I purchased the Z06 grille from Extreme Online Store (great service, BTW) and did a ton of research about how to take the front bumper off. I saw some who got the dreaded headlight tabs off very easily, and some who actually broke the bumper because they were in so tight. I wanted to add my $.02 and my experience because it can be VERY easy. Some have mentioned loosening the bolts that hold the metal tab bracket that the bumper snaps into, but I didn't really understand what they were talking about. I've attached a couple of pictures to show what I did. I didn't need anything special beyond a 1/4 in 7mm socket, ratchet and extension. Once all of the bumper fasteners are removed, it's a simple process to raise the bumper cover up about an inch in the front to gain easy access to these bolts. Loosening these two bolts are a no brainer in my opinion and makes the tabs by the headlights simple to remove.

You will need to realign and tighten these brackets before reinstalling the bumper- if you don't put them back in the right place, the bumper will not fit right. I was able to see the outline of where the bolts sat previously so didn't have an issue with it. I'd recommend spraying some paint or something onto the brackets before loosening them just in case you can't see the faint outline- once the paint dries you'll have a perfect location of where to put the bracket back to...just don't get any paint on your bumper

Two other tips- when putting the bumper back on the brake ducts in the grill must slip into the brake duct passageways on the car (if you have a Z51)- tough to explain but very self explanatory when you see them. Mine were hanging up and the bumper wouldn't sit back down in it's spot. The other thing to look out for is the plastic trim that sits above the grille behind the bumper. You must reach through the grille and push the plastic UP so that the bumper sits down properly, and the plastic trim inside sits above the grille. There are plenty of great videos out there explaining the rest, but for the part that most struggle with, this is the best way IMO. Hope this helps!

 

You know, I read the same thing before I did mine. Tons of research, not wanting to tear anything up. But I could not, for the life of me, understand just how the heck I was supposed to reach those bolts.

Your pictures would have been perfect. Turns out, I was able to install my grille without damaging the tabs, but it was close. If the bumper ever has to come back off, I'll use your method.

Thanks for posting!

 

Any chance you can weigh the headlight assembly while you have it out?

 

I did the same thing with mine. It worked great. The only additional suggestion I have is to put some tape on the edge of the headlight so as not to scratch it.

 

I was one of the unlucky SOBs who broke a bumper tab. I loosened these bolts on the other side after breaking the tab and it still wouldn't release. Did you take the bolts all the way out?

I 2nd the suggestion to put some painters tape on the head light edge to avoid any scratches.

 

No . Definitely don't take bolts all the way out. Maybe try to move the bracket after loosening bolts . I've done this probably 7 times in total in my last car. Same method as op.

 

I didn't back them all the way out. I was able to push the back of the inboard clip in with a screwdriver to release it and after loosening the bolts the outboard clip easily released.

 

Why not take them out, remove bumper, then pop the brackets off the bumper and reinstall brackets then reinstall bumper?

 

For fear of them falling into the vehicle abyss somehow. I've lost a lot of stuff in my car.

 

I've had my bumper off multiple times and while the clips were tight they were never all that difficult with a little finesse (I think I used a screw driver from the back to get the clip but not 100% sure). I could see how they could get broken though especially if pulled in all sorts of directions or is super tight. Good info

 

Same here. Did it by myself and took my time and it only took me about 1:40. If I had to do it again, probably 1-1:10. Easier than I thought it would be. Dealer wanted 3 hours of labor ($400+) to do it. WTF?

 

My issue was that stupid early video of the yellow car saying "just pull hard". There were posts where people said, "Pull hard, you'll feel like it's going to break, but you have to pull hard and it will release". Now that I and others have broken the bumper, people have learned to take their time and finesse it and try to release the tabs. I have the OEM FSMs now and they are vague but say "gain access" and "use suitable flat blade tool to release tabs). They recommend a nylon wedge between the bumper and fender, but that just makes the tabs hold even tighter.

 

Yeah definitely just angle up and loosen the brackets severely. Then let the bumper go back down and then pull each side clips where you loosened the brackets up and towards engine. That's the key. They are weighing down on the brackets so you gotta push the bumper towards the car again to release the brackets.

 

Thanks for the tip!! A related question for you all . . . when you reattach the bumper, is there a little play before you tighten everything up to tweak the panel fit? The reason I ask is that I would like to tweak the fit on my bumper, and wondered if there was a little play once all the screws are loosened. In other words, I don't need to remove my bumper, but I would like to adjust the fit a little if possible. So I was thinking of loosening all the fasteners, adjusting, and then tightening, but I did not know if this had a chance of working or not.

 

No. The only fit adjustment is by the headlights really. And you need to tighten the bracket before cliping it in. If you want to readjust you gotta pull the bumper off again and readjust the brackets

 

One of my headlights sits about 1mm proud of the bumper on the lower edge. Is there any adjustment for the headlight beyond aim of the bulb?