Mark SF

I would appreciate any tips or pics on how to remove the rear bumper cover on my S4.

I have removed the taillights, and undone two clamps hidden by those. I've removed 4 bolts along the top of the cover, under the tailgate. There seem to be some attachments at the rear of the fenders - will undo those next.

Question is, what else do I need to undo? Is the bumper attached to the beam that runs across the rear of the car, or will it come off without undoing that?

TIA

Mrmerlin

Mark to remove the rest of the bumper, ( not sure what clamps your talking about under the lights) There are not any.

Anyway the rear S4 bumper cover is held on with,
the tail light housings, (Remove the finger nuts from under the tool tray)
the bumperettes,
the strip along the bottom of the hatch lid
and about 5 to 8mm nuts on either side of the cover , (reached through the wheelwells. )
Things will be easier if you remove the rear wheels
then remove the driver side , rear , wheel well, block off plate.

Then inspect the nuts along the edge of the cover inside the well if they are dirty or rusted you need to wire brush off the dirt then soak the nuts with PB blaster then scrub the nuts again with the small wire brush,
the more dirt /rust you remove the less chance the studs will shear off, keep the studs wet with PB,

You will need a long 1/4 in extension and 8mm socket with a universal.

While the edge nuts are soaking move under the car and remove the bumperettes they are held on with a 17mm nut gotten from inside the PU cover, and possibly a 13mm bolt on the bottom, once these are off then the cover will come free when you remove the edge nuts..
Once the cover is free pull it off the car about 3 inches then disconnect the wire harness for the tag lights you will see it once the cover is off the chassis.
Once the wires are removed then pull the cover free,
set it on a thick blanket so you dont scratch the paint.

Note if the fenderwells are filled with dirt it would be beast to use a tooth brush and a hose to scrub the bolts on the PU cover rinse well then wire brush the studs

Note while the cover is off inspect the rear bumper shocks for condition,
if you suspect the bumper shocks have been collapsed then now is the time to replace them,
they are single use only and if they are crushed then the PU cover will deform when its put back on,
take pictures so we can see the shock condition

GlenL

So you haven't gotten into the little studs? There are 4 per side roughly behind the wheels. An M5 nut so 8mm? Spray with penetrating oil or you'll just snap 'em. (Might get to wanting to do that anyways.)

Mark SF

Thanks for the procedure.

No, the little studs are next - probably a job for the weekend. It's going to rain so what better than working on the 928 in the garage.

I have a couple of replacement bumper shocks I bought, in case I need them.