Rear Bumper Removal

Tools

1. #2 Phillips screwdriver
   
2. Medium flathead screwdriver
   
3. 10mm socket
   
4. 14mm socket
   
5. a jack and jackstands
   
6. Beer helps.
   

Procedure

Under the car

1. Remove the rear wheels so you have free access to both driver and passenger side wheel wells.
   
2. at the rear of both wheel wells, there is a small plastic splash guard held on with several 10mm bolts.
   
   Remove these bolts. There are also several plastic clips, you can pop them out with a flathead screwdriver. Set all these aside. My car has factory mudflaps, which also have a bolt in the bottom.
   
   Remove this as well, if you have it.
   
3. Under the splash guard, you will see another 10mm bolt.
   
   Remove it.
   
4. Getting further under the car, you will see two 14mm bolts (per side) in the rear "frame rail". These hold in the 5MPH impact bumper.
   
   Remove them from both sides.
   
5. At the very back of the bumper where it curves under the rear of the car, there are three 10mm bolts that hold the bumper cover to the rear unibody.
   
   Remove these as well.
   
6. Sip your beer
   

From the top

1. Remove the three interior panels in the trunk, as well as the trunk carpet. I'm not going to go into a lot of detail here, suffice to say it's two screws per side left and right, two screws under the rear strut cap access cover left and right, and a screw towards the front under the carpet. it all comes out fairly easy.
   
2. Remove both left and right tail lights. There are seven 10mm nuts per tail light, and seven 10mm nuts for the center section.
   
   
   Remove all of these and set them aside. The tail lights should pop out enough for you to unplug the two harnesses connected to them.
   
3. On each side, set far back into the nook behind the trunk panels, there are two 10mm bolts. Once faces towards the rear of the car, the other down.
   Left
   Right
   Remove these, two per side.
   
4. Under the tail lights and center section, there are further 10mm bolts holding the bumper to the unibody, three under each tail light and four across the middle.
   
   
   
   Remove these and set them aside. Don't lose the metal strips that go under them!
   
5. Pull on the rear bumper. It should work free of the car, but hang. From the top middle, look down behind the bumper. See that harness? That's for your reverse lights. Unplug it, and the rear bumper cover should come free.
   
6. Sip your beer.
   
7. Pull the fiberglass 5MPH impact bumper. It should slide out of the frame rail receivers.
   

Reinstallation...