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What's needed for CTS-V bumper?

108K views 206 replies 60 participants last post by  Rahdrd 
#1 ·
I know there has been a lot of talk about what is & not needed to complete the CTS-V Bumper swap, so I’m making this write up of what it took me to get the swap complete for other members that want to do this.

In this swap, I changed both the front & rear bumper covers to the “V” bumper covers.

The parts that are needed for the Front “V” Bumper:

Front "V" Bumper cover
Front Upper Grill
Front Lower Grill
Fog Lights
Fog Light Bezels
Left Brake Duct (1 piece)
Right Brake Duct (2 pieces)
Left & Right Front Half Inner Splash Shields
Lower Bumper Trim
Front "V" Bumper absorber

Once you have all of the parts needed & ready to get them installed, you should start by removing the old bumper. In order to do this, you need to do the following:

1) Remove the 6 plastic twist screws that hold down the plastic/seal that runs over the top of the radiator.
2) Remove the 2 plastic retainer clips that are at the far end of the bumper cover next to the headlights.
3) Remove the 2 10mm screws that hold the grill to the radiator core support.
4) There are 2 plastic retainer clips on each inner fender/splash shield that need to be removed. These hold the bumper cover to the inner fender. Once you have them removed, there is 1 10mm screw behind the inner fender on each side that holds the top of the bumper cover to the bottom of the fender. There is no need to remove the wheels. I was able to get the clips & the bolts of by just turning the wheels to either side.
5) Next there will be plastic retainer clips that hold the bottom of the bumper cover the lower engine cover. I forgot how many.
6) Once you have all of the clips & bolts removed, pull each side of the bumper cover away from the fenders.
7) Grab the grill & pull the bumper cover away from the car keeping the bottom of the bumper cover in an angle to keep the fender arch of the cover away from the fenders. Once you have the bumper cover free, set it on the ground.
8) If you have headlight washers, locate the hose that connects to the jet. There is a white retainer clip that holds the hose in. Press the clip & pull towards the end of the cover.
9) If you have fog lights, unplug them at this point.

Here are some pics showing where & what needs to be removed:











Now that the Front Bumper is off, there are 2 tabs on the bumper reinforcement bar that need to be cutoff cause the fog light housing on the "V" bumper sits in this area.

In order to get to the top welds of the tabs, the Bumper absorber needs to be removed. There are 3 plastic retainers that hold the absorber to the reinforcement bar. Once these are removed, the absorber will come right off.

These are the tabs


Area in red is where they are welded


This is what it looks like when removed




I ground down the welds & painted the bare metal




Next you need to swap out the front half inner splash shields. These are held in with some plastic retainers. Once you have them removed, its just a matter of taking out the old splash shields & putting in the “V” splash shields. Then connect the brake ducts to the splash shields. Last you need to install the “V” absorber. Bring the “V” bumper cover over to the car & connect the fog lights & headlight washers. Now the “V” bumper cover can be installed onto the car. From this point, the installation is the exact reverse of the removal.
 
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#97 ·
Re: CTS-V bumpers on a 08 CTS How-to

there's two absorbers... one for pedestrian protection (like front parking assist i guess)
i doubt many US cars have that option (if any at all)

20782127 is the number for absorber the one without pedestrian protection

part numbers for the fender liners (splash shields) and the lower deflector (splitter) can be found at that link also
 
#100 ·
Re: CTS-V bumpers on a 08 CTS How-to

Hi all. Update on my project I just received my first package. My silver painted CTS-V bumper from Ebay. Immaculate paint and no scratches................. wait for it...........broken down the middle. My day sucks now!!!!
Just sent the seller a message, I hope it works out soon.

:ill:
 
#104 ·
Re: CTS-V bumpers on a 08 CTS How-to

I was contacted by the seller yesterday, he said that he didn't think a body shop would repair it with a tear
right down the middle because it is a stress point. I took it to 2 different body shops and they said the same thing. He said he's going to take the loss and even pay for
return shipping. Talk about a class act. Now I have the 2 body shops looking for the bumper for me.
 
#105 ·
Re: CTS-V bumpers on a 08 CTS How-to

I was contacted by the seller yesterday, he said that he didn't think a body shop would repair it with a tear
right down the middle because it is a stress point. I took it to 2 different body shops and they said the same thing. He said he's going to take the loss and even pay for
return shipping. Talk about a class act. Now I have the 2 body shops looking for the bumper for me.
I'm happy you got good news. I have read your post and IMHO the shipper was responsible for the damage due to poor packing. The next time I'm at my storage unit I will take a photo of the box my bumper shipped in from GM. You will not believe the size of this box.
 
#108 ·
Re: CTS-V bumpers on a 08 CTS How-to

Where exactly does the absorber go? and with the clips, do you NEED to buy more or are there enough stock ones?

----------

Where do the splash shields and everything else go??? Will the placement of everything make sense once the bumper is off?
Once the bumper is removed you will see where all the parts go, its very easy. You dont need extra clips. To make the job go faster i would advise on getting a metal cutter to cut the metal tabs thats on the bumper reinforcement bar. You can use a hand saw but it will take longer.
 
#109 · (Edited by Moderator)
Re: CTS-V bumpers on a 08 CTS How-to

Ok so the sellr has sent out the pickup from Fed Ex for the damaged bumper, as soon as he gets confirmation that it has been picked up he will ship the replacement one. Unfortunately the damaged one was slready the same silver as my car so I have to paint the replacement one. Since I am doing this I've decided to just have the headlight washer holes covered up. (sorry Rippy but thank you for the great service). So I will put the washer covers on Ebay or sell them here. In the meantime I have other parts trickling in. I received the top and bottom grilles and foglight bezels.

I will post pics of these items when I can. Unfortunately I can't post pictures from my phone and tablet.

I also want to confirm, I saw earlier in this thread, the coupe rear bumper will fit on the sedan? I want to try installing that rear bumper on my sedan. I like the twin pipes coming from the center of the bumper.
 
#110 · (Edited by Moderator)
Re: CTS-V bumpers on a 08 CTS How-to

Update
I have all my parts for the swap. Thank you Rippy for your knowledge and service.
I received the new bumper, It is brand new not even primered, I found a good body shop near my job, (good reviews online and recommendation from a co-worker) They are going to paint it, close off the headlight washer holes, and swap it all over for $350. I was going to do it myself but the price was right. So I left the bumper for them to start on today, then I'll drop the car off Thursday morning and it should be done by quitting time.
 
#111 · (Edited by Moderator)
Re: CTS-V bumpers on a 08 CTS How-to

Well I finally did it. Got all my parts swapped over and got my car done a day ahead of schedule. Here are the after pics. As you can see I had the headlight washer holes filled in, it looks cleaner now.

I want to thank you guys for your help and advice on this project. Especially Chris H. at Rippy's who helped me with some of the parts I couldn't find anywhere else, and very fast too. I have the Cadillac emblem which I'll be installing on the grill, probably this weekend (too darn cold here right now)

Next I think I'll go for some wheels and the V hood.

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Land vehicle Vehicle Car Luxury vehicle Cadillac cts

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#121 ·
I've read through all of the posts on this thread, viewed all the pictures (all your cars look phenomenal). The question I have is: has anyone done or seen a V conversion where they utilized the V rear bumper with exhaust cutouts in the middle of the rear bumper and modified their exhaust to fit this?

I have an 2008 CTS Sedan that I would like to do the V conversion and the thought crossed my mind about the rear bumper.
 
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