This morning in response to a parts request, I went out to check a few of Jade's interior parts which I had been storing safely in the boot as I have nowhere else to keep them. You can imagine my annoyance when I was unable to unlock the boot!
After 5 minutes of fiddling with the lock and key my patience was wearing thin so I decided the best thing to do was walk away and come back to it later.
Later in the afternoon with a clearer head I went back to have another go, a further 20 minutes of fiddling n' twiddling with the key and a few swear words the key finally turned in the lock and I was able to open the boot; hurray! I was very relieved as there is no other way into the boot in these cars.
With the boot opened and an rare hour to spare, I decided to have a go at removing the back bumper which has been requested by a fellow MBCCWA member.
After a quick examination I located the four bolts that hold the bumper in place, two on the back and one on either side. It is worth me mentioning that this is the long sided bumper which I understand was only fitted to W114's, that is 250 and 280 variants. The smaller engined W115's had shorter / no side returns, and I would hazard a guess that they only have two bolts holding their bumpers on.
Note the length of the bumper returns on UGU....
.... compared to these shorter bumpers on this 220 (W115)
With the fixings location I sprayed them with a heavy dose of penetrating oil and set to work. It is not possible to get a socket onto any of the fixings so a ring spanner was my weapon of choice, and a successful one at that. The back fixings have a threaded bolt that is fixed to the car so it is just a nut that needs to be undone, on the sides it is the opposite, a bolt goes through the quarter panel into a nut that is an integral part of the side bracket.
Looking up at the bumper, back bracket of which there are two.
The nut is what needs to be undone
Passenger side bumper fixing is located inside the boot once the boot side trim is removed. I found the bolt to be too close to the bracket to use a socket and ratchet, so again a ring spanner was the best option
The drivers side was a little harder to spot initially as it is tucked in behind the jack cradle, petrol tank vent filter and on this car, behind the electric ariel
I have to admit I was also a little distracted by Jade's internal water feature! This channel was full of water, and of course rust!!
With the bolts undone, the bumper can be slipped off, however if you are dong this on a car that you are precious about, I would call a friend as it could be very easy to scratch the paintwork.
Once the fixings are all undo, it's time to phone a friend
This is what the back fixing point looks like
Job done. Just needs a polish and then it's off to a new home
And just to confirm to myself that I am doing the right thing dismantling Jade, some more rust!
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