How to swap a TourX to Sportback front bumper

[Zaxer]

It's been over a year since I started looking for a Sportback front bumper in Rioja Red - and I finally landed one for $700 (they don't come up often). It included all the foglight trim, one (of two) front molding pieces, the upper and lower absorbers and the impact bar. The paint has some scratches - but a good workover with the claybar and polisher should clean up most of it. I have put together a how to guide with some pics - I know a video would be better, but both my camera holders (eg my kids) weren't around today, and I had the time. So, pardon the old school forum technique.

1. Remove (3x) T-15 in each wheel well liner. Note - turn your wheel to opposite lock for best clearance. You do not need to remove the retainer clip in the top center wheel well (directly above the tire) - the liner will flex with enough clearance.

2. Peel the liner back and use a small extension to remove the vertically aligned 10mm aluminum screw In the top corner behind the wheel well liner - directly behind where the metal and plastic bumper meet.

10mm aluminum screw as follows:

3. Once the 10mm screws are removed, you should be able to pull the bumper away from the fender - start at the rear most edge (against the wheel) and pull gently away from the fender. NOTE: there are three total tabs connecting the bumper to the fender - the rear tab is held by the screw, the middle tab should come out easy and the furthest forward tab will likely break. If you want to prevent breakage, you will need to loosen the 10mm nuts that attach the plastic bumper bracket to the fender (you will need an extender). Pic of the bumper bracket as follows:

Damage to the furthest forward tab as follows:

4. Open the hood and locate the (4x) T-20 screws across the fairing and remove. Once these are removed, you should be able to start pulling the bumper off the top - as seen below:

5. Now it's time for the underneath bits - I used the ever popular 13,000 pound limit plastic ramps from Harbor Freight ($45) which work really well - but obviously this step could be optional. If you do elevate the car, don't forget to chock that back wheel (sorry - I'm a Dad and am now required to say these things).

6. Now is a good time to find a sturdy box (10"-14" high) to set dead center in front of the bumper. You will need this to set the bumper on so you can disconnect the harness.
7. Remove the (7x) 7mm screws going across the rear most part of the splash shield. Once you loosen them you will feel the bumper pulling loose. Note there are two outliers (one seen below) and five in an even row across the rear of the splash shield.

8. You can now pull the bumper free and rest it on the box.

...this concludes this part...see next post for next steps...

 

[Zaxer]

Continued...
9. Locate the harness - its sitting behind the passenger side high beam. I gently pulled my down from the engine and was able to get another 3-4" to work with...

10. The harness itself was a bit tricky for me. Slide the red tab lock down towards the ground. Once the red lock is out of the way, you theoretically should be able to push the black part of the tab down (towards the center of the harness) to release the tab lock and pull them apart. However I had to insert a very thin flat head screwdriver on the opposite side to unlock it.
11. If you are switching out components (grill and fog lights), I started with the grill. Remove the long thin foam absorber from behind the inside bottom of the grill (it's loosely held in place by 4 hooks) - as seen here:

...by the way, that clear line running through the foam is the active hood trigger for pedestrian impact...
12. Start with a lower corner of the grill and gently start pulling inwards...once you get it started it will start to unclick.

13. remove the fog light trim pieces. Note there is a screw on the bottom of the middle bar of the fog light trim - towards the center of the car.

14. Gently push the fog light trim from the back - work from the center towards the outer edges of the bumper - note there are tabs on the outer edges...and they would be pretty easy to break.

15. Once you have the fog light trim off, the fog light housings are set with (3x) T-20 screws. Simply unscrew and remove. Note - this would have been the perfect time to run some colored lamin-x over the fogs (yellow for me please), but I thought of it too late.

And that's pretty much it...now reverse to put the new sportback bumper back together and back on your TourX.

And of course here are a couple beauty shots of the finished project...



I realize this is a frivolous project - but the cladding just isn't for me. I just ordered the side skirts...which will be the next phase 🙂

 

[Wlepse]

Nice work and walk through. Useful even if people aren't swapping out the bumpers. I have been thinking of going in there to see what the stock IC looks like, just never have the time.

 

[D2R]

Really nice write up. (Spilled my drink about the camera holder!)
Did not realize the sportback has black lip instead of body color. It would have been perfect if that is also in the body color.
Those bean counter at GM really need to look at the product in person.

 

[moparsandvettes]

Thanks for the clear, concise instructions! I am about to tackle this project and this will be a big help.

 

[Zaxer]

Really nice write up. (Spilled my drink about the camera holder!)
Did not realize the sportback has black lip instead of body color. It would have been perfect if that is also in the body color.
Those bean counter at GM really need to look at the product in person.

Agree - the bottom most fin looks a little weird - but I like it better than the silver version on the TourX. Body color would be very slick...

 

[Zaxer]

Thanks for the clear, concise instructions! I am about to tackle this project and this will be a big help.

Feel free to PM if you get stuck somewhere

 

[Zaxer]

Nice work and walk through. Useful even if people aren't swapping out the bumpers. I have been thinking of going in there to see what the stock IC looks like, just never have the time.

I had a few pics that I didn't use - this one is straight on without the skin. Note the IC - actually it looks pretty decent to me. The Sportback lower grill appears more open vs the TourX...maybe a very incremental improvement in airflow....

 

[D2R]

Agree - the bottom most fin looks a little weird - but I like it better than the silver version on the TourX. Body color would be very slick...

Silver would look okay on mine, because I got the pearl white. The black plastic would stick out like a sore thumb with the light shade body. Of course, the best option would be body color.
Once again, nice work done there, mate.

 

[Zaxer]

Also - some answers to the questions that have come up over in the forums here.

1. No tow hook - at all. The tow hook cap is merely a tease.
2. The fog light bezels for the TourX and Sportback are similarly shaped, but that's about it and they can't be interchanged. The TourX bezels are larger all around - and the retaining screw is in a completely different location. Note TourX bezel on top vs Sportback bezel on bottom:

3. The splash shield on the TourX uses (4x) T20 screws into speed nuts (2 on each side) and nylon center-stud retainers. The Sportback only uses the nylon center-stud retainers. Incidentally these retainers can be "reset" for re-use but are a bit of a PITA to do so.
4. Not a great shot as its not head on, but here are the two skins side by side - now how long I can get away with no front license plate 😉

 

[Uniqez]

Cool write up! Any plans of dropping it? Full GSi conversion?

 

[Zaxer]

Cool write up! Any plans of dropping it? Full GSi conversion?

The springs are intriguing - the car looks good in the lower stance...I’m currently waiting for travel to open back up to Europe. I have a couple frequent fliers who would be willing to bring stuff back - as well as a “friend of a friend” who lives in Poland who said he’d help me out...new wheels would be pretty trick too. So that’s a definite “maybe”

 

[moparsandvettes]

Also - some answers to the questions that have come up over in the forums here.

1. No tow hook - at all. The tow hook cap is merely a tease.
2. The fog light bezels for the TourX and Sportback are similarly shaped, but that's about it and they can't be interchanged. The TourX bezels are larger all around - and the retaining screw is in a completely different location. Note TourX bezel on top vs Sportback bezel on bottom:
View attachment 23928
3. The splash shield on the TourX uses (4x) T20 screws into speed nuts (2 on each side) and nylon center-stud retainers. The Sportback only uses the nylon center-stud retainers. Incidentally these retainers can be "reset" for re-use but are a bit of a PITA to do so.
4. Not a great shot as its not head on, but here are the two skins side by side - now how long I can get away with no front license plate 😉
View attachment 23929

I didn't realize until now that instead of just having to buy the actual front bumper cover for the sportback, I'll have to get the bezels too. If I have to buy all that, I might as well just get a GS nose and those bezels. It also just hit me that the GS doesn't have fog lights.

 

[Zaxer]

I didn't realize until now that instead of just having to buy the actual front bumper cover for the sportback, I'll have to get the bezels too. If I have to buy all that, I might as well just get a GS nose and those bezels. It also just hit me that the GS doesn't have fog lights.

Yep - that’s all true. Given your direction, you might consider the GS grille - as it definitely looks a little sportier vs the waterfall style.

 

[Zaxer]

Agree - the bottom most fin looks a little weird - but I like it better than the silver version on the TourX. Body color would be very slick...

and upon further review, it would appear this was another option left in Europe. Note the body color across the bottom grill for OPC trim level... yeah - it sure does look pretty good...

 

[D2R]

and upon further review, it would appear this was another option left in Europe. Note the body color across the bottom grill for OPC trim level... yeah - it sure does look pretty good...

View attachment 23967

It looks like the car has all around under-body spoilers.

 

[Skynet]

Great write up. I hope to take on this very same task one day. $700 for a bumper though? Is that with or without a core?

 

[Zaxer]

Great write up. I hope to take on this very same task one day. $700 for a bumper though? Is that with or without a core?

It included the bumper skin, fog light bezels, foam absorber with the active hood sensors, bottom splash shield, side marker lights (complete), the impact bar and the plastic upper/lower absorbers. There was no core charge (as I bought it from a parts yard).

If you were to purchase new parts - you just need the skin, fog light bezels and inserts, front trim pieces (which connect the fog light trim to the lower grill) and tow hook cover. The lowest overall cost I found for these eight parts was at GMpartsdirect.com - for $782 plus shipping. Shipping to my ZIP is $215 - so all in I was looking at $997. Note these prices have held pretty steady from my initial research just about a year ago. [Decladding with new from bumper and rocker trim]

This includes a $75 core charge...and while the core charge is refundable, shipping back the old bumper skin would likely exceed the core charge (as you have to pay for shipping it back to get the $75 refunded).

Keep in mind a new skin will need paint - fortunately I don't have a tri-coat - but I was still looking at $400 for a halfway decent paint job - plus all my additional "running around" time.

Additionally you will have to swap over literally every other part from your TourX (yes, the rest of the parts sans above are interchangeable) - it's not hard, just fiddly.

It all adds up fast which is why I was so reluctant to pull the trigger...but for $700 and a little sweat equity (literally I think I lost five pounds on the install as it was so flippin' hot last weekend), it worked out ok.

 

[Zaxer]

It looks like the car has all around under-body spoilers.

Side skirts should be the same as the GS - will know for sure shortly as I have them on order. The rear bumper skirts are listed in @RoRi sports tourer build thread (Buick Regal Sports Tourer project). It would appear the lower front is attached - note the seam at the front lower wheel arch. Curious if that lower color part is also attached - it would seem more efficient from a manufacturing standpoint to create a trim piece vs body paint just the OPC version...this and I note the silver trim on the TourX is attached. Hard to tell for sure from this pic, but I already have an email to Blitz parts for the rear bumper inset - will have to ask Adrian about it.

 

[D2R]

Between the side skirt and the splash guards, I would pick the splash guards any day, since it snows here.
This is the first car that I own without any splash guards available from the factory...
If I can afford to take the cladding off, the splash guards are the next thing to go onto the wagon.