Let's remove the rear bumper cover.

[ulrichd]

I switched my 128 large butt rear bumper to the 135 cover with diffuser. The kit came from Dan at United completely painted (perfect match) with all necessary hardware.

All screws are 8mm so you will just need a spanner and an extension for some recessed screws. Time to complete was approx. 3 hours.

Start by loosening the felt covers behind the tail lights inside the trunk. No need to remove completely. Lamps are held on with 3 screws. Pull lights out slightly, just enough to access the bumper attachments clips that are underneath the lamps. Remove 4 bolts inside each wheel well, no need to remove tires. Remove about 10 or so bolts underneath bumper. GENTLY pull forward edge of bumper (at wheel well) to pop side attachments. At this point the bumper cover will slide off easily.

Now remove the plastic crush zone attachments at the corner of the car. These look like egg crates in the pics and replace with the new versions. There are small sensor attached to each one with 2 bolts. Remove and transfer to new units.

Install is reverse of removal, as they say. Take your time and you will have no problem. Fit and finish are excellent. I have a small alignment problem just under the trunk lid that I will look at in the morning. It was getting dark.

[larryn]

Looks Great! Good job. Adding to the DIY index, and thanks for sharing!!

[S54dan]

Glad to see it on the car Ulrich!

[oldman]

Hi ulrichd

I have an issue during manufacture. There is a black lug under the left side of the rear right tail light assembly (right near the boot lid) where the bumper is actually sitting under the lug and not on top like the left hand side leaving a larger gap, so my idea is to loosen the right hand side bolts like in your DIY and move the bumper up on top of the lug where it should be.

I spoke to my dealer about it and they said bring it in, but qualified that by saying they may have to send it off to a repair shop to have it done which I'm not too keen on at all. It seems they are good mechanically, but their skills in the bodywork department are questionable.

Anyway after all the ranting above, the issue is that the bumper can be jiggled around with all the bolts out, but there seems to be something holding it approx. 6 inches back from where it is held by the top bolt attaching it to the wheel arch (see side view where circle is). Do you remember if there is a bold there as well that I may need to get to. I envisage its probably near the middle of the top of the side crush (egg crate) piece.

Thanks in advance

[ulrichd]

Oldman,
I am a bit confused: You have a 135, are you replacing the bumper cover after an accident? Also you say the bumper is held approx. 6" back but it looks to be a good fit in the pics except for the issue under the tail light. As for the lug under the light, I just ran a piece of cardboard under the right tail light and was able to push it all the way in and all the way across. There does not seem to be lug under my tail light. Maybe take out the light and see where the lug is attached.

Keep me posted, I'll help if I can.

[oldman]

ulrichd

The only issue I have is the positioning on the lug under the tail light, but now you mention it, the lug looks like it's part of the actual tail light assembly and not attached to the body of the car at all. So you think if I remove the tail light, the lug should be able to be pushed under the bumper where it belongs when I refit.

I did undo the inside boot right side cover when I was playing around (even the star type bolt near the rear of the right back seat), but could not pull it much out of the way to get to the tail light bolts as there is floor dip in the cover near the tail light area. I think getting the bolts off is going to be easier than getting the bolts on. Is there a trick you found to get it more out of the way to get to the bolts?

Thanks

[ulrichd]

Dont' be afraid to pull the felt cover and bend it, it's very forgiving. You just need to pull it off enough to access three small small screws that hold the tail light in place. Also pull up a small part of the rubber seal strip that runs the entire width of the trunk. It holds the felt in place.

Look at the first pic in my original post. There is no lug showing under the light so it must be on the tail light assembly on your car. As I mentioned before, I could run a cardboard piece under my light so I don't have that lug in the way of my bumper. Very odd. Good luck.

[ulrichd]

Just a thought, I wonder if your "lug" is one of the black plastic tabs that hold the bumper in place but somehow got folded upward?

[oldman]

I will attempt the tail light this afternoon. I did pull the rubber off when I first had a look and was able to pull out the felt side panel somewhat, but I was not sure how "bendy" it was and did not want to break it so here goes again. Will let you know the result.

thanks

[oldman]

Got it fixed. Turns out to be both the bumper and tail light. I undid all the bolts via the DIY ulrichd provided and found that the bumper had movement from left to right all the way across the car. I then checked the curve fit between wheel arch and the bumper and found it different on each side of the car. One was too far forward and one was too far back, so I moved it left and made a small curve template so each side would follow the exact curve of the wheel arch correctly. The space between the bottom of the tail light I was able to adjust by removing the tail light and refitting correctly. You can see from the photos now the gap at the base of the boot lid is now even on both sides and the right tail light sits correctly. Thanks for all your help ulrichd.

[ulrichd]

Glad it worked out. Looks good.

[hansenc]

Oo this might be an option for me, I got into a small wreck a few weeks ago and have check in hand for repairs just didn't want to put it in the shop.

Is the bumper on Dan's site? I haven't seen it before.

[ulrichd]

Yes, about halfway down the page. Item 51120442896. Don't be confused by the pic showing the front of the car. Takes about a month if you get him to paint it, plus it has to be ordered from BMW in Germany.

[hansenc]

Ahhh I see it now, thanks. I might take my cover off to make sure I have no damage behind it before ordering.

[ulrichd]

The kit from United comes with new crash substructures (shown in my photo) in case yours are damaged.

[hansenc]

very nice, i can save a lot of money doing it this way.

[hansenc]

Originally Posted by ulrichd

The kit from United comes with new crash substructures (shown in my photo) in case yours are damaged.

Was your 128 bumper damaged? are you interested in selling it?

[ulrichd]

Hans,
I carelessly broke 2 mounting clips during removal so could not sell it to you in good faith. Sorry.

[john08135i]

I removed my bumber this weekend..
wow... not as easy as his was..

It has ALOT of hidden tabs ill post a DIY this week.. I installed a CURT trailer hitch on the 135

[takrdown]

I'm going to have to remove my 135 bumper so my friend can do some body repair on it. Did you ever get around to doing a DIY for the 135 by chance?

[ulrichd]

128 and 135 should be identical except for the diffuser.

[takrdown]

Thanks! I'll give this a whirl late next week I think!