How do I fix the loose left tail light cover and rear bumper?

[judasentinel]

I have been trying to search on how to fix this issue. My car's left tail light cover (the gun metal grey part with red light covers) seems to be loose in the corner. It does not fit snug against the rear qtr panel/rest of the body. The light itself is bolted down tight, so I know that's now the issue. I wonder what would be the solution to fix this and how.

Secondly, the left side of the rear bumper is also loose the same way. All the bolts are tightly secure (inside the trunk and underside), so its again confusing as to how just the corner of the bumper is loose. I can push it in with my hand but it does stay snug either, like the tail light.

Here are a couple of pics to show what I mean:






Does anyone have any ideas as to how to fix these two issues?

Thanks,

Munib

[h4X6]

not sure about the light... might be warped

as for the bumper... you need to take it off, there are metal brackets that attach to the bumper and then bolt to the body... those brackets are known to remove themselves from the bumper... you need to epoxy it back on...

i had to do this as well on both sides of my bumper.. hope that made sense

[nickisonfire]

Remove the tailight and look if the bracket where the bolts hare is damage or maybee its only the "dom-dom" the trooble and remove the dom dom and but a new one in ... Its look like you got hit something on the light and the bumper so take a look behind it

[judasentinel]

BTW, what is a dom-dom? How do I remove the tail lights? Seems that even after removing the nuts on the inside, the light doesn't come off loose. I am afraid I might break something if I pry it.

Can I take the bumper off without taking the lights off?

[h4X6]

The lights will only come out if you pull and pull and pry. There is alot of gum as a sealant.

Bumper you don't need to remove the lights. Just bolts on the inside of the trunk and some under near the plate.


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[Mental-26]

Munib there are 4 bolts. The ones closet to the inner fenders will suck but it
Will come out will a little push. Does anyone know what to use to seal when putting back in?

[judasentinel]

Munib there are 4 bolts. The ones closet to the inner fenders will suck but it
Will come out will a little push. Does anyone know what to use to seal when putting back in?

Are you referring to the tail light bolts that are on the inside (in the trunk area)? They are secure in place and wont budge, even when I took the nuts off from them. I think they hold the tail light assembly in place. But the issue is only in the outer cover, which is hanging loose in the corner. Does one have to take the whole light off? How are the covers attached to the light assembly? I think that is what will solve it.

As for the bumper, I will try to get it off some time tomorrow if possible.

[steveo1502]

The lights are sealed in there with some thick sealant, and the covers are screwed from the back, I put a set of led tails in, they were missing two of the mounting holes for the cover, mine are a bit loose but not pulling away,

[nickisonfire]

At my bodyshop we call it dom dom loll thatwas made by 3M that how we call it loll to remove the light hou have to push mine was stock too ... Maybe you can use some prekleeno that you can get at probably any autoparts

[judasentinel]

I managed to get the bumper loose.

There are two plastic tabs on the inside of each side of the bumper. These tabs stick INTO metal brackets that bolt on to the body. One of the tabs (the upper one) on the left side is broken, so while the metal bracket is securely bolted to the body, the bumper cannot be attached to the bracket. Any ideas as to how to fix this? Other than that, all other areas are secure on the bumper. Just need to figure out how to connect the upper corner of the bumper's left side to the metal bracket. I HATE to have to replace the bumper simply because that little nubbin is missing. Super glue or any other JIMMY-RIG solution anyone might have (that won't be obvious, since it will be hidden behind the bumper)?

Thanks for the inputs, guys. Keep 'em coming .

Munib

[DarkCaporaL]

I'd be inclined to say either epoxy or jbweld.

Keep in mind that epoxy will fail when subjected to high heat (not sure how warm it gets during winter in that spot), so jbweld might be the better choice.

Also, not sure how good epoxy is at holding on to metal. jbweld will stick to both metal and plastic.

[beacher1B0]

Butyl sealant sold in rolls from Nissan to properly seal taillights to body. "Fast" it to get part #.

[h4X6]

I used plastic weld epoxy. And just layer it over top the bracket and onto the bumper/tab

Make sure it's stupid clean and scuff it up with sandpaper so it can get a better bond.

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[judasentinel]

Tried the JB Weld, let it cure for 4 hours and after driving it on the "smooth" streets of Toronto for about an hour, it came loose again on the bumper. The tsil light didn't even stick. I'm at a loss now.

[Skym]

To let something dry properly, meant to leave it for a day or for a few days to be 100% sure.

If bumper, tail light is warped due to being hit (can see the marks), it might pull away again. Could use a low temp hairdryer (that won't make paint lift) and see if can bend bumper, tail light back into shape.

Or draw latches that they use to mount removeable bumpers, panels on racecars might be the last option (if don't park car anywhere) for bumper -

https://www.pegasusautoracing.com/productdetails.asp?RecID=9551