TSB for Rear Facia Fit 23-052-05

[joey]

Originally Posted by Jerry M.

I had also replaced that plastic rivet with a nut and bolt, but all that did was pinch up the bumper at the bolt location. This still left the unsightly gap under the tail light.

I then went to home depot and bought an 1/8 x 1 inch aluminum angle and cut 2 pieces at 6 inches long. I drilled a hole in the middle of one side to secure a carriage bolt. I then stuck on some rubber bumpers at each end.

When in place the aluminum helps to lift the bumper under the tail light.

That looks real good. Very ingenious fix.
I have never taken out the trunk carpet, so not sure where the plastic rivet is located. Do you have to take all the carpet out? How do you get it out, and is it difficult?

[Jerry M.]

Originally Posted by joey

That looks real good. Very ingenious fix.
I have never taken out the trunk carpet, so not sure where the plastic rivet is located. Do you have to take all the carpet out? How do you get it out, and is it difficult?

Not to difficult at all. There are some of those plastic chrismas tree push pins on each side of the trunk. Pop those out, pull the carpeting to the side. You will see the plastic rivet.

This will also expose the black vent behind the carpet. Remove the vent by pushing on the clips at the top and bottom of the vent. Once the vent is out of the way, you will have plenty of room with access to the attachment area. The rivet has to be pushed and pulled from the bottom. (same on both sides)

hope this helps.

[ResumeSpeed]

This is a slightly different "fit" issue but next week Chrysler will be issuing a TSB for "Deck Lid Contacts Bumper Fascia" (2006 LX models).

[joey]

Originally Posted by Jerry M.

Not to difficult at all. There are some of those plastic chrismas tree push pins on each side of the trunk. Pop those out, pull the carpeting to the side. You will see the plastic rivet.

This will also expose the black vent behind the carpet. Remove the vent by pushing on the clips at the top and bottom of the vent. Once the vent is out of the way, you will have plenty of room with access to the attachment area. The rivet has to be pushed and pulled from the bottom. (same on both sides)

hope this helps.

Thanks. I am gonna try your fix, probably next weekend.

[GoofyTimL]

I just had this TSB attempted on our '05 Midnight Blue. From what I could tell, it made no difference to the gap on the driver's side. I took it back to the dealer this a.m. to discuss. Service Mngr said they would have to take it over to the body shop to see what they could do for it. I may just give the angle bracket trip a try on my own.

This gap is as pictured above on the drivers side, and less on the passenger side, but both are noticeably wider than on the Heritage Edition. However, the H.E. is showing a little widening of the gap on the driver's side... and I want to nip this in the bud ASAP.

I probably will print these pictures to show them to the dealer. Thanks for the great info here.

[C-Man]

I had the same poor results with this TSB. The angle bracket repair seems to be the answer. I will also attempt this, but won't be able to get to it this weekend.

[rsmeanie]

Originally Posted by Jerry M.

I then went to home depot and bought an 1/8 x 1 inch aluminum angle and cut 2 pieces at 6 inches long. I drilled a hole in the middle of one side to secure a carriage bolt. I then stuck on some rubber bumpers at each end.

Great idea!! Looks like it should've in the first place from the factory. Realistically, after spending close to $50-large on a car, you shouldn't have to **** around with body panel gaps. But if we were that concerned with build quality, we would have bought Japanese. When I first bought my SRT/8, I spent the first couple of days going over every body panel. I adjusted the heights of the hood and trunk and 1 door latch. Everything is dead-on now. I know this could/should have been by the dealer but I'm one of those people that believes that "If you want something done right...."

Your angle bracket mod is a very simple solution to the last issue on my car. Thanks!

[joey]

Hey Jerry, I finished your TSB and it worked like a charm.
Closed the gap real good.
The only negative is there appears to be a little warp/undulation in the bumper. The camera shot actually amplifies the warp. I don't really notice the warp unless I am looking for it.
When I went to the hardware store I couldn't remember the width of the aluminum piece you used, which was 1". So I bought a 1.5" wide piece.
Now I am wondering if the wider piece is pressing on the bumper, causing the warping. I will probably try again, and buy a 1" piece to see if that is the cause of the warp.
The only thing I did different was glue one round anti-skid pad on one end, not both ends. I am no engineer, but I thought this might help cinch up the bumper.
The first pic is the TSB bolt the dealer used. I tried tightening the bolt to see if it would close the gap. But tightening the bolt didn't close the gap at all. So Chrysler's TSB is totally ineffective at fixing the gap.

[Deep Lava]

I too had the TSB done. Gap is still there, but it is stable and no longer getting any wider. The angle iron thingy looks like a much better fix

[Jerry M.]

Originally Posted by joey

Hey Jerry, I finished your TSB and it worked like a charm.
Closed the gap real good.
The only negative is there appears to be a little warp/undulation in the bumper. The camera shot actually amplifies the warp. I don't really notice the warp unless I am looking for it.
When I went to the hardware store I couldn't remember the width of the aluminum piece you used, which was 1". So I bought a 1.5" wide piece.
Now I am wondering if the wider piece is pressing on the bumper, causing the warping. I will probably try again, and buy a 1" piece to see if that is the cause of the warp.
The only thing I did different was glue one round anti-skid pad on one end, not both ends. I am no engineer, but I thought this might help cinch up the bumper.
The first pic is the TSB bolt the dealer used. I tried tightening the bolt to see if it would close the gap. But tightening the bolt didn't close the gap at all. So Chrysler's TSB is totally ineffective at fixing the gap.

Hey Joey, glad to see it worked out pretty good for you. I did use a 1 inch aluminum angle. Any wider, and it will press up against the side wall of the bumper itself.

Here are a couple more pics to show how close it gets. This is looking up through the vent opening.