88' plastic bumper swap help needed

[nomansland92]

Ok so I'm trying to put plastic bumpers on my 88 and i've always heard it was a direct bolt on but the rear bumper doesn't sit right on the sides. There's a huge gap between the bumper and the body.


Do I have something wrong? The bumper does slide into those brackets but it still sits out to far.

Any help would be much appreciated

[IRON-E]

Make sure the bumper itself, has a plastic bracket that bites the one on the body and interlocks the 2 of them. It's easier with 2 people doing it, as it can be a pain to guide and slide into place by yoursel but you're almost there dude., good luck.

[ak-]

What E said.
Do you have the brackets on the bumper?
If you do, it looks like you aren't threading/sliding them into the support bracket on the body.

[nomansland92]

ya the bumper has tabs on it and they seam to slide into and lock in place very nice but it seams like the piece on the body sits out to far, i wouldn't think it would matter because its an IX. I.m almost thinking of making some custom brackets but I've never heard of that needing to be done.

[IRON-E]

How does the other side fit? They should go in at the same time and straighten everything out.

[nomansland92]

Here's a few other pics to show what I'm talking about. And both sides do the same thing

In these pictures your can tell there's like a 1/2 inch gap from the back of the bracket that would go up against the car and where the edge of the bumper is.

At the back of the bumper it fits great just pushes out by the wheel well.

[e30s50dan]

Those brackets have adjustment..try pushing them up as far as they go,on the body and tighten down.

[asetliff]

any updates?

[boybimmer]

on the pics above,see those 2 bolts out on that plate,you have to take the plates out and drill a hole for the plastic bracket,thats why your bumper has a gap

[td325ic]

^
Dont follow that advice. You have an 88, you keep those plates attached to the body. Don't cut them off or modify them


You just need to keep playing with the adjustment, perhaps loosen the nuts that hold the bumper shocks to the body as well so they have some freedom to move


Here's an example of the gap you should be going for:

[AlexV]

Bumpers

Where did you get the Euro bumpers? I'm up in Calgary Canada and I'm trying to find some!!

Thanks!

[Norwegian]

Cool! How's it going? I'm fixing to buy a 86 coupe, and it has DB's on it but i'm thinking about doing a plastic bumper swap from a 88-89 4door car. Any tips? :)

-Chris

[catchuk]

just curious if you were ever able to fix the gap? I have an 88 myself that has the same gap and I'm trying to figure it out. So far adjusting the brackets isn't working.

[Don Stevens]

How does one get the rear diving board bumper and trim (88) off? The front was easy . I was able to get the shock mount nuts off but the whole thing seems to be tight as a drum. Are there side bolts under the trim that I can't see?

[Don Stevens]

All


I solved my own problem. Posting a reply here so more guys do not make the same mistake I did.

The following image for Real OEM saved the day. I had no idea there was a bolt holding the inside of the bumper shock to the frame rail (circled on clip). The passenger side was a snap to get out once I located it. The driver's side was up under the muffler and heat shield so it was bit of a bitch. Lot's of cussing an scraped fingers but is finally out.




Now on to swapping to plastic.