Front End Refresh
- joepampel
- Apr 3
- 10 min read
Updated: Apr 6
My low horn stopped working and while I don't honk much, I would like it to not sound silly when I do. And the passenger side bellows can't be removed (unless you have a trick?) without taking off the front bumper and my old one was a bit mangled. I also had new side marker housings so... I figured why not pull the bumper off. How much trouble could it be?
This turned into a bit of scope creep/"while we're there" stuff.
Handy tools:
Right-angle 3/8 drive
Trim tools (to remove bumper strip)
8mm sockets and wrenches - light housings, bellows
Dead-blow hammer
Possible parts:
Frunk screw for Valence: 900 187 010 03
Speed Nut (valence): 999 591 327 01
Fiber Washer(valence): 999 704 157 40
Front crush tube: (Rennline): S-14002
Bumper Shock Base (pad): 911-505-311-00
Bumper Shock Bushing: 911-505-221-00
Nut for bumper shock: 999 084 608 02
Base washer for bumper shock: 911-505-220-01
Bellows - Left: 911 799 505 63
Bellows - Right: 911 799 505 64
Bumper nut (nyloc): N01-118-56
Bumper nut washer: 900 025 008 04
Parking/Indicator lamp: 911 631 409 00 Side marker lamp (US): 911 631 411 00
First, it looks as though some very minor repair work was done at some point. There is grey primer overspray on some internal parts, the lamp housings wereheld together with masking tape and the passenger side impact strut was missing a stud - someone had hastily stuck a bolt through the hole. Yet the bumper is the original and undented. It has the VIN sticker intact on it. Both bellows had also been knocked out of their "track" between the fender and the valence as well, or reinstalled carelessly(?)
I disconnected the 2 bellows from the little trim panels that connect the valence to the fenders, and I remove the panels as well (4 sheet metal screws) I unscrewed the impact strip on the leading edge of the bumper and removed it with the trim tool (plastic pins) and then loosened the 4 (well, 3) nuts that held the bumper in place. I removed the fog lights so I could maneuver the wiring for the turn signals. The manual has you push the wiring inside the housing out through the hole where the lead comes in after you detach the reflector, but it doesn't fit very well and as it turned out, mine were held together with old masking tape (!) More accident damage? I ordered a pair of new housings, fortunately they were on clearance sale so I saved a few bucks.
The side markers aren't an issue during disassembly because their wiring only runs to the parking light. The lamp housings are the same left and right, they just get flipped over. They only go in one way.
Is that factory masking tape?
With all of this done, the bumper rewarded me by not budging at all. Checking in with the Pelican Parts boards, it was confirmed that I had gotten all of the bolts; so it was just time for more persuasion. I kept the 4 nuts loosely in place to avoid any sudden surprises, grabbed a deadblow hammer and a short 2x4 scrap (pine - nice and soft!) and began tapping carefully and alternating from side to side. The bumper moved slowly until I could pop it the rest of the way off by hand. I had set up plastic milk crates covered in bubblewrap to support it once it was loose, and height-wise they are nearly perfect for this task.
With the bumper off I was able to easily remove the parking lights and side markers, as well as the bellows and horns. I took the opportunity to powerwash it once it was all stripped down.
The passenger side lights and bumper support. The lights are wired exactly like the factory diagram - the parking lights piggy-back off of the parking/signal lights, and they in turn run back to the headlight buckets. It is impossible to get to the various nuts with the bumper support in place.
My poor horns have seen better days, as has the bumper shock which had a broken stud and was bolted in at an angle (you can see above). The bits of grey primer and other minor damage lead me to believe there was some small accident at some point, probably damage to the valence since the shock is original and the bumper has not been repaired. Initially I just bought a new low tone horn but after getting into all of this I bought the high tone as well. I really don't want to have to go back in here for a long time, if possible.
I ordered a new bumper shock from Rennline, and new hardware from Bolt Depot to re-install the lights and bumper. I opted for 316-A stainless (for marine applications) and hopefully between some never-seize and the new hardware I can keep the rust at bay on the bellows, bumper & lights.
Wiring up the parking lights is a bit of fun; the passenger side one is easier. You push the old harness down and out through the hole in the headlight bucket and then run the new cable up and over the oil cooler. There are U-clips to hold the cable in place, away from the fan.
How the parking lamp cable is run over the oil cooler fan on the passenger side; those U-clips go on the rear of that support so you can't even see the wire.
The new cable just pushes in through the hole in the headlamp bucket until the grommet seats which isn't hard since it is cone shaped. The lead wires are a bit short though, and Porsche changed the colors of them, just to keep it fun. There is nothing in the manual about it. I wound up using needle nose pliers and a small screwdriver to pull the old connectors out and push the new ones in. They're pretty tight.
On the driver's side it is more fun - you have to lower the windshield washer tank out of the way. You remove the DS front wheel, undo the clamp, the filler cap, the filler hose and then finally the bolt at the top. Not too bad to get it down enough to run the parking lamp wire, but I had a tough time getting it back into position for the strap to go in. I wound up using zip ties to pull the two sides together and an awl to keep the "nut" side in the right orientation (it pivots). If I had it to do over I would just loosen the strap to where I could slide it off of the bracket it hangs from and see if that was enough play to run the new wire.
Its pretty busy on the driver's side of the car.
The left and right sides have slightly different lead colors due to the directional lamp lead. It's easy to double check with an ohm meter (remove the bulb first) 2 of the three leads go to the parking lamp tabs, the 3rd one is for the turn indicator filament.
The old wiring colors from the parking lamp housing can be seen here. The grey cable is what runs up from the bumper:
Black/White - to Black White. (Left side turn signal)
Brown to Brown (chassis ground)
Grey/Red to Black/Green. (Parking lamp / marker lamp)
Inside the old parking lamp housing you can see how they got connected:
Black/White runs alone to the blinker filament, Grey/Red runs to the parking lamp filament and is shared with the side marker. The brown lead is connected to the body of the light housing and is also the ground for the marker lamp. The Grey/Red & Brown wires run to those short white leads which are what feed the side marker. You still need to watch the polarity - ground to ground etc. when you daisy chain the lights.
Parking Lamp Housing Wiring
Old New
Brown Brown Ground / Common / marker lamp - tab furthest from cable.
Grey/Red Yellow/Red + to parking light & side marker
Black/White Blue + from flasher to signal light
The Q&D way to do it is: (lamp housing to connectors in headlight bucket)
Brown from housing to double connector - brown leads (there are two wires)
Blue from housing to other spot on double connector (turn signal)
Yellow/Red from housing to single connector (parking & marker lamps)
The passenger side connections are shown here. You will probably need needlenose pliers to get the connectors on and off inside those plastic housings.
Marker Lamp leads:
Blue - to hot tab on parking lamp housing (closest to cable)
Brown - to ground tab on parking lamp housing (furthest from cable)
Marker lamp connection detail
Tip: If you reverse the turn signal and parking lamp leads, the parking lights will work ok but the turn signals will only work in front when the parking lamps are off. Test before you connect the marker lamps to simplify any troubleshooting, and test again with everything wired up before you put the bumper back on or the headlights back in.
Re-installing the bumper mounted light housings, both passenger side housings have to go in before you bolt in the bumper support and the side marker light leads feed through an opening in the support. I left enough slack in the directional light wiring that I could put it all together and test it with the bumper off. It is very difficult (impossible?) to get to a few of the mounting nuts with that support in place and I did not feel like pulling apart the brand new housings, they are kind of pricey.
The original Sachs bumper shock is listed as NLA or very expensive if there is some limited stock. Given the options, I bought the Rennline unit which is the EU spec "crush tube". It's much lighter, and about 1/10 the cost of the Sachs part. I could always try to weld a new stud into my old bumper shock if I need to go 'original' at some point. I centered the new one and checked it for level at the bumper bracket.
The horns are just wired in parallel, (mind your polarity) and they both mount to a shared bracket that is then bolted into the car with a single nut and lockwasher. I had expected my old low horn to be an open circuit, but it had continuity. I took it inside to hook it up to my little 12V supply and it just made a clicking sound. The high tone horn made the proper noise.
Horn wiring, waiting for the horns to be reinstalled. The wiring is basically holding it's shape, and is just in parallel. The new crush tube is in place with a new nyloc nut, washer and bracket. I made sure the bumper bracket was level before tightening it down. The drivers side one has a 1.4 deg pitch to it. The nut at the top of the pic goes with the horn bracket.
Testing the new housings and wiring. Test the parking/marker lights, signals and signals when the parking lights are on.
The other horn arrived, and I installed it and then started trying to get the bumper back on.
I ran the wire in front of the support instead of in back; the horn bracket holds it up so it can't get caught in the the fan and it gives me enough slack that I can manuever the bumper without disassembling the lights. You can reach in through the opening on the bumper's underside to get a zip tie on it if it's an issue. In hindsight I think I could get the horns back out using that opening.
20:20 hindsight, I would probably remove the valence if I had to do this all again. The bumper was hard to budge coming out so while it was out I did everything I could think of to reduce friction. I used ArmorAll on the bottom of the "smile", I compounded and waxed the bumper. I treated the rubber bellows to make them more pliable and slippery.
Even with all of that, the bumper has been a real PITA to get into place.
The passenger side bellows has to be in place, and is hard to get into it's spot between the valence and fender. You have to be on that early
Make sure the wires are loose (not taught) and out of the way so they don't get pulled on or crushed
I tried gently tapping it using a towel and a dead blow hammer but that didn't work. I wound up sitting and essentially doing a leg-press to get the bumper in far enough that I could get a nut on one of the shocks, and then the other, and then slowly tightened them side by side until I could get a washer and nut on the other bumper stud. Rinse, repeat and it is nearly on now, but not quite aligned.
Passenger side belows - the top edge needs to be seated in that slot before you start. The paint damage is not new. The original bellows were pretty smushed when I bought the car.
The passenger side bellows is a bit easier. It is not lining up well with the end of the smile so I'll try and move it a bit, the bumper is slotted for those studs. I could also just remove it while I get things lined up again; there is room on the drivers side.
Getting the bumper lined up before pushing on it.
Where I left off for the night. I'm not happy with how tight it is, and the alignment seems a little off. My plan right now is to loosen the valence and see if that gets me the freedom of movement to sort this all out. I have not found any 'how tos' yet that deal with hard to replace bumpers. Am I dumb or just lucky? lol. I'll re-mount the headlights when all of the banging is over.
The Valence is held on with 4 bolts; 2 in front (accessible from the frunk) and 2 near the wheel wells. I removed the funk bolts (later learned they are supposed to be screws) and loosened the bolt on the drivers side. The passenger side was too hard to get to with the oil cooler in the way. Once the valence was loose I was able to align it so the gap from the valence to the bumper was even. The frunk bolt on the passenger side had been overtighted to where its washer was broken. The bolt on the drivers side is difficult to get to, I needed a 90-degree ratchet to get it off and I dropped it behind the battery trying to put it back in.
How I got the frunk bolt out from the drviers side. It's pretty tight unless you remove the battery. If I had a magnetic socket I probably could have used this setup to replace it.
One of the 2 frunk bolts that holds the valence on. This one was overtightened to where the washer had cracked.
Pelican list the proper parts together for this which is really helpful, so I was able to quickly order the correct screw, fiber washer, clip nut and fender washer to get the valence sorted. Correct on L, hamfisted prior fix on R. It was much easier to install the screw on the driver's side.
The bumper is no longer on a slant and the passenger side bellows has been replaced at long last. There is a small gap from the bumper to the rear edge of the 'smile' due to the angle it was previously on I think. I'm hopeful it will close up in time.
Resources
Pelican Front Bumper How-Tos: https://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911-technical-forum/545165-88-911-bumper-removal.html
Replacement fasteners in bulk: boltdepot.com
M5 nyloc nuts in 316 A4 Stainless are part 22995 (8mm for bellows & lights)
New nyloc nuts in 316 A4 Stainless for the bumper are part 22999
Factory wiring diagram for the "body" (incl horns)
Factory wiring diagram for the exterior lights
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