Vantage Rear Bumper Removal - Anyone done it?

[livinthedream]

Anyone removed the rear bumper of a Vantage?

I need to replace a parking sensor bracket, thought it was just the two bolts but see there is a 3rd which appears only to be accessible by removing the rear bumper. he parking sensor bracket is only around the £60+VAT mark but the labour at AM is £££'s so considering a DIY job and just looking to see if its possible and are there any gotcha's along the way n if any clips need to bought in advance that need to be replaced.

Thanks.

[Bravo73]

From the workshop manual:

Removal
1. Raise vehicle on ramp.
2. Remove number plate.
3. Remove LH rear lamp assembly (see Workshop Manual
procedure 17.03.AB Lamp Assembly (Rear) - LH
Renew).
4. Remove RH rear lamp assembly (see Workshop Manual
procedure 17.03.BB XREF: 280 Lamp Assembly (Rear) - RH Renew).
5. Remove wheel arch liner LH (see Workshop Manual procedure 01.02.JB Wheel Arch Liner - Rear - RH - Renew).
6. Remove wheel arch liner RH (see Workshop Manual procedure 01.02.HB Wheel Arch Liner - Rear - LH - Renew).
7. Remove tyre mobility kit from the rack.
8. Remove torx bolts located behind carpets to rear wings
(x2).
9. Remove bolts (x2) in rear light recess.
10. Remove bolts securing bumper to wheel arch (6).
11. Remove bolts (x4) securing bumper to brackets.
12. With assistance Release bumper from body.
13. Release fir trees securing harness to bumper (x6).
14. Release remaining harness clips from bumper (x6).
15. Disconnect multiplugs to parking aid sensors (x2).
16. Disconnect multiplugs to license plate lamps (x2).
17. Remove nuts (x6) securing exhaust finishers to bumper.
18. Remove number plate light assembly (clips x5).
19. Remove parking aid sensors (x2)
20. Remove screw retaining clips (x13)

[X7LDA]

I have personally never taken it off but I have watched the Aston techs take it off and it's an absolute nightmare. Took them a couple of hours just to remove - dozens of bolts and unbelievably fiddly. Personally I wouldn't DIY.

[livinthedream]

Read the workshop stuff already, does sound a hard job.

Found this thread with images of the bumper off
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

put me right off...

Edited by livinthedream on Sunday 28th April 20:23

[drofnavi]

Looks perfectly feasible if you are not in a rush and you have a couple of helpers on hand to give you a lift off with it. It's hardly rocket science, no special tool etc required.

Personally, I would rather use a couple of hours of my free time on a project like this than pay an Aston workshop £100 + per hour.

[mrs triple s]

It’s not that hard to remove the bumper Barry’s just done it two man job and a bit of time if you’re bumper has got 3 dimples in it remove the number plate light holder and the dimples will almost disappear

[bullet7]

Complete removal may not be necessary. I replaced a rear outer parking sensor and also removed the grilles at the back for refurbishment simply by loosening the fastening bolts so that I could move the bumper enough to reach everything without taking it right off. I didn't need an assistant to help.

[V8V Quadcamboy]

Bravo73 said:

From the workshop manual:

Removal
8. Remove torx bolts located behind carpets to rear wings
(x2).
9. Remove bolts (x2) in rear light recess.
10. Remove bolts securing bumper to wheel arch (6).
11. Remove bolts (x4) securing bumper to brackets.

Hi. I had a go yesterday to remove grilles for refurb, got as far as no 8 before I ran out of time in the workshop. So have a couple of questions:

Torx bolts behind carpet x2, one either side of car?
Bumper to wheel arch x6, are these the ones accessed after removing wheel arch liner? If so I could only find two at the leading edge of the wheel arch, where's the third on each side?
x4 securing bumper to brackets, where are these, please?

[V8V Quadcamboy]

Given up.

Rear lip thingy off and masked around the grilles and painted them in satin black, in situ.

[maccavvy]

i literally asked the same question earlier on FB.. im going to do a list of jobs and sort them in winter. mirror stalks and grills front and rear.

sounds a steady job. plenty to remove. i like a challenge

[JonnyCJ]

https://www.6speedonline.com/forums/aston-martin/4...

[Sheepy1973]

From your below message which I appreciate was two years ago, I'm looking to refurb my grills also as they have rotted away, car new to me a couple of months ago. What bolts did you loosen to get access to all the ones for the grills. I've had the diffuser off and other than taking the bumper skin fully off I can't see how to do it. Any help would be appreciated

Ian

bullet7 said:

Complete removal may not be necessary. I replaced a rear outer parking sensor and also removed the grilles at the back for refurbishment simply by loosening the fastening bolts so that I could move the bumper enough to reach everything without taking it right off. I didn't need an assistant to help.

[bullet7]

Sheepy1973 said:

From your below message which I appreciate was two years ago, I'm looking to refurb my grills also as they have rotted away, car new to me a couple of months ago. What bolts did you loosen to get access to all the ones for the grills. I've had the diffuser off and other than taking the bumper skin fully off I can't see how to do it. Any help would be appreciated

Ian

Gosh Ian, it was over five years ago that I actually did that job! I had to replace the nearside rear parking sensor and everything I read said you had to take the bumper off. I removed the majority if not all of the fixing bolts but for some reason the bumper was not completely free, but it was loose enough for me to get my hand & arm up the back to remove the old sensor and put in the new one. Whilst I was there, I removed the grills for powder coating. They are fixed to the underside of the body and with the bumper loose, you can get to the fixing bolts.

More recently, one of my inner rear parking sensors failed. To get to that one, the bumper did not need to come off either.

Hope this helps.