So, the question is... should/can I do it myself.

The upper reinforcement grill bracket is what holds up the bumper/nose in the front of the car. If you pop your hood and look at the very front edge, you'll see the black bracket supports your bumper where it meets the hood.

From an accident, mine is bent. Body shop quoted me 31 dollars for the actual bracket, and 100 bucks for labor to put it back on... anybody think this is something I can do myself? Or with help? I can post pics later if its not clear what i'm talking about.

 

are u talking about the plastic ring that the grill goes over? the one thats held in with screws?? if so 100.00 for labor is a joke....its easy to replace, just unscrew the screws, take out the grill, replace the trim/ring plastic part. put everything back together. its even easier if u take off the front bumper. Its not really hard at all but pics would help.

 

Well, it's called the reinforcement grill, but i'm not convinced it's actually part of the grill... I'd definitely have to take off the bumper in order to replace it.

I will post pics later to show what i mean more clearly.

Here's a pic of the original accident. Notice the spot on the front.



So i replaced the hood with CF, but you'll notice if you look at the following pic in the same spot that there is a slight dip



That is because the bracket which supports the bumper in that area is bent. So i have to replace that bracket. I can take a specific pic of the interior later.

 

deff would have to see pics with the hood opened but it also looks like the plastic just might have gotten bent from impact???

 

OK so below is a photo... forgive me cuz its just from my cameraphone. I put my hand behind the bracket so you could see it... it didn't come out against a black background


Now the little black bracket is duplicated on the other side of the car.. you can kinda see how the screw/pin on the right hand side is torqued a bit from the bend.

So the part isn't as small as the picture i took... it actually supports the top end of the bumper all the way along. Does that clear it up any?

Think i could replace this myself? I'd def have to take the bumper off.

 

I'm pretty sure you can replace it yourself.

 

What i'm wondering is, is the actual part of the bumper bent?

 

That is the million dollar question... the bodyshop said 140 to replace the grill support, but they couldn't gurantee that the bumper isn't bent. I am not sure that it is a material which easily bends, and i think that if the support strut were straight it might even be able to hold up against a bend...

thoughts?

 

hmm looks like maybe its just the bumber that got messed up because of the impact.....let me run to the car and snap some pics for comparison.

 

Well I know for sure that the bracket underneath is bent- it could be that they are both bent, although i think its equally as likely that the bumper wouldn't be *bent* except that the bracket isn't supporting it well.... i might get together with some friends to at least pop the front bumper off and take a look to see if its bent before buying the part.

 

hmm just took a look at my car and maybe you are right. Maybe if the bracket/grill support is bent and pulling on the bumper then im sure once u replace the bracket then the bumper might straighten out a bit. I still say that u most likely have some bumper damage. i guess the only way to find out is to remove the front bumper, replace the bracket/grill support and put the bumper back on.