paint and could save some $$ doing the removal and reinstallation.

Good luck with the bumper, Jim.

Shaun

If I remember correctly, you have to take the entire front bumper cover (upper and lower) off the car in order to take apart the lower half. After that, it is pretty straight forward how to remove the lower half.

Taking off the front bumper is fairly easy. A few small screws on each side, 6 main bumper bolts on the front, and the top bolts by the radiator. See the manual.

I would recommend you tape off near the front frenders where it meets the bumber with painters tape. I would have scratched my paint there if I didn't have the tape on.

Good Luck.

 

[NSXclear]

I know your trying to find the easy way to do it, but maybe the best way is to start over. That is what I had to do to get it to fit correctly.

Take the bumber competely off and try to align the crash bumber first. Once you get the cover off entirely, you will be able to see what you are doing and will find the square hooks. Check to make sure those are mounted properly.

Then try to put back the bumber cover. This is best done with two people, but I can do it myself with a little patience. Lightly tighten the screws until you have everything aligned.

Make sure the parking light wires are through the parking light openning.

Put blue painters tape on the front fender where the bumber meets the front fenders. This will protect it from scatches.

 

[Shaun Ray]

If I remember correctly, you have to take the entire front bumper cover (upper and lower) off the car in order to take apart the lower half. After that, it is pretty straight forward how to remove the lower half.

Taking off the front bumper is fairly easy. A few small screws on each side, 6 main bumper bolts on the front, and the top bolts by the radiator. See the manual.

I would recommend you tape off near the front frenders where it meets the bumber with painters tape. I would have scratched my paint there if I didn't have the tape on.

Good Luck.

Thanks for the information. Sounds like work but hey, it's a learning experience and a little more bonding time with the NSX. I think I'm up for it.

-s

 

[Batoutahell]

Very good advice here. I think I will remove the bumper completely and start over. The reason I didn't try this before is because when I initially started to remove the bumper, it only separated about 1/2", it wouldn't separate completely no matter how much I lifted and jiggled it. I guess now is as good a time as any to figure out how to remove it completely, that might give me an idea why it's not hooking up properly.

I'm tied up for the weekend, but I'll give it a try Monday.

 

[drew]

Removing the bumper is extremely easy, it is held on by surprisingly few bolts.

Batoutahell you should have been a little more clear that you were doing a half-job. It doesn't work that way...go ahead and remove all the bolts, rehang, align and bolt back up. Should take you an hour.

 

[Batoutahell]

I still can't remove my front bumper in order to realign it.

Following the instructions on p.20-58 of the service manual, I removed both turn signals, the 6 front mounting bolts, the lower skirt mounting bolt, 4 inner fender nuts, and 2 inner fender bolts. I also disconnected the washer hose, the ambient sensor connector, and both horn connectors. I can pull the bumper about 1" away from the car, but it will not separate, no matter how much I push, pull or lift.

Somebody above mentioned that you need to loosen the 4 bolts up by the radiator. I also loosened these, but the service manual does not mention loosening them. What am I missing?

 

[NSXclear]

From what I remember that was it. Jiggle it around and see if it comes off. Try tugging from different sides of the bumber to see if any other bolts needs removing. Tug from the top, bottom, left side, right side and in the middle.

Be careful and have a soft cloth and cardboard laying on the floor. The bumber is somewhat heavy and can get away from you.

 

[NSXclear]

forgot that there is a FAQ to remove the bumber:
http://www.nsxprime.com/FAQ/DIY/front_bumper.htm

 

[Shaun Ray]

Thanks for the link. FAQ strikes again!

 

[Batoutahell]

Thanks for the FAQ link. It confirms my suspicion that the service manual leaves out some fasteners that need to be removed.

Well, I got the bumper off, and on, and off, many times over. I had to really pop the bumper off the hooks to get it to release.

I now have the bumper cover aligned perfectly left-to-right. I ended up with the best results when I mounted the bare crash bumper first, then mounted the bumper cover second. Still, I have a slight gap at the driver's side where the bumper meets the fender high up near the headlight. No amount of loosening and tightening the various fasteners in various orders will close the gap any further. I give up, this is as good as it gets.

 

[nsxpowered]

Batoutahell: Is it possible that while you were trying to fit on and take off the bumper that something got bent? If the bumper will not go on all the way it could be that the side of the bumper has something that is getting pinched such as a wiring loom.

Did you double check the rubber trim and make sure the back part is sitting flush?

Wish I could help, sounds like something I want to try to do.

 

[Batoutahell]

After I don't know how many hours of failed attempts, I finally got the bumper to line up properly. I discovered that my bumper sits about 2mm lower than the fenders when the crash bumper is resting on its hooks. I don't know if the tolerances are just a bit off, or maybe my bumper cover has sagged a bit over the years. In order to fix the problem, I rested the bumper on its hooks, then I slightly raised each side of the bumper maybe 2mm up off its hooks as I tightened the 6 front bolts. Everything lines up very well now and the bumper to fender seams are tight.