Removing bumper without introducing bumper sag
 

Hi,

My virgin never-removed-before 2018 BRZ bumper is coming off soon for an oil cooler install. What's my best course of action to minimize damage to the plastic clips so that I don't get the dreaded sag? (I heard that the facelifted models are slightly improved in this regard with more clips?)

The side markers don't scare me as much. Both sides have popped out and been replaced a few times now from autocrossing.

Get a friend and try pulling gently towards you simultaneously starting from corners close to sidemarkers. It will probably try to pop off at once so go really slow on it . I've had mine (2017) off three times so far (repaint once after unfortunate hit by falling tile and and than two more times because of leaky oil cooler fitting) and the gap looks exactly the same as in the oldest photo of my car I could find. That's probably my best advice. Also get a clip removal tool set - this thing is a blessing when dealing with never touched plastic clips.

Watch some tutorials on youtube to get an idea of what to do.

Take your time.

Use appropriate tools for easy removal and to prevent any unwanted broken tabs/clips.

Before putting the bumper back on, make sure tabs are aligned before applying pressure to them. I took my front bumper off for the first time in 5+ years last year to install some JDM headlights and everything looks the same as it did before the removal.

As stated above, having another set of hands would be helpful.

Thanks you two!

So essentially leave the most vunlerable plastic tabs on the bumper (the two near the headlights as the last ones to pop off?

Can someone elaborate why I should pull towards myself instead of straight down? I have only seen the shape of the tabs/holes on the bumper in pictures and have not seen the shape of "clips" that go into the bumper holes.

I had good luck with this method: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASuMrplh7_c

Pulling down may break the tabs on the bumper.

I pulled gently towards myself while keeping it horizontal with little to no diagonal movement.

There are a few DIY's on here that give some step-by-step. Read those before doing it yourself so that you would know some tips for best results.

This bumper tabs aren't very stiff and pulling downwards you might end up bending them. They're also quite flimsy when comes to supporting whole bumper weight on just a one or two of them - that's when bumper removal gets sketchy so be careful once you'll unclip both sides near sidemarkers.

Also get a few pics with your phone underneath the bumper where the seven plastic clips and two 10mm screws are so you'll be sure how to reasemble the whole thing back together.