Toyota GR86, 86, FR-S and Subaru BRZ Forum & Owners Community - FT86CLUB - DIY: Quik Latch Mini Install on Front Bumper

This DIY is for those of you who, like me, can't stand the way the bumper cover "pops" out of place in the corner where the headlight, fender and bumper cover meet.....and you’re willing to drill a hole in the cover to have an exposed Quik Latch.

http://i.imgur.com/Xd5JcHQ.jpg

Things you will need:

A couple hours
Patience
At least half a brain or Beer, which ever you prefer
2 Quik Latch Mini’s (I used QL-25-SB, 1.25”) about $26 each unless you go with Stainless
Normal compliment of hand tools, wrenches and sockets, (Quik Latch post nuts are 7/16”)
1” paddle bit, sharp. (I like the ones with the points on the outer edge for a cleaner hole)
¾” paddle bit, sharp, not some old rusty bit you used to drill thru concrete!
¼” drill bit to drill thru sheet metal
Dremel tool with a small grinding bit to clean out/”adjust” holes or a small round file
Oh and did I mention Beer?

Ok, let’s get started.

1.Use common sense and follow appropriate safety precautions

2.Remove the POS bumper cover

3.Un-fasten the black plastic inner wheel well cover to a point where you can tuck it back behind your front brake rotor so it’s out of your way. You’ll need to get behind the fender from that side to do any fine tuning of the post length.

4.Measure down 7/8” from the bottom of the fender and scribe a mark as shown below

http://i.imgur.com/xk2CCeY.jpg

5.Now measure 1 - 9/16” from the spot shown below and scribe a mark to give you a center mark for drilling the first hole.

http://i.imgur.com/B7Ql8w2.jpg

6.Drill a 1” diameter hole centered on your mark.

http://i.imgur.com/cSrrcZf.jpg

7.Drill a ¼” hole in the now exposed edge of the fender. You will find that your drill bit wants to sit right in the little “valley” created by the bends in the fender, which is exactly where you want to drill.

http://i.imgur.com/cLMvPQq.jpg

8.Now remove that black plastic piece (bumper bracket) that you drilled your first hole in. (4 screws, 2 on the side where you just drilled and 2 in front, you’ll find them. (3 are the same, 1 is slightly different) Clean out any debris left from drilling your holes.

http://i.imgur.com/lsc81PC.jpg

9.Thread 1 nut onto the Quik Latch post and add a washer. You want about ¾” of post sticking out past the nut to start with.

http://i.imgur.com/J2gDucn.jpg

10.Put the threaded end of the post thru the ¼” hole, add a washer to the back side, then the nut and tighten down.

11.Now go do the other side….I’ll wait…

12.Once the other side is done, re-install the plastic bumper bracket and make sure the post sits fairly centered in the 1” hole. Take some measurements at the post tip and compare one side of the vehicle to the other side, both should be the same, if not do a little tweaking (twerking optional) of the post. The fender will flex a bit where you mounted the post. Once you are satisfied that the posts are where you want them, break out the Dremel tool or file and remove any plastic from the 1” hole so the post is centered in it.

http://i.imgur.com/KnkwEoj.jpg

This is necessary because the threaded portion of “Button” half of the Quik Latch pokes in about ¾” and needs a place to go, so this 1” hole in the plastic bumper bracket accommodates it.

13.Now your post should stick out a little farther than it ultimately will end up, as shown below, but there is a good reason for this.

http://i.imgur.com/btntDtY.jpg

14.Temporarily re-install your bumper cover (without screws or push clip etc.) making sure to get all the “tabs” that are supposed to hold the bumper cover in place, in their correct positions, especially under the headlights. Below are pictures of bracket connected to bumper while still off the car, which show the bumper cover not on all the way and then show where they are supposed to be…………..so stop, push it, push it real good.

http://i.imgur.com/GAqD9vk.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/xXvNBvv.jpg

15.Now that you have the bumper cover exactly where it needs to be, gently press on it with your palm, directly over where the post is mounted and it will “deform” the cover in exactly the location for the center of 3/4” hole you will drill next to install the “button” half of the Quik Latch.

http://i.imgur.com/suebmKN.jpg

16.Now comes the scary part. Using a sharp, ¾” paddle bit, drill the hole in your bumper cover using the mark you just made as the center mark. Just be sure it’s exactly where you want it and they are in the same spot from one side to the other, which they should be since you took the time to get the posts just right. Measure twice, cut (or in our case, drill) once!

http://i.imgur.com/LFaJI0x.jpg

17.Clean up any burrs from the hole so the button fits nice and flush to the cover and tighten the nut. Now sit back and reflect on what you just did…put a hole in a perfectly good bumper cover. Well I guess that’s not true because if it were perfect, we wouldn’t be doing this crap! Thanks Subaru engineers!

18.Now this is where some more tweaking needs to happen. You will definitely need to go back to your post and “shorten” it about 1/8” so when the button snaps onto it, everything sits flush. Remember in step 9 where I had you make the post length ¾” from the nut, that was to make it stick out after it was installed like in step 13, so we could then use the palm trick in step 15 to get our center mark on the bumper cover. Remember in step 3 where you folded the wheel well liner out of your way, now you can get to the back nut (barely) to adjust the post length without taking the bumper bracket back off. There is a method to my madness!

19.Once you have everything where it needs to be, it should look like this…

http://i.imgur.com/3pDA53T.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/Zy6oNyk.jpg

20.Re-install all the Bumper bits…don’t forget the Styrofoam crash beam cushion (like someone I know), sit back and admire your work!

21.Drink Beer! :cheers: