Tools:
- Medium Phillips Screwdriver
- 10 mm socket wrench (a "deep" socket may be necessary)
- 10 mm socketdriver (ie screwdriver with socket end)
- Flashlight
1. Open the hood. There are 4 or 5 10mm bolts holding the panel in place,
including one closest to the passenger compartment which is underneath
a piece of weatherstripping foam. Remove these.
2. Open door part way. There is a single 10mm bolt attached near the
sideview mirror. 2 feet down the panel, at the bottom, there are two 10mm
bolts attaching it to the underside of the car. Remove those.
3. Remove all the philips head screws which attach the black plastic
wheel-well liners to the panel. There are probably 7 or 8 of these total.
4. Now to the tricky part. Remove the turn signal, held in by two philips
head screws. Use a flashlight and look around in there. There are somewhere
between 4 and 6 10mm bolts/nuts up there, which attach the panel to the
front air dam. Three times I thought I was finished, only to have another
one show up. Just keep taking them out, then wiggle the panel around, and
eventually they'll all be found and the panel will come off. Here's a diagram
of some of the bolts inside the front facia holding it to the frame:
NOTE: It does NOT take excessive force to remove the panel. There is
NO need to pry on anything, nor is there a need to remove any other parts
of the car to take this panel off.
Hope this helps somebody else! I was amazed that I could take off one
of the biggest parts of the car in less than an hour... Luckily a fellow
TTZer had a red parts car so I think I'll only be out a couple hundred
bucks for the accident. Here's what it looks like with the panel removed:
adamlotz
