Bumper removal

[pastadog]

Could anybody do a write up?? Pretty please!:clap:

Wanna fix and paint mine but not really what bolts are holding it on and which ones are holding other things..... Also might re-adjust the headlights bc they seem like they're angled to high or just suck :(

Thanks as always! :dance1:

[skyflyer9]

You don't need to remove the bumper to adjust the headlights, you just need to remove the headlight trim. I have an '84 as well, you need to remove the side lights, then the headlight trim, and then you can access the headlights themselves.

You can actually adjust the headlight aim without taking the trim off...if you look around the headlights, you will see screws which hold in the square headlight covers, but there are also screws around each headlight which adjust the headlight aim.

At least on my van, all of these screws were pretty rusted/stuck the first time I got into those parts, so it might be worth your while to take the headlight trim off and get some PB Blaster in there to loosen the screws up. Also, you'll be able to see the aim adjustment screws more easily, and honestly it's easier to do the back-forth adjustment procedure when the trim is off.

Sylvania Silverstars are a nice upgrade in terms of headlights - much brighter than the regular cheapy headlights.

As far as the bumper goes, no one's going to do a write-up unless they need to remove their bumper and decide to take pics...why don't you do one?

[pastadog]

Awesome thanks! I'm considering doing the sylvania stars soon!

I totally would try to do a how to if I knew how to take it off! :rol:

[pastadog]

Anybody with maybe a pic and arrows to the bolts for removal.... Those pics are always the best help!!! :lol::):yes:

[skyflyer9]

http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i31/skyflyer9/408785785.png

Hope this helps...

[pastadog]

Ummm..... that looks like a rubik's to me!! ha ha ha thanks Sky but I guess I'm a dummy when it comes to looking at that pic. All I really need I guess is how many bolts to remove and what area they are in........ or something like that! Thanks guys :lol:

[timsrv]

What you are asking for takes time and effort. Eventually we should have that info here, but it's going to have to wait until one of us needs to do the job. I will most likely make a post like that for a 2nd gen van (next time I do the job), but since I don't have any 1st gen vans (at least not with intact front ends), that's not likely to happen.

If you need to do the job, then get out there and figure it out (it's not rocket science). Take some pics, mark them with big red arrows, and post them here. Then you'll be helping the next guy save time.........Sharing information is what the forum is all about :wave2:. Tim

[pastadog]

Ouch!!! Ha Ha Ha I have Tuesday and Wednesday off so I'll get out there and really check it out! :dance1:

[timsrv]

Sorry if my last post was a bit harsh. I didn't intend it to be, but after re-reading I can see how it could be interpreted as such. Anyhow, Llamavan did a thread on door hinge replacement a while back and that shows some of the fasteners you will need to remove. If nothing else perhaps it will save you a little time. Here is a link to it: http://www.toyotavantech.com/forum/showthread.php?23-Adjusting-or-replacing-front-door-hinges

[pastadog]

Ha ha no I was totally kidding! I'll just have to learn by trial and error :LOL2:

[ratatouille]

Poked around and couldn't find any thread on removing bumper and bumper covers. Doing some body work, and need to remove. Unscrewed some things and tugged and pulled around and it's got me stumped. Not budging....I'm usually pretty good at figuring something like this out. My manual shows everything I need to know about body except the bumper construction. Thanks a ton.

[Burntboot]

I haven't pulled the front one yet but as far as the rear goes, there are 4 bolts that hold it on.
2 from the underside up through the frame rail and 2 from the topside (hiding under the little black plugs).
There is also brackets on the sides should slide apart as you pull the bumper back.
Once you get the assembly off, you'll see all the hardware holding the cover on.

[ratatouille]

Haven't poked at front bumper yet...

Rear bumper I found the two bolts underneath finally. There was so much gunk and grim caked on I had no idea where they were. I had to poke around and finally came across the black plugs to remove to access the bolt underneath. Bumper off and moving forward on some repairs....thanks!

[hikersteve]

hey i have pulled front bumper, besides all the screws there are two sheet metal plates that hold parts in place, and on the corners there are heavy duty "pop its" that hold them on i was able to pry these and pop out with out breaking. i am going to go take a few pics that might help you right now. haven't posted picks yet hopefully i can figure out.
steve

[hikersteve]

hey dont know why attatchments wont work, but i have some good helpfull pics for ya, email me and i will get them to ya. A108225@gmail.com

[hikersteve]

a few hard to find screws:

first beneath the small trim piece below wheel well there is a screw from inside the attactches to trim piece, this will stop you from popping off corners. also there are some screws from inside below underneath bumper cover. all total i believe 25 or 26 screws or pop its
steve

[blakebecker37130]

Hello all,



My bumper was trashed on my 1989 van wagon by a previous owner. I located a replacement bumper assembly cheap and decided to attempt the repair.



I was able to remove the complete bumper assembly by removing four 17mm bolts along the bottom of the bumper. These attached the bumper to uni-body of the van. There were four more 12mm bolts, two on each side. These bolts attach angled brackets to the uni-body. The running light bulbs and turn signal bulbs also had to be removed/unsecured from the lenses. It was not hard to do and the removal took less than 30 minutes. The bumper assembly is also not that heavy, probably 20-30 lbs. total. Installation was the reverse, everything lined right up and the install also took about 30 minutes or less. The bumper assembly cost $35.00, totally worth it.

[micah202]

.


....any more information/pictures of bumper removal?

. ...was changing the muffler and discovered body cancer under there.




. ...I did a thorough search,, this is the best thread so far :wnk:

[timsrv]

Open the rear hatch and look down. You're looking for 2 round plastic plugs about 1 1/2" diameter. They are on each side of the body piece between the hatch and the bumper. Pop those caps off and use a socket/extension to take the bolts off down inside the holes. Now climb under the van and take out the 2 bolts about 5" forward of the ones you just took out. Now grab a-hold of the bumper and yank it off. There's some little plastic clips that hold the edges of the bumper to the sides of the van, but they will usually pop-out when you yank the bumper. Tim

[micah202]

.


....thanks Tim,, you make it sound so obvious! :thmbup:

....pretty easy to remove the whole thing once yer know where the 4 bolts are,,
and nice not to be working under the car for once,, especially after the recent debacle cutting the muffler out! :no:
There's absolutely no reason to start picking at the casing before the bumper's off the car.

..from what I saw,, if you've got some rust flakes coming out of the bumper, it's likely there's little to no structure left,, except some plastic and foam. :dizzy: Thankfully the rest of the area doesn't have the cancer. I guess the bumper missed getting the undercoat. ...pictures coming later.

....for now,, I'm approaching the rebuild in what may seem a haphazard approach,,, using a good'ole yellow cedar 2x6,, plus a 2x4. Strange as it sounds,, I have a feeling these 2 beams will actually be more solid than the OEM plate steel, and epoxied, will likely be more resilient to time.

I'm getting a welder to weld in some ~1/4'' 'L' pieces to the bumper mounts,, about the only piece of steel that's still good., this gives a good solid base for the bumper loops,, which are part of the trailer hitch mounting, and also gives a good solid base to mount my new bumper base to.

...I'll take more pics of the rebuild process, have them up in a few daze :wnk:

[Sir Goofy]

While trying to remove the plastic part of the back bumper I was loosening the the bolts underneath and stopped after 3 because they were snapping. I figured the first 2 might be expected but after the third one I inspected it to see that there was a decent amount of good metal under the rusted bolt. Is there something I'm missing with the bumper removal?:cnfsd:

[micah202]

While trying to remove the plastic part of the back bumper I was loosening the the bolts underneath and stopped after 3 because they were snapping. I figured the first 2 might be expected but after the third one I inspected it to see that there was a decent amount of good metal under the rusted bolt. Is there something I'm missing with the bumper removal?:cnfsd:


no, unfortunately you're discovering that which is not uncommon ,,the bumper tube, and the brackets rust to nothing,even on a vehicle that shows no other rust! :?:


The bolts on mine freed up allright, but the brackets themselves were toast, there was only enough material left to use as a base for a welder to build up with some solid chunks of steel.

G'luck with rethreading those bolt mounts on the frame,, perhaps it's a good idea to learn and practice the job on a workbench before working on the bumper mount bolts, you'll only get one chance there. I -imagine- you'll need to be able to extensively heat the are to help free up the stubs for removal

[Burntboot]

SG - Are you trying to remove the cover while the assembly is still on the vehicle? or did you snap the big bolts that mount the assembly to the van?

Either way, saturating the daylights out of everything with quality penetrant and letting it soak for several days can help.
When I use heat to remove rusted hardware, I much prefer to quench with cold water (after heating)prior to attempting removal.

[Sir Goofy]

Yes I'm trying to remove the cover assembly without removing the bumper. I had a little back end impact and it raised the bumper to the point where its difficult to close the back hatch. I want to get under there to see if I can pound the bump out.

[Burntboot]

Understood.

That being said, without seeing pictures, I would have to suggest that pulling the bumper off as an assembly is still the best route.
Then you can evaluate what else needs to be done to effect necessary repairs.
It's a lot easier to deal with things on the bench than attempt to pull the cover while the assembly is still on the van.
It was never intended to come apart in that manner, so what looks like the "easy" way, really isn't going to be.

If you get it apart and find the bumper reinforcement is trashed, procuring a used assembly will make most of the pain go away with relative ease.
Rebars were never intended to be repaired (from the perspective of being bent at least) they are considered to be a sacrificial part.
I would only consider trying to repair one if it were rusted out, not bent.
BB

[timsrv]

My old Tercel had a "dent" in the rear bumper from backing into a pole or something. I fixed it by pulling the bumper cover loose from the bottom and stuffing shop rags up in there. It filled the void nicely and after a coat of black spray paint you couldn't tell it had ever been damaged. I got lucky on that though. On the van, the rear bumper cover is already too close to the rear hatch, so if the bumper is bent up at all you're going to have a challenge to deal with. I've actually trimmed the corners off the hatch on most of the vans I've had simply because I get tired of pushing the edges of the bumper down every week or so. Tim

[bikerjosh]

Ok, so on the front bumper you have to pull the cover off, before you can remove the steel structure? Rear was pretty easy to pull and then separate the cover/foam from the backbone.
thanks

[boogieman]

nope, remove the amber lights, 4 bolts from the bottom and 2 more from each side and mine pulled straight out..

edit, actually dont have to remove the amber lights theres a gang plug for each side so they can be left in place...

[boogieman]

5687

im planning some sort of custom brush guard bumper and eliminate some of that overhang...

[James Zueger]

I found that if you drill two small holes in the floor directly above the rear bumper bolts that go up thru and soak them with penetrating oil it makes the job much easier because they are the ones that get rusted up real bad.

[89van]

Hello all,



My bumper was trashed on my 1989 van wagon by a previous owner. I located a replacement bumper assembly cheap and decided to attempt the repair.



I was able to remove the complete bumper assembly by removing four 17mm bolts along the bottom of the bumper. These attached the bumper to uni-body of the van. There were four more 12mm bolts, two on each side. These bolts attach angled brackets to the uni-body. The running light bulbs and turn signal bulbs also had to be removed/unsecured from the lenses. It was not hard to do and the removal took less than 30 minutes. The bumper assembly is also not that heavy, probably 20-30 lbs. total. Installation was the reverse, everything lined right up and the install also took about 30 minutes or less. The bumper assembly cost $35.00, totally worth it.

Thanks man, this helped me take off mine!!!
Do what he said and you should be good to go for anyone in the future!:dance2: