How to Remove the Rear Bumper Cover from Vehicles

by Contributing WriterUpdated June 12, 2017

the Vehicles was a completely redesigned body style from the previous model year. The rear bumper of the Vehicles was a single piece of fiberglass wrapping around the sides of the car. This body component is often referred to the as the rear fascia and contains four taillights and the tag opening. Removal of the rear fascia may be required to repair crash damage or to reach the rear portion of the frame.

Under The Hood:

 How to Remove the Rear Bumper Cover from a Corvette

Park the car on a level surface, open the battery compartment located behind the drivers seat and disconnect the negative lead from the battery.

Remove the four rear light covers and license plate, using a Phillips screwdriver. Spray penetrating fluid on the screws that hold the light housing to the bumper and let them stand for 15 to 30 minutes.

Remove the light housings and tuck the wiring harness inside the bumper openings. Remove the two screws holding the license-plate-light bracket and pull the socket out of the way.

Crawl under the car and spray penetrating lubricant on the bumper fasteners. They are placed all around the sides and top of the bumper. Use an open-end wrench to remove the nuts from the fasteners.

Use a cutoff wheel attached to a die grinder if the fasteners are too rusty to remove with a wrench. Place the wheel between the bumper seams and carefully cut the fasteners around the entire bumper. Remove the rubber bumper cover and the remaining portion of the fasteners from the mounting-flange holes.

Remove any paint from the mounting flange with sandpaper. Rough up the surface with a small file or coarse sandpaper to ensure the bonding agent adheres to the surface when mounting the new replacement bumper.

Items you will need

  • Phillips screwdriver

  • Penetrating lubricant

  • Open-end wrench set

  • Cutoff wheel

  • Die grinder

  • sandpaper

  • file

 How to Remove a Rear Bumper Cover on a Mazda Miata

Kneel down next to the rear tires and face the back of the car. Just behind the rear tires there are three Phillips screws in the bumper you need to remove. These are located on both the left and right sides of the car.

Open the trunk and look at the bottom rear edge. Pull the carpet up along this edge and locate the seven plastic clips on the floor of the truck. These clips are circular with a smaller circle in the center. Use a flat screwdriver to pry up the center circle. Once this is popped up, pull the entire clip out. Do this for all seven clips.

Look underneath the rear of the Miata and locate and remove the four plastic clips along the bottom edge of the bumper cover. These are removed with a flat screwdriver just as the clips inside the trunk.

Pull the bumper cover off the car.

Items you will need

  • Flat screwdriver

  • Phillips screwdriver

 How to Remove the Rear Bumper Cover of a 1984 Corvette

Park the Corvette on a flat surface and engage the emergency brake to secure the car from moving. Open the hood and use the battery terminal wrench to remove the negative battery cable from the battery.

Remove the four small bolts holding the gas filler door to the body using the a socket and ratchet. Remove the gas filler door from the vehicle and store in a safe location.

Loosen and remove the gas cap from the filler. Remove the black plastic pad around the gas filler neck by peeling the pad up using just your hands.

Remove the three screws on each side of the gas filler that secures the rear fascia to the gas door panel.

While laying under the rear fascia, remove the four screws used to attach the rear fascia to the energy absorbing pad at the end of the vehicles frame. Using a Torx screwdriver remove the three screws in each rear wheel well connecting the wheel well inner panel to the rear fascia.

Disconnect the electrical connections to the rear side marker lights. Use a small flat blade screwdriver to separate the electrical connections, if necessary. The side marker lights must be reached from under the Corvette.

Disconnect the electrical connections for the reverse lights and tag light. These can be reached from under the car or through the hole normally behind the tag. Disconnect the two inner taillight electrical connections by reaching through the tag hole. Disconnect the outer taillight electrical connections from under the vehicle.

Remove the two bolts that are used to attach the license plate opening to the frame with a socket, extension and ratchet.

Pull the bottom of the rear fascia away from the car and remove the bolts holding the top of the fascia to the body. After removal of the final bolt, lift the fascia away from the car to complete the process.

Items you will need

  • Battery terminal wrench

  • Ratchet

  • Metric sockets

  • Extensions

  • Phillips screwdriver

  • Torx screwdriver

More Articles

article divider
×