as some of you know, i have been dealing w/ my boxer repai for some time. it now seems complete w/ the exception of the re-installation of the rear bumper cover and rear hatch. i hope there are some that might advise me as to the sequence of replacment for example , does one have to go on before the other or not? are there any tips to safetly complete the task? another question...is it always hard to get the tail pipes to line up or protrude evenly? i am having a hard time as it seems there is a bunch of fine adjustment to do...it is begining to frustrate me! help would be appreciated. peter
HI Pete When we painted my Boxer and removed the rear deck lid we put the lid on first and then the rear bumper cover, make sure the bumper is fully flush as far in as it will go so the lip where the rubber trim piece goes does not hit the lower edge of the decklid and scratch either piece when opening and closing. When we removed both front and rear lids to paint them we took the pin/bolts out of the hinges so we didn't need to realign the lids as you would need to do by removing the 3 bolts on each hinge, the bodymans original idea was to drill a small hole in the flat areas where the 3 bolts go for easy alignment when putting them back on until I showed him the pins/bolts which would not require a readjustment, so I don't know which way your guy removed the hinges/lid. The shocks also seem to pull the hood up some so I would put some body masking tape along all of the edges of the rear closing areas and on the deck lid so you don't scratch anything, everything was lined up perfectly on my lid but when we put the shocks on it actually pushed the lid forward some and it hit and chipped the edges when closed by someone which had to be refinished, so be very careful and take your time on it. Concerning the alignment of the mufflers there are little shims you place in the thimble shaped rubber mounts to align things, it seems as the little mounts wear they compress so unless you place them in each of the exact same locations the muffler heights will be off as you know they are all the same dampers and will go anywhere. Let me know if you need further clarification or more detail.
thanks jeff for being so thorough. we did remove the six bolts and had considered using the "old marks" to properly re align. i wish we had done it the way you sugested so as to better guarantee the same fit. i don't quite understand how the hood shocks cuased the bonnet to make contact w/ the trailing edge of the roof? i may need some of your good advice and may ask you to add detail in a phone call. i will pm you w/ my contact info. we need to chat and eventually meet to chat all things boxer and 930!! thanks so much jeff. peter
I'll pm my cell no Peter I didn't quite understand why the shocks caused the decklid to move forward either, their could have been some play in the hinge and the forward pressure caused the deck lid to move very slightly and it effected the gap/clearance as its a very close fit on all the panels and everything else on these cars due to the hand work, you may not have a problem at all just something to be careful with and watch for.
