The mounting point in the rear bumper crossmember, where the shock attaches to the bumper, has broken on one side. So my bumper is more or less hanging on that side.

I planned to take the rear bumper off to repair it, but this is proving difficult. I first considered trying to take the cover off, before removing the bumper. I wasn't convinced though, that getting the top clips off would be straight-forward, and I really didn't want to trash all the bottom clips (as per the FAQ) and have to buy all new ones anyway. I was hoping I could remove the bumper with the cover still in place, and could maybe repair it without removing the cover, or at least it would be easier to then get the cover off after the whole assembly was off the car.

I've removed the bolts that hold the bumper shock in the rectangular receptacle on the frame. But when I try to slide the bumper back, the cover, where it wraps around the side of the car up near the wheel well, is obviously catching on the clip that normally holds the side in place. I've got the inside of the trunk apart, and can tell where this clip is, but I can't loosen the bolts/nuts that hold it in place (then just spin). Here's what I'm talking about:



The bolts in the black bracket are what are spinning. I pushed a clip out of the small hole you can see near the top left, but that didn't help. Not sure if breaking the clip the protrudes between the two bolts in the black bracket will help or not.

What's the trick to getting the side bumper cover off or past this clip? Even if I did take all the clips along the top and bottom of the bumper off, I would think I would still have the same problem trying to slide the cover past these clips.


Thanks,

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David Armstrong - '86 240(350k km?), '93 940T(270k km), '89 240(parts source for others) near Toronto