Late Model Front Bumper Bolt stuck, Help!

[Silver Wagon]

so i started to pull out the 2 torx bolts that hold on my plastic bumper. one came out just fine. the other just spins. it unscrewed for a little bit, it was tough, but still turned. now its just spinning. i feel the captured nut in the bumper has broken loose and is spinning. how can i access that nut so i can get my bumper off?
drilling the head of the bolt won't work as its still captured by the bumper strut.

can i disassemble the plastic bumper while its still on the car?

please help, i want to get my new front valance on.

[Silver Wagon]

anyone?!

[gotaloveRWD]

I think you can get to the bolts holding on the bumper shocks can't you?
I don't remember it's been a long time since I've had plastic bumpers

[Mr. Tasty]

seriously, just remove the 4 (2 each side) 13mm bolts that hold the shocks to the car.

[Silver Wagon]

seriously, just remove the 4 (2 each side) 13mm bolts that hold the shocks to the car.

i don't think i can get to them, the bumper is covering them up. i will check it out though.

[Silver Wagon]

there's no way i can get to the bumper shock bolts. the bumper is tight against the body.

any other ideas?

[MA325is88TWO]

Get one of those extractor sockets that grabs the OUTSIDE diameter of the bolt head. Or one of those sockets that removes old fashioned lug nut wheel locks.

Or start drilling.

[Silver Wagon]

the bolt isn't seized, the captured nut, or whatever the bolt threads into inside the bumper, has broken loose and spins with the bolt. i need a way to hold onto it, or stop it from spinning, so i can unscrew the bolt.

[AndrewBird]

The plastic bumper skin will come off and give you more access. I believe it just snaps into place into the bumper reinforcement. Search for how to remove it.

[profbooty]

Pull the bumper cover off, its clipped on along the edges.

Underneath you will find 3 LARGE torx screws that hold on a metal plate to which the bumper shock attaches. Remove these and the bumper will come off.

You can then replace the bumper shock if needed. You will likely need a new metal plate that also afixes to the bumper shock. These pieces together run under 10 bucks at the dealer, locate a new bumper shock as well. I had the same issue with a bumper bolt that would not turn and the head became stripped.

Be sure to dab some neverseize on the bolts when you reinstall them.

[Silver Wagon]

ok, thanks guys. i will give it a try tomorrow, weather permitting.
i tried to search how to remove the skin but didn't get very far.
i have new shocks. i was doing this primarily to replace my valance.
if anyone can find a good DIY of removing the skin without taking the bumper off that would be great. in the meantime i will do some more searching.

[profbooty]

Feel under the bottom of the bumper cover. You will feel a number of plastic tabs which run about every 6" or so along the entire bumper cover.. You have to either push up or down on them to release them.

Wish I had known about them before i damaged my lightly damaged bumper cover into a mostly unusable bumper cover.

[Silver Wagon]

do i need to remove the trim pieces also, or just those tabs?
i can't find any good pics of what parts to take off to get the skin off.

[profbooty]

No you shouldnt need to remove the trim (I made this mistake). The little plastic bits from the cover stick out behind the bumper just a little bit. You should be able to feel them from underneath.

[Silver Wagon]

i got it! as it turned out, it wasn't the captured nut spinning. the shaft of the bolt was so caked with rust from either the shock mount rusting or the bolt itself that i had to pry it out. i managed to get a pick behind the bolt head to create some downward pressure while turning the bolt. i got it out far enough to get some pliers on it and just pulled it out the rest of the way.

thanks for all the reply's guys. finally got my valance replaced.