Removing Rear Fascia

[rothsean]

Is there a procedure for removing the rear fascia? I am ready to paint this.

[jawn101]

Do you have a service manual? Look at section P:02:17 - Bumpers and Fascias.

[artisticent]

Its highly recommended to paint it with it on the car. Personally im against this but if lining it back up again is REALLY that hard as they say then that's what ill do.
Good luck

[jawn101]

Lining up the rear fascia is child's play if it was lined up well to begin with. If it isn't, well, it won't get better on its own. I have taken mine off about ten times and can remove or reinstall it in about a half hour now with no issues or fitment problems. One thing to be careful of is not to tighten the three nuts (per side) on the vertical studs inside the tail light cavity too tight, or you will see dimples in the plastic.

The front fascia is the one that can be a real bear to get right.

[uhhair]

Its highly recommended to paint it with it on the car. Personally im against this but if lining it back up again is REALLY that hard as they say then that's what ill do.
Good luck

I've never heard this before, and I'm going to flat out disagree with it (the first sentence at least). The rear fascia takes about 30-60 to take off, and it's much less complicated than the front one. You don't need to remove any panels, exhaust, etc to get it off.

I've never heard of the lining up issue. I've taken mine off my car multiple times, and never had a problem re-installing it correctly. If it looks fine on your car now, it'll look that way when you put it back on, It's pretty hard to do incorrectly, since the holes/bolts won't match up obviously if it's on wrong. Just make sure everything is torqued right and it is definitely possible, and not too difficult, to line it up correctly.

Painting it on the car is a mistake. The entire edge where it meets up with the stainless won't look right, and will be impossible to paint correctly if it's still installed on the car. I don't know of anyone personally who's had it painted on the car, but I know plenty of owners who removed it, had it painted, and put it back on with no issues.

[kajcienski]

I will be re-painting my fascias this winter and it was recommended by a vendor to just "loosen" the fascias for painting. I am told this will give enough clearance to paint the edges correctly. Anyone have any thoughts on this? Also (I should probably split this off) - I am planning to remove the eyebrows as well. I am told the usual stiffener can be seen after a while through the top of the fascia. Anyone come up with a cool solution for eyebrows?

[David T]

There are several problems if you try to remove the front and/or rear facias. You can break the studs or pull them out of the fiberglass (they can be repaired). The facias shrink and it can be difficult to get it lined up and looking nice again. A really good painter can paint it on the car and mask the S/S getting enough paint over the edge so it looks good. If you do remove the front facia you can better repair the "eyebrows". It can be more work to R & R the facias then to actually paint them!
David Teitelbaum

[lazabby]

There are several problems if you try to remove the front and/or rear facias. You can break the studs or pull them out of the fiberglass (they can be repaired). The facias shrink and it can be difficult to get it lined up and looking nice again. A really good painter can paint it on the car and mask the S/S getting enough paint over the edge so it looks good. If you do remove the front facia you can better repair the "eyebrows". It can be more work to R & R the facias then to actually paint them!
David Teitelbaum

I'm planning on having my facias painted soon. Several of the studs (bolts) on the bottom of the rear facia are broken off due to rust. Since they are molded into the facias how do you repair them? Id like to fix them so there is no lopsided sag.

[jawn101]

I'm planning on having my facias painted soon. Several of the studs (bolts) on the bottom of the rear facia are broken off due to rust. Since they are molded into the facias how do you repair them? Id like to fix them so there is no lopsided sag.

Josh at DPI sells stainless replacements for those studs and a special (and very expensive) adhesive that will bond them properly to the urethane.

[uhhair]

I will be re-painting my fascias this winter and it was recommended by a vendor to just "loosen" the fascias for painting. I am told this will give enough clearance to paint the edges correctly. Anyone have any thoughts on this? Also (I should probably split this off) - I am planning to remove the eyebrows as well. I am told the usual stiffener can be seen after a while through the top of the fascia. Anyone come up with a cool solution for eyebrows?

I'd recommend against this. Taking off the rear fascia isn't that hard, and loosening all of the bolts to move it around is 95% of the work involved. Same with the front, getting to and removing all the bolts to loosen it is most of the work.

[thirdmanj]

I'm with David on this. Just mask them really well a paint them? Why create extra work for yourself?

[kajcienski]

I'd recommend against this. Taking off the rear fascia isn't that hard, and loosening all of the bolts to move it around is 95% of the work involved. Same with the front, getting to and removing all the bolts to loosen it is most of the work.

Cool - I would like to do it right so I appreciate the input!

[Nicholas R]

I'd recommend against this. Taking off the rear fascia isn't that hard, and loosening all of the bolts to move it around is 95% of the work involved. Same with the front, getting to and removing all the bolts to loosen it is most of the work.

I agree, just take it of. It will make the painting SO much easier, and you wont have to worry about painting your car. Rear fascia removal is a lot easier than everyone makes it out to be. In the last year, I'll bet I've had my rear fascia off at least a dozen times (for me it's an access issue for certain engine components). Still, I dont shortcut anything. There are no eliminated screws or bolts, it's the same as removing any other fascia every time.

My process:

Things you need to remove first:
-Remove tail lights
-Remove the carbon canister on left side (for me its where the air filter is) and the air intake tube on the right
-Remove engine cover latch and disconnect release cable
-Remove side markers on left and rightand push lights and wires into the fenders
-Unplug the black connector at the firewall under the ignition coil cover

Hardware removal (what actually holds the fascia in place):
-Remove the screws attaching to the heatshield along the bottom, as well as the screws going into the rocker panels behind the wheels
-Remove the 2 M8 bolts going into the L brackets on the left and the 2 M8 bolts going into the L brackets on the right (the brackets bolt both to the fascia and to the body tub; you can remove either the bolts going into the tub or the ones going into the fascia, I remove the fascia ones)
-Remove the 3 M6 bolts going from the fascia into the tub on the left, and the Remove the 3 M6 bolts going from the fascia into the tub on the right.

Lift up and away and the fascia is free!! :D

[dustybarn]

I removed the rear fascia for engine access to change my camshafts and didn't have any trouble at all. But I removed the entire urethane fascia/fiberglass fascia support assembly and did not attempt to separate them; I saw no reason to. I left the "L" brackets attached to the tub.

[David T]

It becomes a judgement call. Painting is a LOT easier but you have a LOT of additional work to take the facia off, possible repairs, and reinstalling it. Other factors start to enter the decision process. If the car is not drivable it allows you to get the facias painted by removing them. If you have other work to do in those areas it makes access easier for that. You can fix the "eyebrows". If you already have broken studs you can only fix them by removing the facia. If they were removed in the past they may not be lined up as good as possible and by R & R ing them you can make it better. While the facias are off you can regrain the S/S without fear of damaging the paint. Each case should be judged on it's circumstances. A Top Notch painter can do magic and can get a really good job done without removing the facias. A painter who is not so good can do a better job with them off because he can paint them in any direction and not get orange peel, drips, runs, or sags.
David Teitelbaum

[Dangermouse]

I had this discussion recently with a paint shop and an owner (who had his fascias painted at said paint shop and also has one of the nicest D's around here).

Even though I have to take my front fascia off for eyebrow repair and will be installing new headlights, their preference is to paint them on the car. The main reason is that they want to see and work on the surfaces in the correct orientation. It also prevents scratches in transit or reattachment.