KILLERHERTZ

Following on from my HOWTO of the front bumper


HOW TO:
Remove & refit a rear bumper to a W202 - Pre/Post facelift/C36/C43 AMG

Time taken:
Under 1 hour
Tools required:-
13mm Socket, Small knife or screwdriver, another person for helping hold the bumper upon removal/refitting.

Parts required:
C43 bumper

1. First of all completely clear your boot. With it empty remove the flooring by pulling up the handle and fold over the left hand side floor carpet (this will make sense when you pull it out):



2. With the boot floor removed you will now need to remove both of the side trims - this is alot more difficult. I'll Start with the right hand side although the left hand side is slightly easier.

First up, prise off both the plastic trim plugs (see below) from the side of the rear light clusters.







With both plugs unclipped you will have to pull the trim/carpet out from behind this, and the remaining boot walls. Ive found this to be possible by folding & pulling at the same time, follow it around the spring mech and then it will become loose. (expect to cut/graze at least one of your fingers - see my little finger in the picture below! )



Take care when moving it from around the yellow spounge located on the sidewall



3. Repeat this process on the right hand side - far easier with the lack of a recessed well:




Once all the trim has been removed, place them somewhere safe.



4. Now to finally start removing the bumper!. first up, remove the seal in the centre that allows access to the centre bolt (if this sear has been broken the bumper has already been replaced/removed):



By now you should have noticed the 2x bolts located in each both corners of the 2 sides

Right hand side:



Left hand side: (It would appear a builder owned my car before me judging by the rubble )




Starting with the centre bolt, unsrew all 5 with a 13mm wrench - the centre bolt is deep so watch you dont lose the nut when its unscrewed!



5. Back on the outside of the car, pull free the wheel arch lining so it doesnt prevent you from pulling free the bumper:



6. With everything out of its way, 'simply' pull the bumper off the car.
Start at the top of each wheelarch and push hard towards the rear of the car -
it is 10times easier if you get someone else to help you, not only will it be virtually trouble free you wont have the risk of dropping 1 side scratching it on the ground!

Dont be alarmed when you hear a loud screeching noise as soon as you begin pulling away the bumper, its the friction from the bumper rails.

Take your time with this, pulling from 1 side at a time!

7. With the bumper off, carefully place it on a rug/carpet or some grass.

As you can see from the pictures below, X amount of years of mud/dirt will be attached to the chassis. I recommend giving it a good cleaning as this will one day cause some unseen rusting:







8. Refitting is basically the reverse - again is by far better with someone else helping out.

KILLERHERTZ

You may have some grief lining up the bumper when you refit it, eg gaps on one side/perfect on the other.



All going well, it should look like this



Any other questions eg, please ask!

jumph4x

Very nice guide!

About to follow your steps. Mine is sagging.

If all I want to do is move it up vertically, all I need to do is play with the trunk bolts, yeah?

scottiemac

Great how to. Thanks. Just used it to remove the bumper from my wifes C280 for some paint work and it was a big help.

$tallion

put up a before pik if u got it

hatlawrence

When you removed the Trim Plugs as in photo 2 did it destroy them and have to be replaced withnew?

KILLERHERTZ

Couple here:





I made sure I didnt snap them + returned them back into the holes afterwards. If you have broken yours ask at you local dealer for some.

hatlawrence

Many thanks for your prompt response

nd4spd13

Just wondering if anyone knows, what the hell is that black rectangle underneath the bumper shown inside in the last pic of #2 and from outside in 2'nd pic on #7??

KILLERHERTZ

Its a pressure vent, all cars have them. If you didnt have them, shutting the bootlid fast could bend/dent the bodywork.

$tallion

I'm not thrilled about the front end without the side squirts... but the rear is hott..

nd4spd13

Ah, nifty. thanks.

rocbtm

hi there,

I'm in the same boat. mine is sagging and has only recently started to sag. I assume it's from my air suspension loosening the bolts iswell? I've had to do up the front bumper but for that I just used a screw and bolt.

what's required to fit the bumper back up to where it should be? below are a couple of pictures.





thanks

KILLERHERTZ

Hi,

Its just a case of trial and error. with two of you (one holding the bumper up against the chassis) adjust the 4 bolts to get a flush fit.

Bare in mind it will never be perfect as there is meant to be a gap.