DIY: Quik Latch Mini Install on Front Bumper

[BirdTRD]

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.





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





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.





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





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.





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.





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.





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.



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.





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.






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.





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!





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…






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!

[Cockatoo]

Good write up!

[malave7567]

Good DIY. I'm definitely saving this thread for whenever I finally do this... I'm tired of the stupid gap.

[adamg]

looks great

[Freude am Fahren]

Hmm, I'm not sure it looks better than it sticking out. 6 in one, half dozen in the other. Painting them to match might put it in the win column though. Good write up either way. I may do this (with painting) if it's actually my bumper that's screwed and not the mounting brackets.

[BirdTRD]

Originally Posted by Freude am Fahren

Hmm, I'm not sure it looks better than it sticking out. 6 in one, half dozen in the other. Painting them to match might put it in the win column though. Good write up either way. I may do this (with painting) if it's actually my bumper that's screwed and not the mounting brackets.

Yeah, it was the lesser of two evils for me. I could have gone with stainless for a better color match but they were 2x the price! It seems as though once that bumper gets removed for the first time, both the bumper and brackets get jacked and you're left to deal with the gap.

[Cop]

Awesome DIY Bird

[Phaedrus29]

Wow nice job...thanks for the detailed step-by-step and pics!!

Originally Posted by BirdTRD

I could have gone with stainless for a better color match but they were 2x the price!

Did you consider the plain Billet ones for your car? Perhaps a fine color match and still the cheaper price. My BRZ is DGM so I can't really get a perfect color match out of the box...black would probably look best i was thinking.

Do you have some more pics from a bit father away?

Please update us with how it holds up over time.

--------

Just a question about the DIY: Is it just me or is the place where the bolt pushes in the palm trick in step 15 different from where you actually ended up drilling?

[BirdTRD]

Originally Posted by Phaedrus29

Wow nice job...thanks for the detailed step-by-step and pics!!


Did you consider the plain Billet ones for your car? Perhaps a fine color match and still the cheaper price. My BRZ is DGM so I can't really get a perfect color match out of the box...black would probably look best i was thinking.

Actually, I didn't even see that option on the Quik Latch web site (links down the left side showed 4 colors and stainless minis) but I see them now. Maybe I'll buy those and sell mine!

Originally Posted by Phaedrus29

Just a question about the DIY: Is it just me or is the place where the bolt pushes in the palm trick in step 15 different from where you actually ended up drilling?

No, that is the exact mark I used to drill my 3/4 hole. I think the pic is deceiving since it's so close up. Just be sure to have your bumper cover temporarily installed in the exact position it needs to be (pressing in on the cover, manually removing the gap) before doing the palm trick.

[rixter145]

I found it much easier to just drill the bumper and leave a mark. Fucked up on one side and then fixed it on the other side.

[Ben_G]

Same thing, but the installation instructions give a better way to locate the pins on the bumper.

http://www.ft86speedfactory.com/move...l#.ViT9auxVhBc

[BirdTRD]

Originally Posted by new2subaru

Ummm, ya, that's a deal...Holy crap!

Yeah, but I think those come with more horsepower!

[rixter145]

Originally Posted by new2subaru

Ummm, ya, that's a deal...Holy crap!

Is that sarcasm? hahaha The quik latches i got were only $25 a pop.

[rixter145]

Originally Posted by new2subaru

Those were $279 for 4...Even at $25 a pop, that's insane.

Yeah I know right

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