I need to get to my reflectors, since I am going to paint them. I found threads that said I need to get jackstands, take the wheels off, and one said I don't need to do anything, just unscrew the front bumper. So what exactly do I need to do to get to the reflectors? I don't have a torque wrench nor a jackstand, so I'm hoping the bumper just comes off. What is the best way for me?

 

jackstand just use the one that came with the car , and yes its way easy with the wheel off.. in order to take off bumper you need to get in the wheel well

 

Ah I c. That sucks. Cuz I don't have a torque wrench to get my lugs out, and I assumed I could just take the bumper screws off and it would come out without my having to touch the wheel/wheel well. Thanks.

 

the car comes with a wrench also..to take off the oem wheel / nut

 

The car does not come with a real torque wrench. It's just a normal wrench to get the lug nuts off. A torque wrench allows you to tighten a bolt down to a specific torque setting which you cannot do with the wrench supplied with the car.

OP, you have to take the wheels off even if you decide to pull the bumper off in order to get at the screws that hold it down through the wheel well. I would not bother doing that and just access the reflectors by pulling the wheels off, pulling the fender liner back and reaching in to get the reflectors. You will need basic hand tools for this. You can use the supplied wrench and jack stand to lift the car and pull the wheels off. You'll also need a philips and flat screwdriver to undo some screws holding the fender liner and the markers themselves. The problem comes once you have to put everything back together, especially the wheels. Without a real torque wrench, you'll have to go based on feel to know just how tight they should be.

Unfortunately, things like these require tools. Having a torque wrench is valuable for all sorts of projects. Work the cost of tools into projects like this when you're planning it out. BTW, torque spec for lug nuts on the Z is 78 lb. ft. which is fairly tight.

 

^ my bad .. my head hurts from no sleep LOL

 

I installed mine without pulling the wheels, but it would have been somewhat easier if I had. Had assistance from someone who had done it before - maybe 1 hour total for both sides. There are two bolts up in there by the headlight that are a b!tch to get too but we did it. As said, if you do pull the wheels, make sure you torque them to spec - see if someone you know has one you could borrow or just stop by their place after putting the wheels back on.

 

I was able to get to the reflectors withouth taking the wheels off or the bumper off. Just turn the wheels to the side, unscrew and pull the plastic part of the wheel well to the side to give you some space. You are able to get your arm and a screwdriver in there to unscrew the reflectors.

might be the best way to do it since you dont have a jackstand

 

Dude....its hard as HELL without taking the wheels and bumper off....i tried, and failed.

I was able to change headlight bulbs w/o taking wheels off, though, and just pulling back the wheel well liner.

 

you dont have to buy a torque wrench. when you are finished just hand tighten them down as good as you can and roll over to discount tire or something, they will torque them for free. make sure they don't ding up the wheel in the process though : P

 

I just replaced my reflectors by removing my bumper, and this worked just fine. You don't have to completely remove the wheel well liner. Just pull it back.

 

you can manage to get the bumper off without taking off the wheels. just jack up the car and the suspension should come down enough to get your hands in the fender liner. granted, its still a tight fit, so you might want to just save yourself time and effort by taking a couple minutes to get your wheels offf

 

I did ours with the wheels and bumper on. It wasn't a problem.

 

like posted above you can just turn your wheels to the opposite side to access the side you want. now as far as getting to the reflectors i dont remember if you can access them without removing the bumper on the 03-05 but on the 07 and up you will have to remove the screws on the passenger side to get to the reflector, due to the fluid resevoir in the way

 

Its easier with the wheels just a lil bit more time with them on. Try not to damage the bumper with them on as well but it is posssible. I did mine no problem wheels on but I did take the bumper off just easier.

 

lift the car like a oil change take shield off and use a midget screw driver and ur done took me like 15 mins.

 

Hey guys, just took my bumper off, used the jack stand and took off my reflectors. Before I primer and paint them, should I sand paper them? If so, what kind?