I have a 2016 on order and will be selling my 2011. The paint is perfect except for the front bumper cover which I suspect had been repainted by the dealer before I bought it new in late 2010. The horizontal surface below the grill is deteriorating in spots so I'm having the cover repainted by a shop that does great work.

Is there a how-to somewhere for removing the cover so I can save what the shop wants for removing it and not be without the car until they remove it. Want to just drop the cover off, have them paint it and reinstall it later (so I don't risk scraping anything up).

 

If no one else chimes in, I should have something at home I can send later this evening. The ProCharger installation manual I have includes directions for removing 2011-12 and 2013-14 front bumper covers. Hopefully someone else can answer well before then though.

 

The instructions in the service manual suck but here they are:

Bumper Cover — Front
Removal and Installation
V6 and GT
1. Remove the 4 radiator grille assembly-to-upper sight shield pin-type retainers.
2. Remove the 4 upper radiator sight shield pin-type retainers and the upper radiator sight shield.
3. Remove the 4 fender splash shield screws.
4. If equipped, remove the 4 lower air deflector bolts.
5. Remove the lower air deflector pin-type retainers.
6. If equipped, disconnect the 2 fog lamp electrical connectors.
7. Disconnect the 2 side marker lamp electrical connectors and remove the front bumper cover.
8. Disconnect the ambient air temperature sensor.
9. To install, reverse the removal procedure.

I've done this many times so I'll see if I can't fill in some details.

Steps 1 and 2 are removing the eight push pin retainers that hold the plastic radiator cover then pulling out the cover (lift the trailing edge, pull toward the back of the car a couple of inches and then lift out). One of those paint can opening tools is great for pulling up the center pin of the retainer (it's only 25 cents at Home Depot or they give them away if you buy paint).

In step 3 you're removing the four hex head screws on the leading edge of the front wheel opening (two each side). They have 7mm heads and are hard to reach with a socket due to the tire being so close so one of those ratcheting wrenches is really handy.

Steps 4 and 5 are removing the four hex head screws and four push pin retainers at the lower trailing edge of the valance behind the air dam. The screws take an 8mm socket.

One thing they leave out is that there are two hex head screws on the top next to the headlights that have to be removed (8mm socket). Leave the two tabs hooked over the top of the headlights for the moment - you'll see what I mean when you take out those two screws.

Now, starting at the lower edge of the seam between the bumper and the fender, pull outwards to separate them. It will take a fair amount of force the first time to get it to pull out. Then pull the edge of the bumper cover around the wheel opening outwards so that it clears the fender liner. Repeat on the other side and you should end up with your bumper cover free at the bottom and sides and just held on by the two tabs on top at the headlights. Pry up on those tabs to allow the bumper to start sliding off but don't pull it completely off until you disconnected the wiring as mentioned in steps 6, 7 and 8 above. The ambient temperature sensor doesn't need to be unplugged, you can just pull it of of it's mount (it's one of those plastic pins that goes into a hole in the bumper) and put it out of the way.

Installation is mostly the reverse of removal except that you have to make sure the lower edge of the cover goes under the splash panel so that the fasteners go through the bumper cover into the splash panel. It is very helpful to get a set of plastic body panel tools (a few bucks at Harbor Freight) to help with pulling the sides around the inner fender when installing.

I believe there's a video on American Muscle's website under installation of the Raxiom headlights but even that doesn't cover all the little "gotchas" I've run into. I hope this helps.

 

Awesome post, sir. Folks like you make this forum great.

 

Thanks a lot!

 

Putting the bumper back on you have to be a little bit forceful with it though so don'tbe afraid to really try and push the wheel well liners or the little plastic pieces in front of them.

 

The hardest thing for me to get over is pulling the cover loose from the side clips after all of the fasteners are removed. I always fear leaving a screw or fastener in somewhere and puling when I shouldn't.

 

http://www.happywrenching.com/ford/m...2013-2014.html

 

That's a great link although it's for 13-14. The 10-12 is similar but doesn't have nearly as many fasteners.

 

Sounds like folks answered already with all the technical details. But I'll just give my simple 2 cents. I've done this a few times already during the install of my blower, fog lights, and a host of other things. I can remove the bumper in under 10 minutes. It really is quite simple.

Remove lower plastic cover bolts under front end of car.
Open hood and remove radiator cover support bolts.
Unhook bumper cover from frame (simple latch).
Remove bumper bolts from Driver/Passenger front wheel wells (3 or 4 each side I think).
Pull off bumper. Don't be afraid to pull hard... be careful of course.

Voila. Done. Reverse for install.

 

Might want to put something soft like long beach towels or cardboard on the floor so your bumper won't get scratched up, plus I would put cloth on the side bumper when taking one side off put cloth, take other side off.

 

There are several videos on YouTube showing you how to do it.

 

Came off very easy following Whitebird's instructions. Aside from telling what all to remove and in what order, I would definitely not have been willing to pull as hard on the cover to pull it away from the fender as was necessary.

Getting the grills and lower lip off was not easy. Looks like they were designed to snap into the cover and stay there. They are held on with tabs that snap into the fascia.

The tabs are wedged shaped with a step. When pushed in, the slots in the bumper cover must flex out of the way then snap back after the step passes thru.

I could only get them off by stretching each slot wider than the tab and then wedging a flathead screwdriver under all the tabs at the same time and giving the grill/lip a whack.