Bolt by bumper screw above tire

Maintenance/Repairs
1

pro-GGe7hD8S
pro-GGe7hD8S2494Ă—3325 421 KB

I pulled out the bolt on one side of the car where the bumper screw is and realized I could not get it back in because the metal pieces wont line up without extreme force. What can I do to get this bolt back in. I was attempting to remove the bumper because the front clips above the grill were not inserted when the bumper was put back on before i bought the vehicle so I was trying to remove it and clip it in. Now I have this bolt out of my car and no idea how to get it back in. Any help would be appreciated.

2

I suggest a long prybar. Or jack into place with a floor jack. Or loosen the other bolts in this assembly to shift and tighten once all the bolts are in.

5 Likes
3

Just so you will have another opinion, Mustangman is spot on. Either something is bent (and you need a pry bar to line up the holes), or you have something misaligned (loosen all the other fasteners; don’t tighten any of them until you have them all started; tighten them progressively).

You might have to loosen the other fasteners to give the pry bar a chance to work.

If something is bent, make sure it’s not important before you use the pry bar.

2 Likes
4

Yep, from my many hours of summer assembly work, first lesson is never start tightening until all the bolts are in. A bigger picture showing the bumper would be helpful though.

5

This is why I prefer machined parts assembly :grinning: Sheet metal and plastic require some force (artistic impression) for everything to fit, especially older parts. Aside from Mustangman’s excellent suggestions, depending on what these parts are, it may help to have someone push on the one part to get the holes aligned again while you slip in the bolt (e.g. bumper cover to fender bolts- push on the bumper cover to force them back into alignment)

6

I had similar problem when I replaced the Corolla’s timing belt, engine shifted slightly, and try as I might I couldn’t get the front mount bolt back in so I could finish up. Tried this, tried that, pry, push, pull, etc, no joy. Turned out the solution was to jack up the engine slightly using a floor jack and a piece of wood between the jack and the oil pan.