Jeep Cherokee XJ - Front Bumper Removal

The previous owner of my Jeep got into a bit of a fender bender a couple of years ago. This left the front bumper smashed in on the driver side. I wanted to remove the front bumper to examine the damage and also, hopefully, straighten it out. It's a cosmetic fix, but a fix nonetheless! This is a quick write-up of how I removed my front bumper.

Removing the Front Bumper End-Caps

The first step is to remove the front bumper end-caps. I've already detailed how to remove them in my post on restoring the end-caps.

Removing the Vacuum Canister

The vacuum canister is located behind the front bumper on the driver side. It's held to the bumper by two Torx screws in the front. Simply remove the screws and unplug the hose from the canister. The canister should slide right out.

Detaching the Bolts in the Frame

The bumper is held to the frame by two brackets, one on each side. The brackets are attached to the bumper by 4 Torx screws on the top and the bottom. Rather than removing the bumper from the brackets (which can be painful), remove the entire assembly, brackets and bumper, from the frame.



There are three bolts on each bracket attaching the bumper to the frame. These can be reached with a long wrench extension.



After removing the bolts on each side, the bumper should slide right out with a little bit of tugging.



Easy as that! Probably didn't need a write-up, but, heck, why not?