So 6 weeks ago my '93 LS got its left front fender pushed in. I just recently found a fender within a hours drive and today have been attempting to install it. What a pain. Hell doing the timing belt was a lot less frustrating than this fender. I have a oem manual and still can't get the bumper off.
I've removed the headlight and parking lights, the engine under cover, something called a lower wind guide, separated the fender liner from the bumper, removed the bolts, nuts and retainers that secure the bumper to the fender and removed the clips from the upper bumper retainer. Now I should be able to disconnect the connection at the bumper rear end and then pull the bumper forward to remove it. Unfortunately it won't budge, The ends have separated a little but there is something keeping the bumper from moving that the manual doesn't address. So I'm stuck hoping for some help.

 

I can't really speak to a 93, but on a 98 it's just two nuts on each side holding it on to the fender and some plastic clips, both in the top lip of the bumper and also some that clip in from underneath. Perhaps you missed the clips that you can't see that clip in from the bottom.

 

Attached is the diagram for a '98 - I don't know if this applies to a '93.

 

I was able to get the bumper loose but it still won't come off. It's appears to be hanging up where the bumper meets the fender. I have removed the two nuts and two bolts and retainer from the end of the bumper. There's a part referred to as a reinforcement that sits in front of the radiator and has 3 brackets secured to opposing brackets against the radiator and a bolt on each end for mounting. According to the oem manual, this reinforcement needs to be removed "after" the bumper is removed. But I swear it's these 2 bolts that are keeping the bumper in place and of coarse there's no room to remove the bolts.

 

I've removed the front bumpers on these cars a few times. It is possible to remove and mount a fender without removing the bumper, but it's not easy and you should tape the panels to prevent scratches

The 3 brackets attached to the upper reinforcement have 2 bolts each, which it sounds like you've removed. The remaining two are hidden in between the urethane bumper cover and the fender at the front of the fender panel, as you mentioned.

Here is a photo from my car (luckily I took a photo of this lol)


The only way to get to this bolt is from the bottom with a small 10 mm open end wrench (use the closed, round side), and patience. Prepare to have your hand in an awkward position for 15 minutes at a time

Alternatively, instead of removing this bracket, you can just remove all of the clips from the top and the bottom of the bumper cover to slide it away and leave the upper reinforcement in place. I WOULD RECOMMEND THIS APPROACH AS IT'S MUCH EASIER

See this link:
https://www.lextreme.com/delete-fron...a-lexus-ls400/

However, note that you SHOULD NOT remove the aluminum bumper beam as done there. It's completely unnecessary

 

Thank you Celsior for your advice and pictures. Those two bolts are a real pain. I'm a little confused, does those bolts actually go thru the bumper shroud. My manual says I should be able to remove the bumper before the reinforcement as you stated but this is the area where the bumper hangs up. I'd have to ground down a 10mm wrench and hope it will fit. You're showing me two options for removing the bumper but if the bolts don't in fact go thru the bumper then why are we attempting to remove the reinforcement in the first place.
I have all the upper and lower plastic fasteners removed, the two nuts and bolts from the end of bumper, all retainers around the wheel wells and the bolts secure the reinforcement to the frount mounts by the radiator. I can wiggle the bumper molding up and down and sideways a little but can't get the ends to pull out more than a half of a inch.

 

The two bolts on the side of the headlight bracket don't go through the bumper cover at all. They just sit between the cover and the reinforcement

So you are absolutely correct - you don't need to remove this reinforcement to get the bumper cover off; however, you do need to remove the bolt on the side of the reinforcement to take the fender out later. The 6 bolts for the 3 brackets on the reinforcement can stay on the car

Too bad I can't see the car in person, as I could probably help you figure it out. Could you post any photos of how it looks now?

I'll re-edit this post with some additional pictures from the service manual, just to make sure we went over everything and are on the same page

EDIT:

You might be getting held up in step 6F. There are two threaded studs and a plastic guide pin that go into the 3 holes at the front of the fender from the bumper cover. Sometimes, the pin gets stuck or the threaded studs are not perfectly straight and drag on the holes in the fender. You might need to get creative with prying this off without damaging the panel. You don't want to force it, but it might require a little

 

I still can't figure this out. It's loose and floppy but just won't come undone. I just watched a youtube video where the poster pulled the fender without removing the bumper. I guess that's my next option to try. Anymore suggestions is much appreciated.

 

Nps. I just edited my post with more photos

If you could take some pictures of how things look now from different angles, I might be able to give some advice.

To get the fender out without pulling the bumper, just remove the nuts and bolts holding the panel on and the bolt to the reinforcement and you'll be set. I suggest taping the edge of the driver's door and the hood to prevent scratches

 

Never mind.....

 

1998 is MUCH easier to remove the front bumper based on the doc you shared. lol

 

Thank you Celsior, I feel so fortunate in finding someone that has dealt with this bumper. Before I post any pics I'll try and remove the fender tomorrrow on my day off. I'm assuming the troublesome bolt is not secured to the inner fender.

 

No worries, Cruisin101. Unfortunately, the problem is that bolt is attached to the front of the fender (check the photo I posted from my car earlier). It may also be what is getting caught when you try to remove the bumper cover

To get the fender off without removing the bumper, you'll have to try the technique I mentioned with a 10 mm wrench

 

Well now I should rename this post "How to I get this damn fender off". Got a extra pair of hands today and was able to force the bumper off. Turns out that the threaded studs were binding enough to keep the bumper from coming off. Now I'm struggling with the fender.
Referring to the manual it states to remove bumper, wiper arms, cowl louver, front fender wheel opening molding, front fender outside moulding, remove fender liner and finally remove nine bolts and four nuts and remove fender.
No where does it mention the removal of the front rocker panel moulding that covers the bottom part of the fender and mates up to the outside moulding. It looks like this panel is covering access to the two bolts that secure the bottom of the fender. How did you handle this?

 

Luckily, even though my 2 cars are 91's, I pulled a fender off of a 93 last month!

Once you have the cladding removed from the fender, there are screws on the side toward the front, on the side behind the door, and in the front of the rocker cover facing the wheel. These screws sometimes corrode and have to be drilled out (I had to do that to the one in the side toward the front of the fender). If you're lucky, the screw is intact, and you can remove it with a JIS or Phillips head screwdriver.

After that's out, you'll need to remove several clips from the bottom of the rocker panel cover, and inside the door jamb. Some of these clips may break, so either heat the area first with a hair drier, or pry it out carefully. If you accidentally make any scratches here, make sure to touch them up to prevent the rocker from rusting out.

Because the rocker covers were added for 1993, the body manual does not mention them in the front fender section. You have to look for the Body Outside Moulding section (kind of silly, I know...).

You can leave the rear rocker moulding in place. The front piece will slide forward, once it's been detached.

Make sure not to lose the spacers (washers with yellow plastic clips) for the bottom of the fender when the bolts are removed. They sometimes just fall off and get lost.