Introduction
What follows is the front bumper removal procedure as described by Alfa Romeo in their in-house dealer level procedure software, eLearn. This is a descriptive and pictorial guide to removing the bumper as used by Alfa Romeo trained technicians – but I am pretty sure use mere mortals can follow it too!
This procedure is taken from the 159 procedures catalogue, although should follow for all models in the range: 159 (saloon and Sportwagon), Brera and Spider.
My comments have been added in italics to add some detail along the way
Tools required:
There is no specific tooling required for this job, only commonly available spanners and sockets are required.
All bolts are listed in the procedure as being M6x22, however depending upon the life of your vehicle and more probably what Alfa Romeo had in the factory at the time, this may be different.
I know for example that my “under engine protection / guard” is held on with torx bolts, not M6.
The Procedure
Step 1: Position the vehicle on a lift (place on axel stands) and raise the vehicle. You can either turn the wheels on the steering rack or remove the wheels to gain access to the wheel arch liner bolts. “Working on both sides of the vehicle, undo the bolts fixed to the wheel arches (1a) and the nuts fixed to the bodyshell (1b).
Step 2: Undo the lower bolts fixing the bumper
These are the front three bolts that link between the engine tray and the bumper – be careful though as the mounts are very thin metal plates welded off the front of the sub-frame and tend to rot into nothing at an alarming rate. If you’ve got the time, give these a quick rust proof.
Step 3: Lower the vehicle (only if you’ve got it up on a lift) and undo the upper bolts fixing the bumper.
Step 4: Move bumper (1a) slightly to one side by releasing from the side retainers. Essentially with a good wiggle it should just pop off, but by move slightly to one side, it means don’t run off with it just yet, it is still plugged in!!
The disconnect the electrical connections.
What isn’t mentioned here is headlight washers, for some reason. You may well have these nested in your front bumper also and will need to disconnect the pipe to these. Remember if you disconnect you will need to crimp or bung this pipe or chances are you’ll empty your washer bottle all over the floor.
Conclusion
And that’s a wrap as they say in show business.
For the purposed of Project Halo this allows you to remove the bumper and access the lower mount of the headlight, which can only be removed with the bumper off the vehicle.
Be sure to clean dirt and grit out of any panel joins and hard to access places, particularly in the join between the bumper and the wing, to extend the life of the panel and prevent the dreaded tin worm from setting in.