Mtech 1 Early sport front bumper, fitting advice on a pre-facelift

[Alexander0]

Hi all,

I currently have a pre-facelift 320i SE. Yesterday I picked up the old Mtech1 (early sport) bumper set. For the moment I think I'm going to leave the rear (as the condition of the replacement bumper isn't brilliant and although there are sensors fitted, the previous owner has butchered the electronics).

However with regards to the front bumper, I've researched a lot on line but I can't find any specifics of the fitment. Some people suggest that the transfer to a pre-facelift car is more straight forward than a post facelift. However, the seller last night removed the bumper from the carrier so I'm worried that will have made it more complicated.

Basically the question is.... does any one have experience of fitting the front Mtech1 bumper? If so do they know whether it will fit my pre-facelift carrier? Do I need any other parts (adapters for the spotlights, or clips)?

Or should I just but the bumpers on the bay....

Thanks for the help.

Edited April 7, 2015 by Alexander0

[allan k]

Hi all,

I currently have a pre-facelift 320i SE. Yesterday I picked up the old Mtech1 (early sport) bumper set. For the moment I think I'm going to leave the rear (as the condition of the replacement bumper isn't brilliant and although there are sensors fitted, the previous owner has butchered the electronics).

However with regards to the front bumper, I've researched a lot on line but I can't find any specifics of the fitment. Some people suggest that the transfer to a pre-facelift car is more straight forward than a post facelift. However, the seller last night removed the bumper from the carrier so I'm worried that will have made it more complicated.

Basically the question is.... does any one have experience of fitting the front Mtech1 bumper? If so do they know whether it will fit my pre-facelift carrier? Do I need any other parts (adapters for the spotlights, or clips)?

Or should I just but the bumpers on the bay....

Thanks for the help.

Hi there mate I have just done to 318 convertible se 03 pe facelift,bumper is very easy to remove there is x2 10 mil torqx bolts next to your main grill on bumper then need 8 mil socket there is a bolt in each arch to remove just turn steering wheel on full lock each side to remove.then last 8 mil bolts underneath bumper fastened to tray think 6 bolts.once done this give give bumper a little tug mate should come loose...

And regarding your carrier this will fit of your bumper onto sport bumper,fog lights won't fit need m s sport ones and also need m sport brake ducts maybe take 2 hours with changing carrier over

[allan k]

Have a look at this

Edited April 7, 2015 by allan k

[Alexander0]

Thanks mate, a big help

[evokid]

Also if your replacing the carrier to new bumper you will need the plastic expanding rivets pt no 51118222901 (8 in total) and i'd make sure the seller has left both side brackets on, as my Mtech Bumper only had 1 Side bracket so i had to use old one and bond it to bumper.

[Alexander0]

Cheers. Yeah I know about the plastic rivets but am unsure about the side clips. Again I knew they existed due to previous posts on the topic but not too sure what they look like. I'll have a look on the bumpet later today. Also, the mtech 1 has plastic blanking plates over the brake ducts, does this mean I could get away without changing them?

Edited April 9, 2015 by Alexander0

[evokid]

Mine was a pre facelift and everything bolted straight on. Easiest way to adjust body mounted bumper brackets is to remove front indicators and get access to both 10mm bolts to adjust if needed.

Edited April 9, 2015 by evokid

[Alexander0]

Hi all, I had a go at this today. I'm having trouble taking the front bumper off.

Ive undone the screws in the wheel-well and undone the big carrier bolts so they are loose and rattling aroynd in my fingers, but I cant get them to drop out completely. The bumper slides a lot on the front left corner, but only a small bit on the front right.

Anyone have any ideas what I'm doing wrong?

[TriggerFish]

The bolts need to be all the way out.

Can you use a screw driver or something to lever them down while undoing them? I had to do that on my e30 to get the bumper bolts out. .

[Alexander0]

Cheers, thought that might be it. I'll see if I can tease them out tomorrow

[TriggerFish]

Good luck!

[Alexander0]

Thought I'd update the thread. I managed to swtich the bumpers sucessfully yesterday. It was a little more hastle than I had hoped, but overall not too bad.

I can confirm that it is a straight swap for a pre-facelift to a Mtech1 (Aero) body kit bumper- with a few minor caveats (see below). There were a couple of points where I wondered whether it was, but with a few added steps, it is.

NB this is not for the Mtech2 msport kit, apparently there are a few differences for that swap.

First of all, for a comparison, here are the two parked next to each other.

Here is the end result on my car.

I much prefer it, although the bumper probably could have used a respray.

------------------------------------------------

I thought I'd take time to post up in more detail the process, just to help out any future newbie like me who may be interested in doing the front conversion.

The video posted earlier in this thread gives pretty decent instructions. You just have to undo the two outer most srews in the wheelwell liner, the 4 bolts and 2 plastic plugs under the very bottom of the bumper and then the two large retainer bolts under the front of the bumper. I found I caused less damage to paint if you unscre the number plate holder (2 screws) and then use that to pry up the side plastic bumper trims.

The resistance I was feeling upon a second look was the plastic liner of the wheelwell which the bumper curves around / overlaps at the side. So it is easier to gently pry the lining out so before trying to take the bumper off. Remember to take care when removing as there are 2x horn and 2x foglight connections that need to be undone before you can lift it off completely.

If you buy one with the carrier, then it would be just bolt on and go. If like me, you need to switch the bumper carrier over, then there's a little more work to be done.

1) Undo all the plastic rivets holding the bumper onto the carrier. If you are careful you can preserve these for reuse: gently use a flat head screw driver to pry up the central core, and then pull it out with pliers. There are also two bolts to be undone from the front. Then remove the divets fron the 3 retainer tabs on the underside (or top) of the carrier. Finally you need to remove the 4 plastic rivets that secure the fog lights to the carrier. The easiest way to do this is by removing the fog light (pry fron the inner side of the light on the SE bumper) and then you can get access to the rivets from there.

Then all that is involved, is this in reverse except for a few small caveats:

(A) You have to remove this plastic bolt guide from the carrier - the Mtech bumper has one inbuilt.

B The plastic plugs (that secure the bumper to the carrier) have a different fitment position on the two bumpers, but the carrier has the correct holes that allows for both.

The SE has 3 that are positioned as below:

The Mtech1 has 4, but if you put the carrier in the bumper it should pretty clear where they should go.

Edited June 6, 2015 by Alexander0

[Alexander0]

© It appears that the carrier bolts are a different size for the SE bumper and Mtech1. I haven't found shorter ones yet, but I'll post up the part number/source when I do.

(D) You'll need the numer plate holder specific for the Mtech 1 (although it should come with the bumper) because the bottom screws are different from SE to Mtech1.

.

That's it, from what I can remember.

I don't know whether I'll bother to do the rear - I actually think I prefer the SE bumper, and the Mtech one I have is in pretty poor condition. Maybe I;ll get around to it.

Edited June 6, 2015 by Alexander0