s14 kouki-front bumper is "sagging?"

[devonkyle77]

just noticed it today, im sure its been like this for awhile.
switched to jdm front bumper a few months ago
large gap between bottom of headlights and top of bumper, and from the side u can see it going down, and not being flush with the fender
i know its worthless without pics, my sig you see it very faintly, but i will take pics today and post tonight.
anyone have this problem before or know what i may have forgotten to do?

[NemeGuero]

are you still using the front bumper support?

[nrg]

upper retainer, bumper support. i'm sure you got rid of the oem bumper impact foam. which fills in the empty space between the bumper and support.

the only problem i have with my kouki front end is the gap i have between my passanger headlight and hood. the headlights is all bolted on stock location. maybe it's my VIS cf hood.

[projectRDM]

You can adjust the height of the bumper reinforcement by loosening the mounting bolts and raising it up, this usually cures any sagging issues.

If you don't have one in place anymore, a set of long brackets can be made to go from the bottom of the core support to the bottom of the bumper cover, bracing the lower section and pushing against it, this will raise the entire cover as well.

[devonkyle77]

your right, i did toss the foam

[nrg]

well the USDM foam doesn't work on jdm bumper. not without custom cutting up the foam.
i'm using the jdm bumper too and mine doesn't sag that crazy.
looks like you're missing the upper retainer.

is your bumper and side skirts unpainted? =X

[NemeGuero]

They look ABS black to me

[devonkyle77]

front bumper is just the abs black, sideskirts are flat black until i get the whole car repainted.
upper retainer? got a pic of it?

[nrg]

Upper retainer (62290-80F00): $68.78

[devonkyle77]

that is not part of t he radiator support, its a seperate piece?
if thats the piece that the top of th bumper screws into in like 6 places i do have it on.....

[devonkyle77]

i wonder if i can get that from courtesy nissan?
or is there a cheaper place

[nrg]

i bought my parts from: http://www.nissan-auto-parts-dealer.com

how come you said you have it, and now asking to buy it?

[TurDz]

Originally Posted by devonkyle77

that is not part of t he radiator support, its a seperate piece?
if thats the piece that the top of th bumper screws into in like 6 places i do have it on.....

cool. is the bumper bolted onto those 6 places? Like there are about 6 holes, which secure that whole sagging portion of your bumper. Or is it something else?

[chlatboy]

Looks like u need an upper retainer to me. Yes it has 6 holes where you can bolt your bumper to it. The main thing that holds up your bumper are the two metal brackets which bolt around the middle of the car on both sides of the hood lock. THe pieces of metal are pretty flimsy so i had a welder weld some L shaped brackets for me out of steel which work pretty good.

[devonkyle77]

i have it bolted up to that, so i do have it...so what do i need to do now?

[chlatboy]

That is the only thing that should be holding the bumper up in teh front. CHeck to make sure the brackets arent fukked up. Since its made out of sheet metal, they tend to fall apart fast. Ill take a picture of my welded L brackets later.

[TurDz]

mind taking another pic of the gap between the bumper and the headlight? this time from the front, w/ flash?

[NemeGuero]

Originally Posted by chlatboy

That is the only thing that should be holding the bumper up in teh front. CHeck to make sure the brackets arent fukked up. Since its made out of sheet metal, they tend to fall apart fast. Ill take a picture of my welded L brackets later.

They only fall apart when you don't use the bumper support in conjunction with it. Or, if you cut out the mid-section of the support for a FMIC. Otherwise, they'll hold up fine.

[nrg]

you can remove your bumper and try bending the upper retainer up more towards the hood.

[devonkyle77]

[TurDz]

Very odd. I see that it's a stock 98 too. Did the stock bumper fit fine?

I've assembled and disassembled the kouki bumper on a 98 many times, and I have never seen it fit this way. The 6 bolts that secure onto the support should've taken care of the problem, but the way the bumper curves, it looks as if that support is bent somehow.

Did you install the side metal supports that attach to the bottom side of the front fenders? it's secured by a plastic tap and screw w/ a 10mm bolt head.

[devonkyle77]

do they go inside the bumper or something?

[m072514]

ive got a little bit of sag, too. but mine is on the USDM kouki bumper. i havent tried removing it yet, but it does look like the upper retainer is the culprit.