You can be really careful while driving but still not be able to avoid small collisions when you are out. No matter how careful you may be the rest on the road might not. Whether you get hit by another driver in the parking lot or you hit the curb when parking small collisions are inevitable. Your bumpers are vulnerable because of this. Low-speed collisions are the most common type of collisions.
This may not cause big damage but does cause some damage. Your bumpers will take the brunt of the damage during these collisions. When that happens you need to find the front end replacement bumpers. This is because driving without a bumper is usually illegal and severely undermines your road safety.
You would be lucky to get away with only bumper damage. This is because low-speed collisions also cause headlight replacement, a new transmission cooler, grille damage alongside bumper damages. So, if you have only front bumper damage then you are lucky. So how do you replace the bumper? Well, the following passages are steps on replacing the front bumper of a car.
Step 1
The first thing that you have to do is remove the bent bumper. So before you do anything to bumper you need to make sure you remove the fog lights so that they don’t get damaged. Remove the harness and take out the connected bulbs. Then start to unbolt all the connection points. You can find those at the front and they need to be removed. Usually, you can see them behind the broken trim piece. Remove them all but keep two loosely attached. Then start removing the next set of bolts.
Step 2
So now you need to remove the backside bumper bolts of your car. This is where you need to reach to the very back of the bumper to access the bolts. So just take a wrench and put your arm inside the space to unbolt the back bolts. Don’t worry about the front bumper falling as you left two bolts attached. So now take all the backside bolts off then carefully remove the remaining front two bolts. After you do that the bumper should easily come off. You shouldn’t throw the bumper away just yet. There are important parts like your fog lights that need to be transferred from the old bumper to the new.
Step 3
So now you need to transfer the trim to the new bumper. You should look to salvage any old part you can from your old bumper. Getting parts separately is an additional expense. This is why look at the damaged bumper and see which parts are good enough for use. The parts if unsalvageable then you can just simply buy them they are not that expensive. When you locate the lower spoiler you will see that it is fixed in place with a bunch of bolts joining an edge. The upper trim usually cannot be used after the collision as it is almost always damaged.
Step 4
Now all that is left is the installation. First, re-install the lower bumper spoiler trim to the bumper. Then bolt the bumper to the bumper mounts. Make sure you align the bumper properly and put the front and back bolts in. Then just slowly and patiently hammer the bolts and tighten them in place. Take your new front bumper trim then install it as well. Make sure you do it in a warm environment.
This is because it helps the plastic trims to be a bit more flexible and you need it. Take the plastic inserts and line them up properly in the bumper and holes. Align them properly and start whacking them into place with a mallet. Once your top trim is done you are finished with installing your new front end replacement for your bumper.
Test Drive
So there you go, that’s how you replace and install a front bumper when it’s damaged. Remember, if you are not confident in your ability then consult an expert. But if you can change the bumper then follow the process mentioned above. After you are done with the installation take your car out for a test drive to see if everything has been fitted properly.
