Repairing / Removing Rear Bumperettes--step by step
 

Some time back we have gotten some indication here on Rennlist about how much effort it would be to repair a rear bumperette (bumper overrider) that might have taken one too many hits in the parking lot world.

Unfortunately, past guidance left me guessing a bit so today with the help of another 997 Rennlister we decided to take matters into our own hands!

The project today was to remove and replace the right rear bumperette. Good luck finding directions in the factory workshop manual. Some of the higher level stuff is glossed over. We decided to detail it herein.

First off, the workshop manual doesn't call a bumper a bumper,--the "bumper" is that aluminum bar underneath the bumper cover. Loosely translated apparently, the bumper cover is a "spoiler" in Zuffenhausen speak.

Photo 1: The bumper is a spoiler. (see the manual!)
Photo 2: Start with the tail-lights. It's so easy to do with the decklid raised,--removed the two Torx screws that secure it. NOTICE your gap above the light assembly BEFORE you remove it so that you have an idea of where you should set it when you put it back together.
Photo 3: ROTATE the light assembly as shown. The pivot point is a loose screw at the acute angle and has a large plastic fender washer on it to retain the assembly in the right position. It rotates right out. With a rag and some tape, secure it above the hole that it came out of. It's easier than fiddling with electrical quick disconnects.
Photo 4: You can start to remove the 4 Torx screws that you see from the engine compartment. Fully remove them.
Photo 5: Back inside the light assembly area you will want to remove the small 20) Torx screw.
Photo 6: Remove the two Torx screws that are found aft of the rear wheels. They face the ground. Any regular Torx driver will have clearance to remove these without jacking the car.
Photo 7: Time to remove the two Torx screws at the very aft end of the car,--inboard of the exhaust pipes. They, too, face the ground.
Photo 8: These are a little tricky to SEE but easy enough to feel for. They are at the leading edge of the rear bumper covers where it meets the wheel opening. Note the angle of the Torx-driver. Maintain that angle to unscrew them. A flashlight can be useful here. Also notice how this mates up and keeps everything flush so that you put it back together right later!
Photo 9: Time to remove the plastic retaining clip in the tail light assembly area. I used a little plastic tool to pull it out easily. This fastener helps keep the bumper cover tight forward of the tail light assembly opening.
Photo 10: Things get a little tricky here,--but not too hard. Porsche has designed a very ingenious method for keeping the bumper cover tight to the body in this area, and it is done with a plastic clip that is not really a clip to speak of. I sprayed my bumper cover with Rubeglide,--a rubber lubricant that tire installers use. You could as easily use WD-40. What you want to do is to keep the friction to a minimum for yourself, particularly as these cars (if driven) will collect some road grime in there. You will want to work the bumper cover from side to side to eventually work it loose. Then pull it out toward yourself. Once you do it you will remark,--"that was easier than I thought it would be!"
Photo 11: Hopefully, with a buddy, you can begin to work the entire bumper cover off and to the rear. The last thing to be disconnected is the electrical connection to the license plate lights. Have a small flat bladed screwdriver handy to depress the quick electrical connection located on the inside and center of the bumper cover.
Photo 12: We had ready a couple of well padded sawhorses to place the bumper cover. (We also had one of those furniture mover quilts on the floor in the garage just in case!
Photo 13: We're finally getting to the reason for removing the bumper cover,--the bumperettes. Invert the cover on the sawhorses so that you can see what you're doing. These things are secured with 3 special plastic reuseable expanding clips.
Photo 14: With a very fine punch I pushed the retaining pins in toward the center of the bumper overrider (bumperette) and saved them for reinstallation.
Photo 15: More views of the same.

Continued in next post.

continued--
 

Photo 16: Install in reverse of de-installation.
Photo 17: This a great time to clean this area up. After washing it out dry and then wax it. It helps keep things from binding up during the installation process.

We reassembled it by placing two of the top 4 screws in loosely, and then focused on fitting the leading edge of the bumper cover just aft of the wheel wells. Then everything just fell into position. Finish up by reinstalling everything you took out, and finally, put the tail lights back in with the same gap as before.

The final check with your helper is to check that all lights work,--including your rear fog light! (With an air compressor I also blew out all the electrical connectors before reinstallation,--just to be sure!)

Dang Dan, that is one awesome write up. And really, did you HAVE to get paint to sample tools too?

:D

Nice writeup Dan. Thanks!

Next time you get bored, would you mind documenting the engine drop procedure?

Thanks for the great writeup and photos. Now all we need is the same for the front cover when we need to clean/repair our grillless radiators.

Didn't you guys all get matching tools with your cars? :)

The list of tools required to do the job is quite short:

Torx 20
Torx 27
Plastic trim tool
Fine pin driver
Lubricant
3m strip caulk (black)

The latter is employed by Porsche in spots along the bottom of the light housing. I refreshed mine a bit with some I had in the garage. It helps to keep things from moving around and to keep from chaffing the paint beneath the housing.

Sawhorses and plenty of rags
Car wax

This job took about 2 hours to tear it all apart,--about about 20 minutes to put it back together. (Cleaning time along the way included)

Dan - did you order a new bumperette painted-to-sample?
If so, I assume the "match" was to your satisfaction.

John-I can answer for Dan--he and I did the bumper R&R yesterday. Bumperette came from Sunset Imports in OR. It was unpainted. Dan took it to his body shop in SB and they painted using the 3AS paint code. It matches perfectly.

We're planning on removing the front covers in the near future in order to document it for the forum.

Wow - truly outstanding write up Dan, but I hope I won't need to change my bumperettes!
Thanks for posting,...interesting to see how the back of the car comes apart.

I'm impressed the match came out "perfectly."
For me, as appealing as the "paint-to-sample" option has been, I'd always be afraid that a few years down the road matching the color (for whatever reason) would be dicey. Apparently not, which is really good news.
Great work, guys. And very instructional pics and prose. :bowdown: I'll await the pending "nose job."

John,--Obviously, non-standard colors (lacking a Porsche paint code) or standard colors that can fade over time (e.g., red) or metallics can be problematic. With my shop nearby I simply dropped off the overrider and told them to paint it 3AS. It's a simple mix of the formula and there you go! (Of course, I'm dealing with a premium shop).

Hey Dan nice write up.
What did you use to clean the aluminum surrounding the the exhaust? It looks real bright. Nice work.

Didn't really need anything. The engine area has stayed relatively clean. For that day I simply got out the boar-hair brush and some DAWN liquid soap and then hosed it off. Nothing was baked on or messy to start with. For that sort of condition I'm a big user of brake cleaner. Follow that stuff up with soap and water.

Nice write up Dan - does anyone know if the R&R on the .2 versions is any different?

pics after?