rotarypower101

iTrader: (1)

How hard is it to remove the rear bumper? Time ,difficulty, any tricks, hidden screws, best method for removal?

Installing a hitch and need to know what the rear supports shape is, and whether or not it is reasonable to remove the skin to avoid cutting the support.

Any pics of the rear steel bumper impact support?

Or just the rear of the car with the skin off?

I am installing a hitch and am trying to find a better way to install the nuts for the rear support.

I plan on welding my locknuts to a thin strip of metal and snaking them into the hollow support through a small window that will be covered by the rear hitch assembly

If I missed a thread on the topic please post a link.

https://www.rx7club.com/showthread.p...ng+rear+bumper

https://www.rx7club.com/showthread.p...bumper+removal

https://www.rx7club.com/showthread.p...ht=rear+bumper

https://www.rx7club.com/forum/showth...ng+rear+bumper

https://www.rx7club.com/showthread.p...ht=rear+bumper

https://www.rx7club.com/showthread.p...ht=rear+bumper

DamonB hitch link

https://www.rx7club.com/showthread.p...ht=rear+bumper

damians hitch link

https://www.rx7club.com/3rd-generation-specific-1993-2002-16/hitch-trailer-install-pics-337174/

BOTTLEFED

iTrader: (1)

Hope this pic helps

I just had mine off for painting. It was not that bad to take off.
Take off the tail lights and center piece and remove all the screws for the bumper. There are 2 nuts and 2 clips on each side that you get to from the inside. You will take off the interior panels in the trunk.
Then there are 2 nuts at the bottom that can be loosened from under the car.
The biggest problem I had was the clips were very tight and if you are not careful they will break and you will have to replace them.
You can see the holes for the clips and studs that the bumper uses in my pic (along the side of the fender). Starting at the top is the 2 round holes for the studs/nuts, then 2 square holes for the clips, then another round hole for the bottom stud/nut.

good luck

DamonB

You don't need to remove the bumper cover to install the hitch. I removed absolutely nothing from the car when I installed mine.

There's no better way to install the nuts/bolts to the bumper. You must drill holes in the actual bumper regardless and even if the bumper cover were removed it doesn't help because the actual bumper is a tube. You can't reach inside it somehow.

I bought my hitch used and didn't receive the original bolts, so I used plain bolts and nuts. The actual U-Haul bolt kit includes u-shaped bolts threaded at each end. These drop through the bumper and of course won't try and turn when you tighten the nuts. Since I used plain bolts dropped from inside the bumper I had to hold the end of the bolt while tightening to keep them from turning.

There's a rubber stopper under the spare tire at the rear of the spare tire well. Run the wires for the lights through there.

I have had the bumper cover off when I replaced the rear hatch key cylinder. I've got long arms but it was still tricky to reach the fasteners. Once all the nuts are removed you have to pull really hard to get the cover to unsnap from the fenders.

hotfd3s

iTrader: (1)

You don't need to remove the bumper cover to install the hitch like Damon says, but you can remove the lights in the bumper and if your hand and arm is small enough (more like kid size) you can slide you hand through the bumper support.

Instead of using a nut and bolt setup, try using a square bolt like I did. I bought my hitch from someone on the forum and mine didn't come with the hardware also.

I got the square bolts at a Tractor and Supply Store. I modified the bolts to fit my needs (shorten them and added more threads).

Drill the holes in the bumper support and snake them through the holes.

DamonB

^ I wish I knew I could have bought something like that when I installed mine. Would have been easier.

rotarypower101

iTrader: (1)

Thanks for the help guys.

I wish I had thought of the U bolts when designing my hitch!

While I have to sort of agree with the guys about not messing with the looks of the car by having a hitch protruding out, and the fact that it really does not look like the 7 was designed for towing AT ALL!

It is a necessity and a compromise for me also, so I thought I would make ahitch that was as invisible as I could get it. So I made my own, because I could not find the company that made the ones you can not see from the rear of the car. I lost the pic I had with a hard drive crash, but the hitch plugged into the receiver above the rear lip of the car and really made it difficult to tell at all that there was any kind of accessory of this kind on the car.

Anyway thanks for the pic