Can you remove front valance without removing bumper?

[JRSIII]

1988 Carrera Targa...I've searched and found inferences but haven't seen the question answered directly. Note this car does have the front oil cooler on the right which I assume will make this more complex than it otherwise would be.
Thanks.

[BFT3.2]

Yes, absolutely. But there is a very hard to reach small bolt or two right next to the oil cooler. Get in there with a flashlight from below and from the wheel well (remove the tire) and you'll find them. If I remember correctly there is one just in front of the cooler.

[JRSIII]

Thanks much. Appreciate the reply.

[BFT3.2]

This is the "hidden bracket" on the passenger side in front of the cooler. For some reason my valance had had the corresponding mounting point removed at some point, I believe slightly earlier cars did not have it and my valance may of not been a '88 original. The rest of the bolts support it fine though.



This is the driver's side with some of the visually obvious bolts.

[JRSIII]

This is very helpful. Just for clarification, in the top photo, I am looking from the front of the car, and the oil cooler fins are in the background. The horn is to the right of the white circle, correct?

[BFT3.2]

Correct!

[JRSIII]

Perfect. Looks like I've got a project for the upcoming weekend. Thanks again.

[wrxnofx]

In order to remove the front valence you'll also need to disconnect the fog lights. The foglight harnesses connect inside of the headlight buckets. So it's far easier to remove the foglight cover and lens with bulb, then push the harness and grommet out the hole in the rear foglight housing. So when the valence comes off, the rear metal foglight housings come, too, as they are bolted to the valence.

[JRSIII]

Good to know thanks. I knew I'd have to address the fog lights but wasn't sure what it would entail until I got in there. Appreciate it.

[DeRRis]

Don't forget the two bolts in the front corners of the trunk. There are four bolts, with 10mm head. Two are on the side and two in the trunk. Plus four screws at the corners of the valance, 8mm head.

[JRSIII]

Are the four screws you are referring to the ones that attach the little sheet metal piece behind the bellows to the valence? The metal piece connects to the fender on top...

[DeRRis]

Originally Posted by JRSIII

Are the four screws you are referring to the ones that attach the little sheet metal piece behind the bellows to the valence? The metal piece connects to the fender on top...

Yes.

[JRSIII]

Thanks to all you guys for the pointers. I was able to remove the valence with relatively minimal cursing. Really the only tricky bolt is the one on the bracket in front of the oil cooler. I found no possible way to get a wrench or ratchet on the bolt head (towards the outside of the car) to hold backup when I turned the nylock nut. I ended up removing the fog light completely for access. I could get a short socket on the bolt and was able to hold the socket from the side with vice grips. Once that bolt was out, everything else was simple.

[BFT3.2]

Nice!.. glad to hear it.

[gwinnch]

Hate to bump on old thread, but wanted to say thanks to all for posting on this one! The heads up on the two screws in the "frunk" saved me lots of head scratching (read cussing)!

FYI I removed the filler panel behind the bumper bellows for better access to the bolt by the oil cooler, it really helped. Bolt hole is bright circle in pic.

Also wanted to add the word apron here, I didn't find this thread until I searched with "valance".

Thanks again!

[JRSIII]

Cool. Glad it helped. I'll definitely remember the tip about the filler panel if I need to do this again!

[73ess]

Interesting. In your photo, I don't see the bumper bracket that is completely blocking my access to the head of the mounting bolt that in front of the oil cooler. See my photo here:



Did you remove the bracket? If so, how did you remove it?

Originally Posted by gwinnch

Hate to bump on old thread, but wanted to say thanks to all for posting on this one! The heads up on the two screws in the "frunk" saved me lots of head scratching (read cussing)!

FYI I removed the filler panel behind the bumper bellows for better access to the bolt by the oil cooler, it really helped. Bolt hole is bright circle in pic.

Also wanted to add the word apron here, I didn't find this thread until I searched with "valance".

Thanks again!

[JRSIII]

Now I remember why my instructions don't refer to removing the filler panel. That's not a bracket per se. It's a big protective steel member that is attached to the inside of the bumper and wraps around the front of the car. It's purpose is to protect the oil cooler in the event of a front impact crash, the idea being you don't want to puncture it and lose all of your oil. You do need to remove the bumper to remove it. If you want to avoid removing the bumper, you're going to have to figure out a clever way of getting something to hold backup on the hidden nut, working through the fog light opening. Did you see my earlier post about using a short socket and vise grips?

[Flojo]

Originally Posted by 73ess

Interesting. In your photo, I don't see the bumper bracket that is completely blocking my access to the head of the mounting bolt that in front of the oil cooler. See my photo here:



Did you remove the bracket? If so, how did you remove it?

in this case the bumper must com off to remove this oil cooler protective brace