JohnnyV

I replaced the rear taillights two days ago and I had trouble finding a writeup with a picture, so I figure ill post this up in case anyone ever needs a reference in the future. First the picture, then the writeup:





1) Remove wheels and passenger side rear wheel well shield.

2) Undo wingnuts on rear sidemarkers from inside wheel well and hang lights outside of quarter panel.

3) BlueCircles: Phillips head screws removed from top where bumper cover meets hatch.

4) Red Circles: 8mm nuts removed from inside the wheel wells. (Soak in liquid wrench first)

5) Green Circles: 13mm (I think) nuts removed from underneath and behind bumper cover.

6) Yellow Circles: 19mm (I think) nuts LOOSENED from underneath bumperettes. (They don't need to be completely removed)

7) Bumper cover is now free. Pull out far enough to reach in and unclip harness for license plate lights.

8) Taillights are attached to bumper cover with 4 nuts, 2 on top 2 on bottom. i would suggest removing these when the bumper is completely off. Unclip the light harnesses from inside the hatch, behind the covers on each side and push harness through the frame.

9) With all harnesses unclipped and nothing going through the frame, the bumper cover with taillights attached is completely free.

ramcram

Nice clear description JonnyV, they aren't so pretty with their pants down are they?
Mike

JohnnyV

This literally made me LOL

Mike Simard

I just had to remove one of these from an outdoor parts car and this writeup was really helpful.
Thanks!

kawi825

GREAT write up, thank you

owenstanley

BUMP!! Very helpful. The fasteners on my 86 US car are right where the circles are in the OP's photo.

Tom in Austin

Any special tricks on lining up just right when it goes back on?

owenstanley

Hey Tom:

Sorry for the delay – between parts orders, new tools and other stuff to do, I didn’t get back to this until tonight.

• I’ve had the car on Liftbars (mainly for another job) and this was a big help with…
• … I cleaned everything I could reach and good god what a mess! I used shop rags, various brushes, a bore brush for a .22 rifle and a new product for me called S100 Total Cycle Cleaner which I saw in an ad in the BMW Motorcycles Owners News. The S100 is that rare thing, it seems to work better than the ad says it will.
• I hit all of the fasteners with CRC Power Lube and let that sit overnight. It seemed to help as all of the mechanical fasteners came off and no studs were damaged. Damaging a stud could be a big problem as the cap simply won’t set properly if any fasteners are missing.
• Finally (drum roll, please…) the fairly wide trim between the bumper cap and the rear structure of the car is quite important, it seems. Mine was held on by about 200 staples but I had to pull the trim off to clean the bumper cap properly. The staples, needless to say, were toast. I tried double-sided tape and it just did not look correct. I ended up using a 3M trim adhesive that NAPA has on the racks (no special order.) This stuff is beyond quick-setting, you have MAYBE 30 seconds to brush the stuff on and set the trim. However, it seems to work like a charm. The cap fits beautifully as re-installed, and the trim is just as snug as a bug in a rug in there. Third time, as always, the charm!
• Take your time. There is nothing difficult but many, many parts and you’ll have the entire tool box out by the time you finish, I am sure.
• While the cap was off, in addition to cleaning, cleaning & cleaning, I replaced the license plate lights, replaced the driver side tail light pod, changed out several dead bulbs and also cleaned the fender liners. I think that the car weighs 10 pounds less after all of the dirt was cleared out.
• Good for another 30 years!

jeff spahn

Ummm. I think you sent this to the wrong person. Good job on the work though

ajricker

I'm getting ready to replace a rear bumper strut. In preparation for this I was checking the location of the taillight harness on either side. Do the interior rear side panels have to be pulled to access these. I tried just removing the screws at the back and pulling it out far enough to see the harness. But it appears that panel wraps into the corner of the window preventing it from being pulled out. Didn't really want to remove the panels if i don't have to.
Art

SMTCapeCod

Thread rated-- Thank You!

ajricker

Figured it out. I read the manual. You don't have to pull the interior panels. You just pull the connectors through when you remove the bumper skin.
Amazing what you find out when you actually read the manual.
Oh by the way. The passenger side 8mm nuts are a PIA due to the fuel tank filler. Bottom two were the worst.
Art

jeff spahn

you think the passenger side is bad, try the driver side on a car with PSD like my 90. I was really looking forward to the passenger side after that. Twisted off a stud on the driver side putting them back on. Didn't chase the threads after repaint (duh!!!) and it was already on the car. Winter project is to take it off and put a new stud in the bumper cover on that side.

SMTCapeCod

So are folks doing this for fun, or to address harness/ground/socket issues?

If the latter- any further specifics on where the chafe/problem points tend to be?