Write Up: Remove Bumper, Fender, and Door! with Pics - Honda Prelude Forum

natcc99 · 08-30-2003, 12:24 AM

HOW TO:
Remove front bumper
Remove front fender
Remove side skirts
Remove door
Door Adjustment

WARNING: I am not responsible for any damage that you do to your own car. Do not attempt to this project if you have no experience with body work or have any doubts.

** ** ** REMOVING THE FRONT BUMPER ** ** **

** STEP 1 **

Remove the center grill by taking out all FIVE fasteners.

There are two bolts on either side near the headlights.
The other fasteners are made out of plastic and you can simply pop them out using a flat head screw driver. Pop out the center piece and the entire plastic fastener can be removed.

** STEP 2 **

Next remove the FIVE plastic fasteners that are located under the center grill.

** STEP 3 **

Remove the screw that is located on either side of the wheel well.

** STEP 4 **

Below the bumper on both sides of the car, you will find a bolt that also needs to be removed.

** STEP 5 **

Remove the FOUR bolts that are under the bumper. (not shown)

** STEP 6 **
Once all the screws, bolts, and fasteners are removed, the entire bumper should come off the car by pulling on it away from the car.

** ** ** REMOVING THE FRONT FENDER ** ** **

** STEP 1 **

Before you start removing any bolts, use Blue Painterâ€™s Tape to protect any surface that can be damaged during the procedure.
Blue Tape is nice because it does not leave any sticky residue.
I taped the edges of the door, fender, and hood.

This is not extremely necessary, but it nice insurance from accidents such as your tool hitting the painted surface.

** STEP 2 **

Look below the headlight where the bumper use to be and you will find THREE bolts that need to be removed.

** STEP 3 **

In the engine bay, you will find three bolts that also need to be removed

** STEP 4 **

Next, open the door and you will find a bolt located near the bottom of the A pillar.

** STEP 5 **

Near the speaker, you will find another bolt that needs to be unbolted.

** STEP 6 **

Next, you need to remove the fasteners located inside the wheel well.
They look like the ones shown in the picture.
You will find FOUR of them that need to be removed. (Note: only two of them are shown)

You could use a regular screwdriver here, but I didn't turn my wheel so there was not room. So, I used my wrench with screw driver head instead.

** STEP 7 **

REMOVE THE SIDE SKIRT

To do so, unscrew the screws located near the front tire.

Under the side skirt, remove THREE plastic fasteners.
(not shown)

Once those are removed, grab a hold of the side skirt and side it FORWARD towards the front of the car. Do NOT pull out or back because you will break the brackets.

The entire side skirt will fall down as shown

** STEP 8 **

When you remove the side skirt from the car, you will revile the last bolt that is needed to remove the fender.

** STEP 9 **

Once you finish with that last bolt, the entire fender can easily be removed from the car.
You do not have to worry about the fender falling because there is a lip at the top that HANGS on the car.

Lift up and towards you while moving to the front of the car to remove the fender.

Once you are done, your car will look as naked as mine. HEHE!!!

natcc99 · 08-30-2003, 12:25 AM

** ** ** REMOVING THE DOOR ** ** **

I do not know why anyone would need to remove their door, but I thought I take some pictures and post it up in case someone needs this sort of information in the future.

Why did I do it???
When I bought the car, I noticed that one of the bolts that held the door in place was missing.
Thus, I had to take the fender and door apart so I can use a Drill Extractor to remove the damaged bolt with the missing head.

In addition, my door needed some adjustment. From the original owner, it appears that the door was sagging. You will see what I am talking about in the picture below.

WARNING!!!!!!
It is HIGHLY recommended to have one or two friends to help you with this task. The door is VERY heavy and that last thing you want to do is drop it.

In addition, a hydraulic jack with some towels as protection is also recommended since your friends may get tired of holding the door.

** STEP 1 **

Remove the wire harness that is connected to the door. Peel away the rubber garment near the top and you should see a tiny plastic button. Press that button while pulling the wire harness out.

** STEP 2 **

Open the door and look near the crack.
Unbolt the one bolt that is located on the â€œdoor armâ€?.

** STEP 3 **

Place a hydraulic jack with some towels under the door. Placing the jack near the center helps out a lot.
Have your friend(s) hold the door to keep it steady.
Remove the four bolts that are located at the hinges.

The door will fall out from the car. And your car will look as NAKED as mine!!! EKKK!!!
It looks like my car was badly stripped.
Either that, or it looks like a Jeep Wranger with its door removed. (which is a sin to say so since I am comparing my Japanese car to a Domestic! Argh!)

I like the picture below:
My car looks like a Lotus 340R with its open wheel and missing door appearance! hehehe!!!!!

My Door:

** ** ** ADJUSTING THE DOOR ** ** **

NOTE Adjusting the door does not require the removal of the door. It is a must easier task to do so with the door still attached to the car. ( I had to remove my door to remove a damage bolt)

Locate the hinges and take note of the part that is attached to the car.
You can draw a line around the hinges to show its original position.

Loosen the top bolt per hinge slightly.
Loosen the bottom bolt to the point where you can turn with your fingers.
At this point, the door should be able to swing up and down.

Find your desire position and tighten down all the bots.

** ** ** PUTTING THE CAR BACK TOGETHER ** ** **

Everything from here is actually a piece of cake. It just bolts back the same was as you took them off.

However, it is a little tricky with the side skirt.
You need to remove all the tiny white plastic tabs from the car and place them back on the side skirt.

To remove the white tabs, turn them counter clockwise (or clockwise, I cannot remember) 90 degrees and pull them towards you.

Take the tabs and side them on the side skirt. Once finish, you can push the side skirt back on the car by lining up the white plastic tabs to the holes on the car.

FINISHED!!

GOOD LUCK!!!!

natcc99 · 08-30-2003, 12:28 AM

Oh yes, I forgot to mention.

When you want to put your door back on the car, I found it easier to remove the hinges off the car and attached them to the door first.

bleacht · 08-30-2003, 12:40 AM

you're nuts!

kotetu · 08-30-2003, 02:01 AM

strip that **** down before going to the track. Man that's sexy.

SuperSH · 08-30-2003, 02:39 AM

I hope I never have to take the door off, what a PITA.

I really hope this makes it to the FAQ

FAQ THIS!

please

Ludatic · 08-30-2003, 02:48 AM

geezus christ, all that just to adjust the door

i really like your write-ups natcc, they're very easy to follow

Pure Lude · 08-30-2003, 02:55 AM

nice work!

i had to do this on my mr2, it sucked big ones.

JaXx4k · 08-30-2003, 06:20 AM

FAQ this sucka...

natcc99 · 08-30-2003, 08:38 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Ludatic
geezus christ, all that just to adjust the door

i really like your write-ups natcc, they're very easy to follow

Thanks, I'm glad my Write Ups are easy to follow.
Too bad I didn't take many photos during this project.

NO, you do not have to do ALL of this to adjust the door.
Generally, the only thing you have to do is remove the fender so you can get to the bolts on the hinge connected to the car's frame. Loosen those four bolts and the door will swing up and down for fine adjustment.

I only had to remove the door from the car because there was a borken head on one of the bolts when I bought the car.

5150 · 08-30-2003, 09:26 AM

sweet, i've been needing to adjust my doors for awhile now! thanks for the awesome write up!

SK Honda 7 · 08-30-2003, 09:46 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by natcc99
Oh yes, I forgot to mention.

When you want to put your door back on the car, I found it easier to remove the hinges off the car and attached them to the door first.

YOu forgot to mention one thing that there are 3 bolts on the bottom of the bumper under the car that are 10mm

might wanna add a pic of that as well.

natcc99 · 08-30-2003, 12:07 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by SK Honda 7

YOu forgot to mention one thing that there are 3 bolts on the bottom of the bumper under the car that are 10mm

might wanna add a pic of that as well.

OH YES...thanks!
I forgot to mention those!

write up has been updated with the missing info

Dragazn · 08-31-2003, 12:03 AM

Nicely done man and congrat, but can i ask is the car getting something to update? kit? why you doing it?

Jon Like Wh0a · 08-31-2003, 01:29 AM

wow, you're crazy.....faq this!

jtown · 08-31-2003, 03:36 AM

hey that's pretty cool info. thanks!

HondaPrelude01 · 08-31-2003, 02:44 PM

well if anyone is planning to install lambo doors this info is great being that you need to do all of that except take off the front bumper (but it does make it easier)

Red Baron · 08-31-2003, 08:25 PM

Sweetness!!! Everyone always told me removing the bumper was a piece of cake, but I thought there was more to it!!! Thanks!!! Now I can finally remove the bumper to take my headlights out and clean the crappy film that has built up on the inside!!!

Definitely worth FAQing!! :-)

-Andy

yomatasboosh · 09-01-2003, 10:28 AM

Nice work...Definitely FAQ material.

natcc99 · 09-02-2003, 11:17 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by HondaPrelude01
well if anyone is planning to install lambo doors this info is great being that you need to do all of that except take off the front bumper (but it does make it easier)

NOPE!!!

if you want to take the fender off, you MUST take the front bumper off.
There are three bolts hidden behind the bumper.

>>> Dragazn<<<
No, as of now, there will be no update to the exterior of the car. I only did this to adjust my door since it was sagging.
I know it looks like a lot of work just for a door adjustment, but it's worth it considering a body shop would probably charge me an arm and leg for the labor.
It's was much cheaper doing it in my own garage.