Xantia Estate Rear Bumper Removal

Unread post by **Old-Guy** » 20 Jul 2010, 13:08

I'm going to have to get the replacement (for my slightly mangled rear bumper) off the donor car without damaging it ('new' bumper, not car). I plan to give all fasteners on both cars a good soaking in penetrating fluid well in advance to minimise difficulties and the risk of breaking something.

The BoL is well up to its usual standards when it comes to the estate, “On Estate models, unscrew and remove the four bumper retaining nuts, working from underneath”. That's it - no indication of what is common between estate and hatchback (saloon).

I know about:
The 'tabs' that slot into each rear wheel-arch,
The screw in each up-curve of the bumper inside the tailgate shut but outside the weather-seal,
The nuts (one? each side) inside the rear ¼ accessed via the cubbyholes.

There has to be something more substantial than these holding the bumper on. For an S1 (95) Estate, can anyone be more precise than the BoL please?

I'll try to remember to take some piccys and write some better instructions (not exactly difficult!) for the benefit of others. I presume the S2 estate has a 3-piece rear bumper and is substantially different?

citronut · Unread post by **citronut** » 20 Jul 2010, 13:18

not realy Guy, as most bumpers these days are just cosmetic, not doing veruy much at all appart from looking pritty,

best attempt it on the old damaged one first

regards malcolm

andmcit · Unread post by **andmcit** » 20 Jul 2010, 13:19

There are just x4 fastening - yes really!

One inside the cubby on each side as you mention and x2 Torx visible in the
opening aperture on the top face of the bumper. The s2 is just the same with
the inserted colour pieces onto the usual main plastic bumper section.

Not half a PITA as removal of the front bumper on these.

Andrew

andmcit · Unread post by **andmcit** » 20 Jul 2010, 16:06

Yes, there's the front leading corner's connection onto the wing (items 72/75),
the inner cubby bolt (item 70), with the corner pair in the open aperture
(item 71) but I must confess, I'm not seeing what items 4 and 73 are all
about mind. Brackets for what exactly? They're quite small (diam 6) too...

Andrew

Unread post by **Old-Guy** » 20 Jul 2010, 17:32

Many thanks for the info and the drg, Andrew. Maybe the instruction in the BoL about removing "4 retaining nuts" was written by someone with just the drawing in front of them who'd never seen a Xantia estate in the metal. I'll have a good look later this week when I take the tow-hitch off (so I can de-rust and paint it while the body-shop 'un-bends' the lip of the boot floor).

Malcolm is being a little unkind - my bumper must have absorbed most of the impact (around 3 tonnes of van and load) and then sprung back more or less into shape. If it hadn't been a warm day, it would probably be a lot more damaged

addo · Unread post by **addo** » 20 Jul 2010, 23:04

I've not yet removed mine, but the fastener plates 4 are presumably slotted into the bumper and retained, whereupon you remove the nuts labelled 73 from just above the towbar.

andmcit · Unread post by **andmcit** » 21 Jul 2010, 15:29

Not sure Adam, but I removed a Xant estate rear bumper a week ago
and didn't touch those x2 plate/brackets with x4 nuts!!

So, when a picture can speak a 1000 words:

Though I wonder what item 5 is all about!? My French is non existent...

<edit> apparently it says:

removing the rear bumper.
5. clip side of the shield on the wings

Andrew

Unread post by **Old-Guy** » 21 Jul 2010, 17:10

Thanks for the extra pictures Andrew. Was it an S1 or an S2 that you took the bumper off?

I had daughter's Xantia on a lift this morning to check rattly exhaust
and noticed 4 blanking plugs in rear cross-member. Could this be another early design change I wonder?

addo · Unread post by **addo** » 21 Jul 2010, 21:17

It may be worth checking the inside of the bumper - there might be places those retainer plates fit, where they don't actually stay fixed very well.

Unread post by **Old-Guy** » 27 Jul 2010, 19:56

For the benefit of anyone else who has to remove a Xantia S1 Estate rear bumper, mystery solved, so while the aging memory is still fresh: -

There are 3 fasteners to undo on each side:

1. Torx screw (item 2) in the upturn of the bumper shut as per the diagram in Andrew's SECOND post,

2. Nut inside the rear quarter (item 3), ditto - 13mm, easy to get at.

3. Torx headed self-tapper up under the rear wheel arch (hidden under a pile of road dirt), items 72 & 75 in Andrew's FIRST post.

Then spring the bumper free from the lower rear wheel-arch liner and pull the bumper off backwards - it will come with a rush so have something on the ground to protect it (if it's not a scrapper!).

The mysterious plates (4) and nuts (73) should not be touched. I spent over an hour getting them undone (mostly spent borrowing a very deep 10mm socket to get them off) before I found the screws in the wheel arch (3. above). Should have printed out Andrew's posts, but forgot and the car is several miles away.

The plates (4) have a horizontally-elongated hole in them into which fit horizontal plastic posts on the bumper. These posts pass though the plates and into a larger round hole in the rear cross-member. The purpose of the plates is to provide adjustment of the vertical fit of the rear part of the bumper. The posts keep the bumper in place so that in a rear impact it deforms as the first stage of the rear crumple zone - it absorbed almost all the impact from the van.

I'll write a proper guide with pictures when I've got more time.

Guy