How to remove front bumper extensions - Without removing the bumper

When searching for a how-to on changing the front bumper extensions, I found many threads asking how to remove the extensions without removing the front bumper. Every answer I found said it is best to remove the entire bumper and never answered the question of how to do it without.

I REALLY didn't want to remove my entire bumper. I have a light bar I didn't want to remove or un-wire, so I decided I would tackle this job with a few pictures so I could let people know it IS possible.

The entire job took right at 2 hours. I'm not sure how that time compares to removing the entire bumper to do it, but that is about what you can expect if you do not want to take the whole thing off.

Start here:



Remove the 2 bolts on the left with a 10mm wrench. Remove 2 bolts on the bottom with a 10mm socket. Remove 2 bolts on bottom with a 12mm socket. Remove the little push clip on the right of the photo.

Pull the trim piece down and towards the vehicle to pop it off of the edge of the bumper extension. Do as @Roman says and buy new liner clips. You are going to break this one. Check out his Ultimate OEM parts thread for part numbers.

Here is where you end up:



Unplug the fog light. There is a tab on the top and bottom. Squeeze them both and push the light out the front. Next you tackle the parking sensor.



Unplug it. There is a tab on the top to squeeze (I had to pry up gently on the lock) and pull the connector back. Slide the little white clip out, pulling towards the outside of the truck. You will then push the sensor out the front. It will come out at an angle with a little turning to orient the flats in the proper position.

Here comes the hard part. A flex head ratcheting wrench will really help you here.

Reach through the fog light hole and remove these three nuts with a 10mm wrench. Pictured below. I already removed the bottom one in this picture.



There is one more to remove on the bottom of the bumper facing the tire.

Now remove the grille and garnish below the headlight. There are plenty of write ups on this, so I didn't take pictures.

Here we are:





Use a 10mm wrench to remove two bolts. Use a 12mm socket to remove 2 bolts. Remove the little push clip. Make your life a little easier by using a 10mm wrench to remove the first bolt on top of the middle plastic piece of the bumper to allow you to pull it out just enough to disengage the 3 studs where you removed the nuts earlier (you can just see the edge of it in the previous picture).

Pull out on the edge of the center plastic piece of the bumper and slide the extension towards the outside of the truck until the center studs are disengaged and you can pull the extension all the way off.

Here we are!



Now, slide the new one in while pulling out on the edge of the center plastic piece of the bumper so you can engage the three studs. My light bar made mine a little more difficult.



Now, put it all back. Remember those three studs with the nuts you pulled off earlier? They are even worse to put back, but you can do it!

Bask in the glory of your work. Drink beer.

 

Nice will review again want to get rid of the chrome

 

Cool, need to take mine off at some point and either wrap them or install black ones

 

sub'd

 

What did you replace the chrome with? OE ends? Did you have them painted or just left as they came? Thanks!

 

Thanks for the write up! I’m gonna need to do this at some point.

 

They are OE ends. The black plastic looks a lot like the center section, so I just left them as they came. I've got some plans for the metal ones and they will go back on, so I didn't want to go through the hassle of painting them.

 

Nice job! Thanks for the write-up and pictures.
Yes, it can be done this way; and as most people suggest, it's easier just to remove the whole front cover assuming you don't have a light bar that's in the way. Essentially just removing the rear plastic cover from behind the fog lights (your first 1-2 steps) and then removing the top 4 bolts from underneath the headlight area are all that's needed, in addition to removing the 3 bolts from the bottom of the bumper cover. So basically you did the normal process and removing the 3 bolts from the bottom of the center cover would have removed the whole bumper cover and then it's easier to separate the end caps from the center piece.

Of course, your situation is different since you have the light bar, so this way was probably easier in your case. This way is a good option and write up for anyone that doesn't want to remove the center piece due to a light bar / bull bar, or other things that could be in the way.
I almost went this route when I switched my end caps but I could not get the 3 nuts off that connect to the center piece, so I remove the whole cover and see why most people recommend doing it that way

 

Structurally, how do these OE ends compare to the chrome? If you want to sell them, keep me in mind. I have a black tundra as well. Looks great!

 

They are definitely a little flimsier. They have another clip you have to use to help hold the fog light in because there isn’t enough rigidity to them.
Really, though, I don’t think it matters. It’s not like they rattle or anything. Just a little weight savings after they are installed.

 

I agree that in normal situations it would be easier to remove the entire bumper.

I chose to do it this way so I didn’t have to mess up and redo a wiring job I took a lot of time on and the bolts that hold the light bar on are just as difficult to get to as those three behind the center section.

I made this post because every time someone asked about doing it without removing the bumper, there are 20 posts saying to just remove the bumper. The question never gets answered. The only video on YouTube that did it without removing the entire bumper broke all of the tabs for those three bolts and acted like it was no big deal. That’s not really an acceptable solution either.