Bumper not lining up near fender?

[Hardrock4445]

No fasteners at all until bumper is all in place. It will hold itself as it clips in.

[Hardrock4445]

Originally Posted by xjohnx

I've seen quite a few 86's with this issue. Does anyone know what causes it or a good trick to fixing it? I can push it back in and it looks like it's lined up, but after driving again it reverts to its previous state.

Thank your maker light back out, remove clip holding bumper on. Push bumper near middle of headlight with left hand. Use your right hand and pull back ( toward front of car) and right (away from the car until you feel it is far enough. Now imagine you are wrapping the bumper on the car like a piece of vinyl. Push with you left hand from the inside out as you set bumper in clips.. Hope that helps! It won't just push straight in, you have to almost wrap it around the car as you snap it in.

[xjohnx]

Originally Posted by Hardrock4445

Thank your maker light back out, remove clip holding bumper on. Push bumper near middle of headlight with left hand. Use your right hand and pull back ( toward front of car) and right (away from the car until you feel it is far enough. Now imagine you are wrapping the bumper on the car like a piece of vinyl. Push with you left hand from the inside out as you set bumper in clips.. Hope that helps! It won't just push straight in, you have to almost wrap it around the car as you snap it in.

Will do, just waiting on the correct fasteners to show up for that corner hole near the headlight. Hopefully tomorrow.

Thanks again, if this fixes it then i'm going to be a happy man.

[Foobar]

Gah, I have the same problem. Thought I fixed it by pushing up on the bottom of the bumper until it snapped in but now it's back.

[xjohnx]

Originally Posted by Foobar

Gah, I have the same problem. Thought I fixed it by pushing up on the bottom of the bumper until it snapped in but now it's back.

edit: disregard, misread another post

[Foobar]

Originally Posted by xjohnx

The only comment I read that may also help is to only tighten the fastener that goes through the side marker bracket as much as needed to stay in place. I can see how over-tightening it could force the slots on the bumper too high to get a solid purchase on the clips.

Isn't that just a pushpin type of fastener though? Not sure how you can control the tightness of that, or am I thinking of something else?

[xjohnx]

Originally Posted by Foobar

Isn't that just a pushpin type of fastener though? Not sure how you can control the tightness of that, or am I thinking of something else?

I'm not sure, but i think you might be right, I misread a different post.

[RallySport Direct]

Ours is still holding up great with a few drives under its belt. Also when we got ours into place, the fitment was perfect before we even popped the clips into place. So basically, it seems like if you are having to force the bumper back into place and hoping the clips will hold it, it will most likely pop back out at some point. I wish I could do a step-by-step as far as what we did to get it to fit, but really it was just a bunch of trial and error, adjusting things, and moving things until we got it all lined back up.

Thanks again,
Rick

[itdansharpe]

Same issue.. first issue was turbo piping but now it's just being a PITA!

[King Tut]

I have the same issue. It was just the driver side, but now the passenger side seems to want to come out as well. I actually broke one of the tabs that is held in place by the plastic piece under the headlight as well. I have had my bumper off at least 5 times. I know one of the forced induction guys indicated he made up a plate and bolts to hold the bumper to the fender. That is what I intend to do next time I pull it off. I might order those plastic pieces under the headlight as well should I mess them up.

[Kwise1]

Originally Posted by King Tut

I have the same issue. It was just the driver side, but now the passenger side seems to want to come out as well. I actually broke one of the tabs that is held in place by the plastic piece under the headlight as well. I have had my bumper off at least 5 times. I know one of the forced induction guys indicated he made up a plate and bolts to hold the bumper to the fender. That is what I intend to do next time I pull it off. I might order those plastic pieces under the headlight as well should I mess them up.

Do you have any more info on fixing this issue? Mine is doing this as well since the bumper was off because of the accident.

[bcmakesiteasy]

Originally Posted by Kwise1

Do you have any more info on fixing this issue? Mine is doing this as well since the bumper was off because of the accident.

same here..i might just take it to the dealership at my 15,000 miles service

[troek]

i had this issue after a parking curb got up and ran into my car. what i found is that the rectangle hole in the bumper that latches on to the tab under the headlight is made out of an almost rubber like plastic and slips off the tabs too easily. i purchased a plastic resin tof sorts that is much harder and remolded one of my clips out of it and it hung on much better.

[Kwise1]

So.... After spending hours today working on this issue I think I figured out my problem.
It looks like when the body shop put the headlight back in it wasn't aligned correctly with the fender causing tension on the lower bracket which holds the front tab on the bumper. I ended up realigning the light and it seems like the bumper is holding fine now. I hope this is the fix since the design of the fender and the fact that the bumper comes off before the lights pretty much doesn't allow any other method to secure the bumper and fender together (drilling a hole and using a nut/bolt). Even with the wheel well off I didn't see any way to install a bolt without cutting a hole in the fender that sits under the bumper and not using the stock bumper mounts at all.